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What does YOUR wiring cabinet look like?

65K views 124 replies 68 participants last post by  Dmtalon 
#1 ·
After seeing Ronnie's post about his wiring cabinet, I'd like to see what others have done. (pretty or ugly)


So can you post a picture of what your wiring cabinet looks like?
 
#2 ·
#3 ·
Oh Comon!, Showoff. Who is going to post now after seeing that.


Actually, I know someone here that also has a really nice display but I am not going to say who it is for privacy reasons.


I will post my super ugly unorganized rack systems before and my not so ugly after pictures later this weekend.
 
#4 ·
I hope nobody takes my post that way cmcjo. I needed something of this scale in order to accomodate almost 60 cat5e and 60 RG6 connections. In my case, this was the only thing that makes sense.


I have seen several other systems on a smaller scale that were just as nice, if not nicer than mine. In fact, I got a lot of ideas from some of these other systems.


Please dont worry about the scale of my system. Please post whatever pics you have. We are all interested in seeing them.


Ronnie
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Where are the service loops

The 12 unlabeled "f" connectors on the top panel are the service ports. At this time I only have the CATV split into 3 ports. I can apply any service I choose to these 12 ports. If you look at the picture of the back of the rack, you can see the service ports are empty (that pic was taken before I made any connections). They can then be redirected to any room I wish by simply using a patch cable. You can see the 3 CATV ports on the front of the rack being redirected into the patch panel for my living room and 2 bedrooms. The cable management makes it kind of hard to trace, but its the only coax cables you can see.


The phone line service goes into the cat5e patch panel and is looped through 5 ports.


I plan on adding VoiP, Satellite TV, and Cameras into the rack in the future.


There are several service lines mixed into that big bundle of cable you see. 1 for the CATV, 1 for the cable modem, 1 for the attic mounted FM antenna, and 1 for POTS (telephone). I also have four extra RG6 lines and an extra cat5e that I ran down to the demarc for future proofing. Its also very easy to add just about any service I need to this room. I framed in an 8x10 room out of a huge walk in attic section. 2 sides and the top of it are very easy to access.




Ronnie
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by brownsl /forum/post/0


What is a service loop?


Shawn

Typically, a service loop is a small of amount of cable which is coiled up and left in the ceiling, floor or wall. This is only used if the connection requires modification in the future. This gives you the option of re-arranging the patch/distibution panels. I always leave at least 6" in the wall at the outlet and 1'-2' at the distribution point. If you have ever had to re-terminate a connection after the initial installer made the cables 'banjo-tight', you can appreciate the slack.


Mark
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by msteelefl /forum/post/0


Typically, a service loop is a small of amount of cable which is coiled up and left in the ceiling, floor or wall. This is only used if the connection requires modification in the future. This gives you the option of re-arranging the patch/distibution panels. I always leave at least 6" in the wall at the outlet and 1'-2' at the distribution point. If you have ever had to re-terminate a connection after the initial installer made the cables 'banjo-tight', you can appreciate the slack.


Mark

Ah, thanks for the info. I have run my cables and left myself about 20' for each run. Probably overkill but I do not yet know how I am going to lay out my wiring closet and I wanted a lot of flexibility. Have to make sure when I do finish it off to leave several feet for future mods.


Shawn
 
#10 ·
Here are some photos of my current setup. I will be adding an addition shelf for my voip adapters soon. I'm renting right now, notice the 5 CAT5 plugs and one coax in the right corner of the last photo.


I am building a new house in the next few months and will be dedicating a closet in the garage to my home theater/automation/network stuff. My wires are no where near as nice as Ronnie's. Thanks for all the insight.







 
#11 ·
Ronnie_J,


May I ask how you have your linksys router/switch mounted there? You've got them turned verticaly, but is there some sort of bracket for that, or are they just sort of sitting there?.


... wondering what to do with mine.


I almost want to send you my back-lit Saitek keyboard as an offering to the uber-rack. (It would look great on that shelf) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1089890861716
 
#13 ·
Very nice install guys!


Since someone has to post an ugly one, I'm volunteering!

On the picture you can see a lot of things if you know the diffferent components.

Also not visible on the picture is on the right side, there is the back of my rack located in the home theater that contains all the devices (ie: receiver, directv receiver, directivo, vcrs, dvd players, MD player, power conditionner).

In case you don't recognize the one on the picture, here is a short list of the feature supported:

Video Modulation (outdoor camera + MCE)

Video Combining

Video Splitting

Audio broadcast

IR receive and dispatch

RS485 dispatch

Phone

Computer Network (Switch + DSL modem)

Lighting system (Lutron Radio Ra with IR interface)

Internet Video Streaming (Slingbox)

Serial port accessible through Network

Lawn Sprinkler control

2 PC: One running Windows Media Center + Windows Small Business Server 2003.


My biggest problem for the moment is dealing with the IR because they have to cross the room from left to right (you can see the cable dangling for the moment).


I'm currently redoing everything to consolidate all the signals to a single rep[eater box instead of having 4 IR emitters in front of my directivo!
 
#14 ·
Provelocity, Thats a very sweet rack. Nice clean, sleek look.


Love the KVM mount. I need one of those.


What are the two devices at the bottom of the rack?


Ronnie
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckSchick /forum/post/0


May I ask how you have your linksys router/switch mounted there? You've got them turned verticaly, but is there some sort of bracket for that, or are they just sort of sitting there?.


The router and WAP are just turned on their side and sitting on the shelf. Nothing mounted. The linksys units are made to sit either vertical or horizontal.


I liked the look, plus they dont seem to get as hot as when they are stacked.


Ronnie
 
#16 ·
fdelacou, nice setup. Man thats a lot of stuff!!! You guys are really helping me out. My wife thought I was nuts.


Its cool to see that a lot of others have similar setups. Guess im not the only psycho around



Keep the pics coming. I would like to see some more ideas.


Ronnie
 
#17 ·
So, I've taken the plunge and picked up an 84" Chatsworth relay rack and got 10 shelves for a fantastic price off ebay.


Now I need a couple accessories -- filler plates, vented shelves, etc. and there are about one gazillion vendors on the web.


Can anyone recommend a good online vendor for rack equipment?
 
#18 ·
Just in case any of your are feeling inadequate like I am, here is my lowly wiring setup for my house. This contains my cable modem, router/switch, two switches, phone distribution, and coax splitter with amplifier (Rat Shack special). It is very messy as I had to take the box out of the wall to add one more Cat5 for my security interface after the initial install. All the wires were laid out pretty when I first put it in. *sigh* Too much trouble now to beautify it again.


This is in the wall of the closet in the spare bedroom which I turned into my office.


___
 
#19 ·
Chuck,


Check out Gruber for shelving and accessories, as well as ebay for Middle Atlatic stuff. I'll post some pics later, but I have 3 chatsworth relay racks (1 in theater for components, 2 in "server room" / wiring closet for distribution/automation populated with a mix of Gruber shelving, and middle atlantic stuff, most of it from E-Bay.


Cheers,


Rich
 
#20 ·
Ronnie,


The two boxes at the bottom are my servers. One hosts a terminal server/file server for my office. The other is my media server. It has roughly 2 terrabytes of storage. I am upgrading from ide drives to serial ata slowly. I just ordered a 4 channel serial ata controller and a serial ata backplane with enough space for 4 drives in 3 5.25 bays.


My setup in my new house will consist of 2 78in racks and a leviton 48in media panel. I'll post some info on it in the next few days.
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by boykster /forum/post/0


Chuck,


Check out Gruber for shelving and accessories, as well as ebay for Middle Atlantic stuff. I'll post some pics later, but I have 3 chatsworth relay racks (1 in theater for components, 2 in "server room" / wiring closet for distribution/automation populated with a mix of Gruber shelving, and middle atlantic stuff, most of it from E-Bay.


Cheers,


Rich

I have a new Middle Atlantic rack I want to sell. I didn't realize how deep servers are and the unit I purchased (a 74" high ERK 4020 unit) while great for audio equipment is too shallow for a 26" deep server.


I'm new to the 19" world and now hooked....I have a pair of Middle Atlantic racks in my garage but can't post pictures until after I have made more posts to this forum.


Steve D
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckSchick /forum/post/0


So, I've taken the plunge and picked up an 84" Chatsworth relay rack and got 10 shelves for a fantastic price off ebay.


Now I need a couple accessories -- filler plates, vented shelves, etc. and there are about one gazillion vendors on the web.


Can anyone recommend a good online vendor for rack equipment?


I think you answered your own question with your very first sentence. Ebay is your best friend. I purchased all my stuff off ebay.


Ronnie
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by provelocity /forum/post/0


Ronnie,


The two boxes at the bottom are my servers. It has roughly 2 terrabytes of storage

Sweet!. That makes my little 1U Dell feel pretty inadequate.



I will need something beefy like that once I start working on the whole house audio and media servers.


Ronnie
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ultgar /forum/post/0


I didn't realize how deep servers are and the unit I purchased (a 74" high ERK 4020 unit) while great for audio equipment is too shallow for a 26" deep server.

Steve D

I hear you, due to space constraints in my server room/wiring closet, I had to put my rackmount server case on a heavy duty shelf rather than with rack rails, etc. Too deep. It does act as a great anchor though for that rack...very stable



I'll try to take some pics tonite of my racks if possible. My server room is a mess, and is hard to take pics of due to the configuration, but I'll see what I can do.


edit:


this thread has some old old old pics of my rack in my theater. Things have changed quite a bit (more stuff, moved around, etc). I'll still try to take pics tonite.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...13#post5108213


Rich
 
#26 ·
provelocity,


Love the look of your setup...very nice and clean (front). I LOVE the dichotomy of the uber clean front look and the mess of cables behind
Ok, it's not THAT messy, but it does contrast the front.


Believe me, we all have our dirty little secrets (or rats nests)


Cheers,


Rich
 
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