[time-nuts] Temp/Humidity control systems

Mike Naruta AA8K aa8k at comcast.net
Wed Oct 26 14:43:36 EDT 2016


On 10/26/2016 11:59 AM, John Ackermann N8UR wrote:
> I may have the opportunity to build a small "clock room" and am
> considering whether I could make it an environmentally
> controlled space.  I'd like to learn about the options for doing
> this.
>
> The space would probably be 6x8 feet or so, in a basement with
> one outside wall.
>
> Can anyone point me to purveyors of the hardware to do something
> like this?  Because I'll have a limited time to build this, I'm
> looking for something that uses more-or-less off the shelf gear,
> and not a whole lot of custom engineering.
>
> Thanks!
> John
> _______________________________________________


I built a "ham shack" room in my unheated barn.  8 by 12 feet, 
interior lined with sheets of foil-backed foam insulation board, 
then plywood over the insulation.  Walls, ceiling, and floor.  A 
600 watt portable heater is more than enough to keep it 
comfortable in the Michigan winter (-26F -32C in 2015)  This is 
with no equipment turned on.  You problem will likely be getting 
rid of heat.  A small, through-wall air conditioner might be a 
cheap way of doing it.  Place the chiller outside the house. 
The trick is to reduce the hunt differential.  Might be easy to 
build your own thermostat circuit to control the compressor. 
Another option might be a small window air conditioner dumping 
into the basement.  That way you don't have to plumb the 
refrigerant lines.

I don't know how humid it gets in Snellville, but the air 
conditioner should take out the humidity.

At the end opposite the door, I have a bathroom-type exhaust fan 
in the ceiling if it gets too unpleasant inside.  I have a 
tunnel over the fan with acoustic foam inside to reduce fan noise.

When I installed the sheets of foil-backed insulation, I put 
expanded aluminum mesh over the gaps.  It's a fairly-effective 
Faraday cage too.  Sealing the door was a bit tricky, but when I 
close it, signals decrease.  Useful when you have three 
broadcast transmitters in the neighborhood.

Mike - AA8K


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