On Feb 29, 10:29 am, Michael Coslo wrote:

The concept of making a station conform to an
aesthetic is not all that unusual. Our stations can be an expression of
ourselves, and we can either place the items on the desk and be done
with it, or we can embellish the room as we see fit. It is just another
way to have some fun.

Well said, Mike!

I'm a member of the function-determines-form school of thought on
this. That sounder is an excellent example of that school - its form
is exactly what it needs to be to do the job it was intended to do.
Yet it is aesthetically pleasing without any added ornamentation.

I've tried to follow that aesthetic in my amateur radio activities. My
homebrew rig (google my call for the website) is built almost entirely
out of reused parts. Rather than trying to hide this, I decided to
celebrate it in the design. The shack furniture, while made mostly
from new wood, is designed to be as strong and functional as possible
while being constructed using simple woodworking tools and keeping the
cost as low as possible. The result is a shack that is comfortable and
functional, yet inexpensive and flexible for changes. When I worked
the CW SS this year, I was able to incorporate a logging computer
setup (homebrew-from-reused-components computer, too) in a short time,
because of the flexibility of the shelving system.

--

Part of the attraction to some of the products of certain eras is that
they were made of quality materials, and were intended to last a very
long time. I've tried to follow that rule in my homebrew designs as
well, and the result has been a very low parts failure rate. (I also
have a large stock of spare parts so that if something does fail, it
can be easily and quickly replaced).

--

Perhaps we hams are missing out on something by using words like
"shack", "shop", and "hobby". People who do art for its own sake,
without pecuniary interest, do not use those terms. Be it painting in
oil or watercolor, sculpture (in a variety of media), woodworking,
music, poetry, performing arts, etc., they use terms like "studio",
"gallery", "performance space", etc. There's a certain approach the
creative and performing artist have towards what they do, and I think
we could learn from it. We should not be apologetic for our activities
any more than an artist apologizes for his/hers. In amateur radio we
can be both creative (building equipment and stations) and performing
(operating our stations) artists!

There's also the factor of craftsmanship, which is evident in the
steampunk objects. Craftsmanship can't be bought or learned entirely
from a book; it's a matter of practice, too. Steampunk clearly has
lots of it!

I think we hams may have been selling ourselves short in some ways. We
have aesthetics that IMHO are just as valid as any other. For example,
antennas are not "ugly" in that aesthetic - they are a beautiful
expression of form-following-function if done right. To me, a house
does not become "home" unless there is a properly-designed-and-
installed amateur radio antenna present.

73 de Jim, N2EY