Show me your RACK - Page 51

If you can position the wireless device near the top (or bottom) of a steel enclosure, the antenna can usually be positioned outside, either behind drywall if flush mount or visible if surface mount.



Many plastic enclosures available, too. My Radio RA2 Main Repeater is located in a plastic enclosure.

Middle Atlantic 37u Slim 5 series frame.
Qty 2: 4 point zero space shelves
qty 8: 2u vented shelves
Very happy with the quality and overall "experience" with the rack.

The beginning:


The Middle:


End Result:

Nice Job!

Does anyone know if the MA Slim 5 shelves fit regular sever racks? I have a 42U rack and I like the MA shelves but I am not sure if they fit or are custom fit for their racks.

They are standard 19 in. rack mount panels and shelves, so they should fit any standard 19 in. rack.

If you mean their faceplates then they'd fit any regular rack. But from the looks of their shelves I would not just assume they'd work. At least one of their slim shelves is designed to mount inside the rack posts, connected at the sides, NOT at the front as would standard rack shelves. This side mounting would require a pretty specific spacing (both width and depth) between all four of the posts. I've run into issues where the inside of the posts wasn't consistent from one rack brand to another. I don't know if there's "supposed to be" a standard spacing there or not. Nor do I know what the slim shelves expect for their width.

This isn't to say you "can't" make them work, but I'd start by comparing their inside rack post measurements with whatever setup you've got now.

I've mixed and matched a lot of different componenets. They all will bolt up however the spacing can be different leaving you a small 1/4" gap between certain components. Here's mine (still under construction). Sorry for the crap cell phone quality...I'm lazy.

Thanks for the feedback. I've rescued a server rack and need to get some shelves. All I have is the rack, no doors, panels or anything.
I've seen 2 types of screws for server racks, any way to quickly tell what type go with what rack?

"Standard" rack screws are 10-32 truss-head machine screws. Some rack rails are drilled and tapped for these screws. Another common type of rail has square holes, into which you snap clip nuts as needed to receive the rack screws.

I have a Middle Atlantic Slim 5 Series that sits on carpet with the standard adjustable screw legs.
Any suggestions for me to be able to mount this on some sort of track that would allow me to slide it out a little easier?

I do not have much space above the rack, I am afraid some of the wheels middle atlantic has for the slim 5 will make it
to tall for its location, so I need a low profile way of making it slide out easier.

Before I switched to a rack with casters, I placed some of those furniture moving pucks under the legs of my rack, which did make it possible to pull the rack out on carpet. Just have to watch the weight distribution, you don't want to put that load into motion and have it tip...



http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100178571/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=furniture+moving&storeId=10051#.UMFVVeTAfNo

Jeff

Rack:


Rear:


Closet:


Rack rail is attached on each side of a 19 1/8" aperture from the media room to the equipment closet, recessed a few inches from the room side. It was framed in similar to a window, with cutouts in the foot to accommodate the rail extending below the aperture. The closet is accessed by lockable double doors in the garage. The closet also has all the home run house wiring for phone, ethernet and coax. Thermal control is via a simple spring-type thermostat activating a low noise bathroom fan in the ceiling, with cooler ambient air drawn through vents in the rack. The closet has work lighting via a kitchen counter type fluorescent fixture mounted above the door frame. Simple, inexpensive and effective.

One tip, clean up the wiring. Not just because it looks nice. When the rack has been there for several years you'll appreciate being able to clean the dust off everything without having stuff come loose. Because, since it's been years, you won't readily recall what was connected to where, and why. If they're bunched together in relatively firm bundles they'll help withstand being accidentally moved or disconnected. Zip ties are cheap, cheaper than your time and frustration figuring out what's wrong...

Believe it or not, this is after cleaning up the wiring. I can't get the hang of getting the wiring gracefully from the home run box on the left to the rack on the right. And there are several boxes (splitters, switches, aux fans, etc) in the rack itself that aren't rack mounted and just hang out sloppily where they're needed. Speaker wire (in white) and power are routed pretty cleanly though. Both of those go to the right, in separate bundles to cut down on interference. The interconnects need to be shortened - that's a work in progress. Suggestions are welcome!

Good point. I prefer a roll of Velcro though. Can just cut pieces to required length and can pull type without pinching cables like tie-wraps. makes it quicker to add ne cables too - don't need to get a new piece of Velcro unless bundle got substantially bigger

You could attach a wooden or metal strip on the wall (from left, under switch to rack) and either use hooks, tie wraps or Velcro to attach all the cables to it. Same at bottom for power cords. The lack of rear posts means you can't really add lacing bars (the really key to neatness, keeping cables in place and relieving the strain on them). Before I had lacing bars, I drilled holes in the rears of the shelves and used tie wraps, so the shelf became a lacing bar (sort of)

Well, don't discount the risks of damaging the cables by moving them too much. Especially anything that might go straight into a wall. Velcro might seem like a good idea until you consider that adding a cable requires loosening all the other ones. As opposed to just lacing in a new zip tie to the existing bundle. Sure, it gets messier over time, and does consume zip ties, but better that than cable breaks or connector failures that are a pain in the butt to track down. There's probably a happy point somewhere in-between.

If anybody lives near Los Angeles here is a killer deal on a middle atlantic rack http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ele/3458328504.html

I know this thread is huge and there may be some pics in here, and I'm going to search, but I was wondering if anyone made a DIY rack with one of these wall track things:

http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Organization-Shelves-Shelving-Systems-Wall-Mounted-Shelving/h_d1/N-5yc1vZc3ls/R-100194576/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&superSkuId=203147695#.UNE4VXdQCnk

And then just put the shelf holders and some kind of shelf on them.

I've been contemplating the way I want to rack my equipment, and I think I'm going to go with one of those home-made type racks since it's going to be in a closet and it won't be visible behind the closed doors. I will definitely make it a clean installation, but I don't need a fancy rack that looks cool, although I do love seeing some nice looking racks.

So does anyone have any examples of racks made out of these types of shelving units?

Don't we all....

I have seen a couple of members in this thread use those or something similar. If mine was not going to be seen at all I'd do something similar.

Check out the DIY rack thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/990179/diy-a-v-rack

Many people have done exactly what you described.

New Middle Atlantic pre-configured rack, the RCS Series. 24" deep, comes with removable sides, back panel, reversible glass front door, shelves, fans, casters, and leveling feet. 18U, 27U, and 42U options. About $1500 MSRP on the 42U.

http://www.bluestardist.com/data/rcs_sellsheet.pdf





Looks like a great piece of equipment.

Given how heavy and expensive a lot of AV gear can be, I would not use that sort of shelving. Check the DIY thread for more info.

Depends on the gear if like me the heaviest thing you have is an AVR then it would be fine. If you have some serious amps then no I’d go with something more robust.

Well I'm going to have more than 1 shelf. I'm not putting all equipment on 1 shelf or anything.

But if the weight load on those shelves is rated up to around 100lbs or so, and I'm only using like 50lbs or so, I'm not sure why there would be any issue with them.

Also the DIY thread is where I found a link to items used that are very similar to those.

Don't forget to take into account the load pulling down and out against the rail on the wall. That and the stud itself inside the wall. Weight adds up, it's not just the equipment load on an individual shelf, it's all of them (and the shelving itself). This is one reason why 2-pole racks are bolted into the floor and use center-mounted shelves.

See, the problem is often times by the time something is half-assed to the point of acceptability it's often at (or more than) the cost of gear actually designed to do the job. Just sayin'....

GlassWolf, i am considering the same rack for my system. This would be my first rack system. Did you compare the Sanus to MA? I know the MA is consider the "best" and you pay for it. Do you find you're giving up anything by going with the Sanus? Anybody else who have compared the two i'd welcome their opinion. Thanks.

Pur, I don't get everyone's concern with the strength of these rack systems. If the aesthetic works for you, then they should be more than capable of handling any typical A/V gear. Now, if you're talking multiple Theta Dreads per shelf it might be a different story. Just make sure you hit studs with all of the screw holes (I used 3" deck screws myself) and I wouldn't recommend using it in the hanging track configuration mentioned by Closetmaid even though I think they rate it for several hundred pounds. I've used these shelf standards and brackets for multiple storage solutions in my house and workshop without issue. If something like a Closetmaid system fit my A/V rack needs, I wouldn't hesitate to use them and my gear includes both a 50+ pound receiver and a 50ish pound 5 channel Adcom that would be in that rack. As it is, I use a modified TV armoire (you know, the Sauder/Bush type stuff from the '90s)...oh the horror of risking my gear with composite RTA furniture (assembled by my wife, no less...long before she was my wife).

-Brent
Edited by riverwolf - 12/23/12 at 9:58pm

How are all you guys controlling the gear through these racks? via an IR sender/repeater or something? If that is the case can you recommend one that works well, if not I would love to know how. I was always under the impression that those repeaters were really flaky.

Yes you are correct. I use a RF remote into a nile IR repeater with the miniflashers put on each device. Even though I am going through two devices, my setup is without issues. It works perfectly every time I use my remote no matter if I am upstairs and downstairs. The remote I use is the Harmoney 900 with the Niles IR repeater system. There are many other ways of doing this that are more expensive as well.