Orgainizing Your Workspace (56K warning)

[jalien21]

it's hard to organize in a dorm room...

[Skydog]

Yep, the guy at radio shack was right!     Could this guy be the last of his kind?  working at a shack in some distant town where cell phones arent the top seller?

Sorry, we are all a bit jaded with radio shack.  No one really knows what they are doing in most of them.  It looks like you are lucky enough to be one of the last few guys to get that kind of advice!   

I know what you mean and I have to confess this was actually a composite of two people, the first who was a young guitarist in a band who I probably made his day working in an abyss of old men and old ladies (sorry if there's old men and old ladies present, its just for illustration) coming in all day asking to hook up their TV set. He was into technology and perked up big time when I mentioned TUBESCREAMER MOD. He told me how to series the things. Then later, I had to go back and switch out a mistaken 100k for 100 ohm and another customer overheard the conversation with a different Radioshack guy and he intervened. Turns out this customer used to be an oldschool Radioshack manager 25 years ago, was a musician, sound engineer, and he was the one who told me about the tolerance thing. Sorry for lying, but it became an interesting story didn't it!

Now if I can only go back and explain to the guitarist that he doesn't need to buy a 100 Watt amp to get good tube tone. He's young, he'll find that out when he's ready. Interesting, the conversations you have when you least expect! And yes, I think I live in some distant town that's special, but still I'd bet cell phones are the big deal despite the horrid reception they get out here! LOL!

[frank_p]

This topic made me realise that if you don't have 2x2 in. of free space on your tabletop, it's difficult to put out a "built report".  Clean that table with a drawer labeled "mess".  Put that in that spot in order to give you some "air".  Now I've got three tables with disorganised stuff on it.  I try to classify all my impulsive component acquisitions but it's taking too much time to classify so I don't build.  I guess I am just like a young women that goes out shopping but don't have all the occasions to wear all she has bought. I don't even know what is the proportion of components that are classified versus the ones that are just waiting to be. I began to make a database but when you look close, there are so many kind of capacitors...  I will need some advice soon.  Otherwise I a doomed to type every manufacturers codes forever.  That's what is happening when you see "occasions" everywhere.  It reminds me the time when I was in internship: enter data... return... At least, I learn.  Some say on this site that it takes 20 years to have a descent "stock".  Holy Cow    !

[caress]

pretty blurry, but...


i've only been in this space for a few months, so it's not really properly decorated yet...  i also just built the desk about a month-and-a-half ago, so it's still an organizational work in progress.
there's more storage on the walls and behind where i'm standing, but it's mostly filled with keyboards, enclosures, bulk caps, silkscreening stuff, wires, pedals etc...

[kismet78]

Hey kurtlives!

I use those same parts drawers from Canadian Tire. I have 2 of the 33 drawer models. Good stuff and (at least in my area) they're on sale right now for $14 each.

[any]

Here's my "temporary" workshop:

Finally had some of my electronics shipped over since immigrating
to New Zealand. Very happy I still have my tools and favorite parts.
Can't wait to buy a temperature controlled solder station again though,
it's not a luxury! I have two big bags, one for caps and one for resistors,
5 medium bags for all transistors, pots, knobs, jacks and sockets and I keep
my Ic's in little antistatic cardboard boxes that hold about 20 IC's each.

Considering it all fits in the two plastic cases pictured on the left of the desk
and my tools in the blue case on the right, it a very compact affair at the moment!

[ACS]

Where are you in NZ mate?  I grew up in Westport, on the west coast of the South Island... Man I miss it!!

[any]

Where are you in NZ mate?  I grew up in Westport, on the west coast of the South Island... Man I miss it!!

I'm in Wellington, moved over from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) about a year ago.
Love this City, feels small and friendly and loads of creatives (music,art,design)
Love touring the South Island though, simply beautiful!

You'll be sure to return to NZ some day?

Cheers

[ACS]

Cool!  I lived in Wellington for 5 years, it's a great city   I'll definitely get home permanently one day...

[drewl]

My "lab" used to be neat......now I have way too much stuff...parts, amps etc.
I need a bigger lab.

[frank_p]

HELP! CAN'T GO HIGHER !

[dellamorte]

Anyone know where it get those plastic parts bins with the drawers cheap in aus?
everywhere i have looked is ridiculously expensive.

[andrew_k]

Anyone know where it get those plastic parts bins with the drawers cheap in aus?
everywhere i have looked is ridiculously expensive.

Dick Smith had them for about $7 each a month ago.

Since this shot I've added a stack of those bins on top of the cupboard to the right

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Anyone know where it get those plastic parts bins with the drawers cheap in aus?
everywhere i have looked is ridiculously expensive.

I've found those tackle boxes (the flat boxes with 12 or 18 compartments) a  lot more convenient than the tray setup. For one thing, with the tackle box, you can just take the whole box of resistors or whatever to the desk where you are working & open it up.

[frank_p]

Andrew K., you have a Roland Microcube on your desk.  I bought one last weed and I just blew up the speaker.  I guess I will NEVER understand those digital amps...  I keep trying, it's hard to resist, but what the hell...  Are they made for Rock&Roll ?  Or I just play loud noises ...  The SMD PCB is just BEHIND the speaker.  And this thing is really shaking some air !!!  The front grill is better than anything else.  Maybe I could use it for BBQ.  Okay, the Vox AC30 is good too but I really can't get higher in my basement by stacking amplifiers.  I've got to repair the speaker to play some Sex Pistols in the Metro at 6:00AM.  My doctor say that there is nothing better than Rock&Roll in the morning to begin the day.  Not sure what he mean (!?) Do I have to play in my bed ? 

[cloudscapes]

I love caress' pic! it's totally a dank-looking dungeon with single light source and pipes and stains oozing down the walls, but in the middle you have a high-tech apple glowing techno blue and a couple of nice monitors to the sides. 

My workplace is essentially the 3x1 feet space between my computer monitotor and my keyboard, usually obscured by piles of components and tools (and at least one breadboard). I'm moving to a much larger appartment in july, and I indent on dedicating an entire room to this and music production!

[DougH]

These photos are old as things have gotten a lot more crowded since then. More guitars, another amp, another amp being built, etc, etc... I should take a photo of the bench today for contrast... I think I'm going to put some shelves on the wall to store amp heads.

[petemoore]

Please ignore the funny scribbles, I was very young and had an organized rock/shell collection.
  Sorry, I can't do that.
  But had to add "Organized" to your description of your rock collection. Early on you had made an effort to become organized, not all of us have that kind of 'reminder'.
  My dungeon is sort of like Frank P's...no more room above here, or there, or over there...most of the floor space goes up to the ceiling.
  When that gets too much, sometimes I'll just gather up a big mess, box the mess, set a table up outside, and sort through it in the sunlight...I just don't/won't do the 'bend over and touch your thumb'n forefinger to the floor...nope...stuff like that goes in a box, if I have to use a showshovel [literally] to get it in there.
  Amazing how the pile gets large and gangly when stripping parts from various salvaged boards...HUGE BOXES of [almost] JUNK...dirty junk with wires sometimes tangling, they don't stack or pack right.

[frank_p]

It's really fun to see all your messes guys.  It just give the feeling of knowing each other better, in what environment we live.  I can just imagine all of you dreaming and building in all of your mad scientists labs. And there must be so much stories about all the equipments that I see.  Oh no!  I am getting too sentimental...

[any]

can't help but notice most pictures show Mac's on the workbech...