Getting into amateur radio is one of the very best things you can do to increase your communications resiliency in all kinds of emergencies. Plus it’s a really enjoyable and fulfilling pastime in its own right.

Every ham radio operator will install his unit in a room, known as a ham shack, and the nucleus of any good ham shack is a ham radio desk.

But not just any old desk will do: ham radio sets can use a lot of different components, and today multiple monitors.

Naturally, this means cables going every which way, and between the electronics, books, keyboard, mic stand, and of course, your favorite beverage close at hand a too-small or cluttered desk can make the whole experience more frustrating than fulfilling.

But don’t sweat it: I’m here to help with a lineup of the best ham radio desks you can buy or build yourself if you are crafty.

An organized and spacious ham desk is a thing of beauty and joy, and you’ll be getting on the air with a smile on your face after you read through our list. Grab your headphones and let’s get to it.

Coleshome 32-inch Computer Desk

Everybody starts somewhere, and if you’re just getting started with a basic hand setup, or just need to expand your current desk, this simple, clean, and modern 32-in computer desk from Coleshome is perfect and will save you a bundle on your next ham radio upgrade.

It’s exactly what it looks like: just a simple, clean and sturdy desk. It goes together in minutes, and only four steps are required to put the thing together right out of the package.

An engineered wood desktop is sturdy and resists scratching, minor spills, and wear and tear while the metal legs and frame mean it can hold plenty of weight. If you like to lean forward and get close while talking on the mic like I do, you’ll appreciate this!

You’ll have plenty of room for your mike, transceiver, and a few other odds and ends like manuals, but you’ll need to add cord management and come up with another solution if you require extra storage.

That being said, a desk like this is always useful so you’ll never truly outgrow it. Get it here.

Joiscope Home Office Gaming Desk

A nice step up from the previous desk on our list, this 40×24-inch home office desk from Joiscope has more room up top for an expanded setup, including a couple of monitors with room to spare if you prefer. You’ve also got some handy shelves for stashing manuals, surplus equipment, and more.

I really like the handsome vintage oak finish on this desk, and it compliments the clean, minimalist design nicely. It adds just a little pop of charm to what would otherwise be just a common computer desk.

This model also goes together easily if you are used to assembling common flat-pack style furniture.

Another nice feature, the one I am sure the designers didn’t explicitly intend, is the fact that the angled bracers on either side of the footwell are perfect for hanging up your headphones until you need them.

All of this in a surprisingly affordable package makes it a great hand desk whether you are a beginner or getting more serious about the craft. Get it here.

Bush Business Furniture Studio C Credenza Desk

It’s easy to get mesmerized by wall mount and overhead storage solutions in a nicely kitted-out ham shack, but so much of the time, organizational problems can be solved simply by more surface area.

You definitely won’t want that with this 72×24-inch credenza desk from Bush Business Furniture Studio.

It has an impressive weight capacity of 200 pounds, and the laminated engineered wood components are durable and spill-proof. This desk will give you more than enough room for even the most intricate setup.

It’s also available in a variety of finishes to suit any taste, from attractive black walnut to pure white, ash gray, and even a nice natural elm color.

The only letdown with this model, aside from the fact that has but a single grommet to wrangle what is sure to be a forest of chords and cables, is the price tag.

It’s a bit spendy for such a simple design, but the quality is absolutely there, so if you want to load your desk heavily, put this one at the top of your list.

Coleshome L-Shaped Gaming Desk

The second offering from Coleshome is one of my absolute favorites. This double-decker wrap-around L desk combines the expected alloy steel frame with engineered wood shelves and surfaces.

Providing a linear 56 inches-worth of surface area and a raised shelf running along the entirety, only the most intricate and feature-packed sets, or multipurpose shack setups, will risk running out of room on this behemoth.

It took me a while to come around on this type of desk, but I’m so glad I did. Lifting the monitors up to eye level is such a subtle thing, but it makes a huge difference, and that narrow shelf is also perfect for all kinds of other equipment. You’ve also got two shelves at either end that can hold all of your manuals and other bits and bobs.

An integrated power strip in the middle makes routing your cables and plugging in ancillary devices a cinch, and the whole desk has LED lighting built in at various points.

It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I quite like it for adding a nice bit of ambiance to a dim and pleasant evening spent in the air. Get it here.

Superjare L-Shaped Gaming Desk

Sometimes space in the shack itself is at a premium, but you need plenty of space for your gear. Not to worry, this compact but storage-rich L-desk from Superjare is the perfect solution.

It’s got that same sort of vintage industrial weathered look that just screams amateur radio to me, and it’s packed with a ton of other great features.

A riser across the long axis, measuring 47 inches gives you tons of options for monitors and a lot more while the short side still has two additional full-length shelves below the surface of the desk. You might have to reach back a little farther than usual to maximize that storage, but it can be done.

Another smaller shelf is beneath a single conveniently located pull-out drawer, and you have an integrated power strip with USB slots to keep everything energized and operating. And once again, built-in LED lighting can provide just a pop of color if you want it.

Another great desk, and one that is priced to move. You can find it right here.

Versatile Desk Riser

Sometimes the only thing you need to turn a lackluster, inadequate disc into a proper and awesome ham shack desk is a vertical riser with cubby holes for your receiver, notebook, monitors, readouts, and more.

This super simple design is something that anyone with rudimentary woodworking tools and skills, and a pocket screw jig, can easily slap together in an afternoon and finish to match existing furniture.

Just look at the pictures at the link above, and you’ll see what a difference it can make getting all of that equipment up off the surface of the desk. It’s like magic! Get it here.

Homemade Ham Desk Made from Solid-Core Door

Sometimes you need a truly heavy-duty desk to hold up a fully featured and heavy set. Or, maybe, you just want a piece of furniture that has some real heft.

If that sounds like you, but you don’t want to spend a king’s ransom on bespoke furniture made by master craftsmen, you can make an incredibly handsome and supremely sturdy ham desk that could double as a workbench thanks to its thick service.

This gentleman made his from basic hardware using a solid core door as a desktop, finished to his own specifications. He even admits that he is no woodworker! It came out incredible, and I think repurposing a door for this desk project is really quite clever.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the pictures at the link below, and you can see everything that he’s put on the desk. Not bad at all! Get it here.

DIY L-Shaped Ham Desk with Storage and Cable Control

Installing a built-in desk might be an intimidating prospect if you don’t have a lot of experience working on your own home, or real carpentry or woodworking skills. But you don’t need to be afraid.

If you want to set up your ham shack in a more utilitarian space, making some basic cuts with a miter saw using off-the-shelf plywood and lumber might not take any longer than a single day and be entirely functional. This L-shaped built-in desk made by a YouTube user proves that.

Sure, it might not be the prettiest one around, but it’s certainly sturdy and usable. I think for a rough and ready shack on a budget that works just perfectly.

Deluxe Classic Ham Shack Desk

For some of us, nothing less than the very best we’ll do. I’ve never seen a custom-built, bespoke ham desk that I liked more than this one.

I don’t know how to describe it… It’s got a vaguely nautical, classic look that just speaks to my soul. And it looks like it was built into that house from the very beginning. It’s magnificent in every way, from the materials to the finishing!

Now, as nice as it is, I won’t lie to you: it takes genuine woodworking skills and knowledge of the woods you’re working with to turn out something like this.

When you are custom-milling all of the parts and making the moldings yourself, you’ve entered an entirely new plateau of difficulty. The results are undeniable, and if you want to make your shack look like a true part of your living space, there’s no better way to do it than this.

It just goes to show you what’s achievable if you have willpower, know-how, and enough elbow grease.

And even if something like this is a project that you couldn’t afford to do, or lack the skill to do, let it inspire you to go all out on your own project in a way that seems best to you. Get it here.

DIY Ham Command Center

Folks, this is it. If you feel like you’re ham setup is taking over your home and your life, it’s time to graduate from a ham shack to a ham command center, and I’ve never seen a single DIY setup that even gets close to the capability and purity of organization that this one does.

With banks of monitors and components, an enormous wrap-around monitor, and secondary monitor above that, each and every item has its place and is intelligently laid out. The cable routing is a magnet, and there are over a dozen cubby holes on the triple-decker desk.

The mic has its own boom mounting point and everything! Absolutely a class act, and you can tell the gentleman has spared no expense.

Best of all, when he walks right out the back door of the shack he has a giant antenna mast in his backyard. I know, not part of the desk, of course, but I just had to comment on it!

He has proved, once and for all, that even the most capable set can be neatly organized and easy to use…

The post Top 10 Ham Radio Desks (Store-Bought and DIY) appeared first on Survival Sullivan.

By: Tom Marlowe
Title: Top 10 Ham Radio Desks (Store-Bought and DIY)
Sourced From: www.survivalsullivan.com/ham-radio-desks/
Published Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2025 12:57:44 +0000

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