How I Installed Coax in my Ham Shack - Shack Series 

Thanks! I took my ham exam this past January. I passed technican, general, and extra class all in one sitting. But i still havent even made my first contact because im nervous about running antennas. This video was a big help.

DIY project with ONE trip to Home Depot... Its usually 2 or 3 for me. I enjoy your installation videos.

"I'm not very handy, but I am an engineer" ... GG May 2023.

Any project with only *ONE* extra trip to the hardware store is a big win in my book! 😊

Nice job, Gaston, thanks for letting us go along with you. 73 de K0WHW Bill in Tempe

Thank you for the great vid. I will be installing an antenna soon and was wondering how it should enter the room. That split-plate is super cool! I could leave the PL-259 right on the cable and just bring it in! Kudos, man! TYFP!

Nicely done Gaston, I enjoyed this episode, and look forward to following along on your journey.

As a professional hammer swinger, you did fine with the drywall. You can continue to use the dryer vent, grab a 4in duct cap (Model# DC4 from HD) and punch some holes with your unibit. Then get some appropriate grommets to go around the wire. Stuff some fiberglass insulation and/or steel wool in the vent to keep them from making a nest. You can attach the cap with silver foil tape or any tape really. This would be a long term solution and also not make any permanent modifications. If you want some extra bug deterrent, get some diatomaceous earth from a garden center and dust the duct. Unless someone in your house is allergic to sea shells (it's ground up petrified sea shells) it will kill bugs naturally without chemicals that could harm pets.

Wow, reminds me of buying my first house and being so happy I could cut holes in the walls and install my radio set.

The gyprock/drywall saw will save you 99% of your time. I've made thousands of holes with them. I have touched cables, plumbing pipes and frame straps and even cut through a termites nest in the wall which saved the lady's house as they were rampant and eating up here house fast. I had to lol at the razor blade method, sorry.😅 Lucky you didnt cut yourself. Youll be a drywall pro in no time. Looking forward to the transformation videos. Looks great so far.🍻🤠

Your install turned out great! Having a proper shack inside the house is a game changer. Getting a new tool is worth the trip to Home Depot. My dog likes to "help" me with projects as well. Cheers!

Nice cactus.

You can use RG-213 coax to save some money. The losses is minimal, which wouldn't hurt too much on your signal.

Nice set-up !

For cutting into installed drywall, nothing beats an oscillating tool like the Dewalt DCS356B. Cuts through gypsum board like a hot knife cuts through butter!

Thanks Gaston. The winging it as you go along videos are awesome.

Love seeing all the issues and the final project. Seems like any project around the house I do takes 3 or 4 trips to Home Depot!😊

Very nice home. I blanked out just a bit, there - 9:27 - while staring at the pretty little Senorita on your tshirt.

I use an oscillating multi-tool for drywall. Poke a long screwdriver through the wall to align your boxes. Always cut a smaller hole for the box and shave it to fit. Too big, and you have a problem. You can always go back and replace the single gang with a two gang "old work" box or plate to expand your feed through. When a wall butts up to another wall, you won't always have perfect spacing for the studs. Exterior an interior wall studs and load bearing wall studs are typically 16" O.C. Interior walls are 24" O.C. 9 or 10 foot ceilings will normally have fire-stop blocking in them if you're coming down from an attic. You need extra long wood bits or, cut the drywall, fish it through, patch and paint. I'm always available for an "antenna raising" party! Good job G-Man!

You did a great job!!! Like your set up👍

Im really enjoying this Shack series ! Thanks for putting them in a playlist too !

Sometimes part of the fun is learning how to do new things! Most of us do Not have a drill press! I like the clamp and role of tape to hold the plate when drilling the holes. You use what you have to do what you can. 73 W4DES

For building entrances, I would suggest using a PolyPhaser System. They offer good lightning protection, & system grounding. Admittedly, they require a larger hole, but if done correctly, will pay off in terms of safety & feedline longevity. As an option to adding extra antennas, without having to route more runs of coax, consider a multi band antenna, along with a diplexor inside the house. This way, multiple radios can be connected to one antenna. I ran a discone antenna for years this way. A 2-meter rig on one port, with a GMRS Radio on a different port. When I wanted to monitor things with a scanner, I had an antenna switch, and simply flipped it over, for dedicated scanner use. It worked surprisingly well. Food for thought. :)

Looks mighty fine, Gaston! Those step-bits definitely aren't cheap! 😜 I need to re-run the coax going from my bulkhead connector in the eave of my roof down to the box in my shack. I've got two separate lengths of RG-213. That's what happens when you don't measure correctly! 🥵

Great content Gaston….really enjoyed this video

Love ya vids. Wondering if you guys have "Multitools" over there, Im a Snr Comms N/W Eng'r here in Australia & regularly have to cut plaster (dry ) wall, just like you the 1st thing I do is check with a multi stud finder to get an idea of what if anything might be behind the wall, trace out where I want to cut & out comes the multitool you end up with a very clean, professional looking, just about dustless & very quick cut without ant danger of cutting any services behind the wall ( if you don't wave a multi stud finder ) as the multi tool simply uses vibration to cut the hole you want. You can get a number of different blades for the multi tool including for cutting timber, plaster, ( dry ), copper the list is pretty endless. The other thing that I do if cutting a hole on both sides of the wall to make sure that the holes line up precisley is to 1st make (trace) out on one side of the wall, get a thin rod approx 12 to 18 inches long sharpened at one end & push it through the middle of your 1st side of the wall until you are just touching the inside of the 2nd wall then with the remaining rod still sticking out that you have not pushed into the wall put a small spirit level on it to make sure it is absolutely level in both the horizontal & the vertical plain then just guve it a gentle tap just to make the out outside of the other side of the wall. Then take your tracing device around to the other side of the wall & place it so that the mark that you have just made is dead center of your tracing device, mark it out & cut it out & you will have a perfectly matching hole each side of the wall. Ive done this 100's of times in my job & its worked perfectly every time. Here in Australia we have both tje Bull Nose brush wall plate as well aa the the Brush wall plate both are exellent for running multiple cables through im guessing you might also have them in the U.S. Anyway keep up the great work & look forward to following the build & fit out of the new shack. Rgs Wayne VK3ECS Australia.

I thought I was watching HGTV for a second. Nice job, Gaston!

Good stuff man. Well done.

Atleast ya doin what ya can woth what ya got but a 4 way remote antenna switch is a must so ya can run upto 4 antennas on 1 run of coax but its also good when experimenting

Looks good to me Gaston, well done.

Hello Gaston, you have really done a very good job. It looks absolutely perfect and professional. Have holidays soon and I hope we can meet. Would be very happy.

Going to have to do a similar thing myself this year. Gonna learn on my place so when I go to my friend's to do theirs it wont be the first time

Job well done. Remeber, drywall can always be repaired.

The CHA LEFs 8010 is my home setup too! Resonant & invisible ;)

Some great ideas here! I have just been working with an ugly hole in my exterior wall, wracking my brains to figure out the best way to seal it and make it look nice. Step drill is totally the way to go. I built a battery box using one, drilling holes for power outlets in a cutting board that replaced the tool tray inside the boat box. Completely sealed when not in use. :) de KC1JMH

Got my GMRS license last week. Fun listening to “non hams” I’m curious to watch what you do with it. It mainly a curiosity for me at this point.

Looks great! I have a window in my shack and have been pulling the coax in and out for the past 3 years. STARTING TO GET OLD!!! I'm going to be doing the same thing this summer. I have to go through brick and block wall. That's what has dragging my feet. 73 KO4CXD

Great video as always! I like the split plate idea and the stainless steel cover. 73

Looks good. We all learn as we go. I will be putting in a ground rod for the shack in the next few months. For that i will use a ground rod driver that is used with a hammer drill.

Nicely done. Projects always evolve. What did you do (or will you do) about grounding?

Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Good to see someone else living the DevOps lifestyle outside of work :)

I might have missed it somewhere but I didn't see any type of lightning arrester installed before bringing your cables directly into your shack... Also, are you aware that you can purchase SO-239 Bulkhead Connectors in pretty much any length you would need, thereby eliminating the need for a patch cable? Food for thought...

On the windows are eventually you wanna come true they sell that window bar with all the connectors on it might wanna look into that

Btw coax ya want is hyperflex 5 or 7 if ya dont want to use lmr400😉

14.5” apart is 16” on center

Coarse stainless steel wool packed in the hole will keep anything with fur, small enough to fit in the hole out.

hi lmr 900 uhf whf rg213 hf ,lightnung arestors in rest is a preaty build

So if you could do it again you would have went with a 2-gang low voltage bracket/box?

Did you loose another radio or was it the QDX? I've been concerned about heat in my shack also

No one Films like Gaston, no one Drills like Gaston, no one shows us their radio Thrills like Gaston!

Most dual band ham antennas will do gmrs just fine.

Why have I never thought of using a roll of duct tape to drill holes in stuff?

Why not RG8-U?

FYI, when you turn the camera away from you it sounds like you're talking with a pillow over your face. Audio is good when the camera is on you.