Becoming a grampa recently I was "encouraged" to give up the territory I had acquired when the baby's father left home, so they could bring the baby to visit. I was determined that, if I was going to a smaller room, I would benefit from it. For years I had been operating from a medium sized desk. I always needed more elbow room, especially for sending CW. I got a microphone boom and studio mic (on sale) to give me more room, but it still didn't have the depth needed for proper hand position during CW QSOs.
For my birthday, I got my wife to buy me a 36" wide replacement door from the local megahardware. I also got a cheap paintbrush and some water soluable sealer. Laying it on a couple of 2-drawer file cabinets from a local business that was shutting down (There's a lot of that in Michigan now.) I gave it several coats of the sealer.
Now I have plenty of room for my straight key, paddles, scratch paper, keyboard and mouse. So my room is smaller, but my operating desk is huge. I actually like it better than before.
Now to work on the baby about getting her ticket. Might have to wait until she's 4 or so.
73, JP, K8AG
