Welder in radio shack - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: djacobow
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 05:10:23 pm
content: My shack is a shed out back. It is quite small (12' x 12') and houses, in addition to my test gear and radios, all my workshop and tools.I'm considering getting a welder (stick and Tig). I know the arc puts out significant broadband RF. Obviously, radio would be useless while welding. I'm wondering whether it can be damaged by having a large noise source nearby, even if the radio is turned off. If so, would disconnecting the antenna, and say leaving a 50 ohm shunt/dummy attached to the antenna jack be adequate protection?Welder would be literally a few feet away and the arc power is up to the order of 2-5kW and occur at the end of 10 foot-ish cables.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 06:10:47 pm
content: Welding in a HAM shack is not a good idea - hot sparks, grinding dust etc. are all bad for electronics. Its not even a great idea in a machine shop due to the abrasive dirt and fire risk.Why not put together a roll-out welding trolley so you can get the dirty jobs out of the shack? You will need some sort of spark resistant wind shield for TIG or your shield gas consumption will be excessive on all except calm days.

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 06:22:04 pm
content: At my last house my shop and radio room were one in the same, an out building 30x40 in size. Like Ian said the debris is a bad idea, but I did it for 11 years with no issue, though the grinding and radio Eq were about 15' apart.Never an issue welding, but the radio Eq was normally off, aside from the Scanners that ran 24-7. My big MIG is 300amp/200a TIG (HF start) and I never disconnected the antennas, not that doing so would have been a bad idea. Easy enough to solve with an antenna switch, nice and convenient.

author: Tom45
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 06:24:26 pm
content: Just to reinforce what Ian said, a customer of mine is a machine shop. One day I went there and turned on a computer and there was a small explosion. We all know that dust will build up inside anything with a cooling fan. For a machine shop, that dust is conductive.Make a rolling cart or workbench and do the welding and grinding outside. Or at least someplace other than your electronics shack.

author: djacobow
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 06:40:28 pm
content: Thanks for the responses, everyone.OK, so I think I'm hearing that electrical noise due to proximity is not a top concern, but that the mess is.I already do all my wood working outside in the driveway near the shed, and was planning to do anything like grinding outside as well. The only issue I see is that TIG (and MIG, for that matter) do not seem like outdoor-friendly processes, unless the day is totally windless. I guess a welding table with some kind of fences could make that work. Most welding tables are steel and quite heavy. I'll have to make a compromise if I want to be able to bring it in and out. Then again, in ham radio, everything is a compromise, all the time. :-)

author: Paul Moir
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2017, 09:58:29 pm
content: For stick or MIG you will want to be outside anyway due to the sparks and fumes. For TIG you want to be inside, and there will be no sparks and little by the way of fumes since your metal must be clean and rust free. It doesn't take much of a breeze to upset TIG.I have a little hand-held TES thermometer which reboots when I run the TIG. It's 10' away and in a metal tool box.

author: spudboy488
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2017, 12:44:54 pm
content: No experience but I would think if the radios were off and possibly disconnected from antennas, you would be fine. Think of the welder in similar terms as lightning (high energy pulse) and protect the equipment accordingly. As far as the dirt aspect, maybe set up a curtain similar to a paint spray booth when welding?