Show me your RACK - Page 56

Also that it may take time for the equipment (or even the gear itself) to 'settle' into their ideal locations.

Like the fact you might not appreciate that dasblinkenlites on the front of your equipment turn out to be a huge peripheral vision distraction when sitting across the room from the stuff. So you'd need to move them up/down to get rid of the distraction, or hide them behind a panel. Or that the tray for the disc player(s) are too high or low to let your kids/spouse load them without breaking them... again.

So while something might look nifty draw out ahead of time in Visio or some other rack planner, it might not turn out to be useful laid out that way.

It's true a custom installer would be thinking about all this for you and taking all that into account. along with making all wires look pretty. Just expect to pay an awful lot for that... And still end up having to move things around.

So once you really know where everything work best, then you just replace any cables as needed. Yes, you'll end up with extras. You'd want to order more than you need anyway. Keep those on-hand for the day when you have to replace something. Because, inevitably, the connectors on the backs of the replacements won't be in the same places...

Good points, maybe the best thing to do, once rack is here is to put in the equipment as planned, but cable it all up using the spaghetti or Frankenstein look for cables, just to quickly get it installed and make sure the other things you mentioned get taken into account, the lights or the disc trays etc...once you've settled with that layout and its good, then plan your wiring?

That will work, but most people will be reluctant to mess with it if it's working. besides the chance of messing something up, one normally has more pressing projects (i.e. stuff that doesn't work, or isn't installed yet). Once something is working, it unfortunately get's left like (esp if out of sight).

For this reason, I HATE doing any kind of temporary solution for anything. Unfortunately, you often have to.

average length of all cables 2-5 meters pending on if you use rollout trays or not


the the case of binding cables together you might consider labeling them 1st before tie up

In my rack, I made sure everything worked, waited a year, and then cleaned up the mess.

Now, I plan on replacing my old server rack with a nice, shallower, new rack. Should take about a year. I plan on patching my distributed audio speakers with speakON connectors, replacing the rail-mount terminal blocks.

Only distributed audio. Server rack will be replaced. Pics taken with doors, sides, and top removed. Terminal Blocks will be replaced with SpeakON connectors, panel mount into rack plates, along with the Nuvo EZPort double gang plate.

Good info... http://www.cepro.com/whitepapers/details/how_to_design_great_equipment_racks

Last weekend I got my equipment rack painted along with the equipment room. Cables still need some organization and other components need added. I was able to temporarily hook up some components and did a quick sound check.

Here's my equipment rack.

Hi Neurorad

Like the DIN rail. i assume one side is going to the amps/receiver and other is going to the speakers. Could you send me the details of where you got that from? Why the change to SpeakON and which prodcuts, specifically, will you be using?

Regards

mark

I chose DIN terminal blocks over barrier strips because I couldn't figure out a good way of mounting the terminal strips in the rack. I wanted a patching method that would be easy to disconnect so I could move the rack out of the closet easily. With these DIN terminal blocks, it's not easy to connect and disconnect. I'll have to check when I get home, but I think I used Wago 279-101 'through' TBs.

I considered 1/4" TRS connectors, but I want to avoid soldering, and these are not ideal for good connections.

I read of the Neutrik SpeakON connectors, in another forum, for patching speaker cables. I've done some reading/searching online, and these seem pretty ideal for my need. I bought a male and a female connector, from a Neutrik distributor, and he was very helpful in choosing.

http://www.greendotaudio.com/

I bought a Neutrik SpeakOn NL4FC female connector and a NL4MP male chassis mount connector, and some FastOn crimp connectors, to play with. I will mount them in a rack-mount pre-punched plate. Middle Atlantic offers some, need to research more. I plan to use 1 SpeakON 4-conductor connector per zone. It will be about $8.50/zone, using SpeakOns, plus the cost of the rack-mount plate.

I found this UK website has good SpeakOn info:

http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/43-042_NEUTRIK-SPEAKON-NL4MP-Panel-connector

Mark at GreenDotAudio.com was very helpful. I'll definitely buy from hiim, if I go with SpeakOns. He sells a good deal of Neutrik, Middle Atlantic, and Switchcraft parts.

And yes, amps to TBs, TBs to each zone.

I will check my receipts to find out where I purchased the Wago TBs. I went with Wago over Phoenix and other manufacturers because of the reputation for quality.

Thanks. look forward to seeing the finished product

Don't hold your breath. Took me a couple years to get the first rack installed, will take another year (or more) for the new rack. It's an enjoyable hobby, not a job. I'll take my sweet time.

But if I can help, let me know.

My work in progress so far, have the rack built, and have it all temporarily wired. Am currently taking the double sliding door closet in the downstairs bedroom and framing around the rack, with a 24" door on the side for access. The floor will be laminated plywood to keep the rack level and will have another piece to put in front to wheel it out for service.

cable tidy needed

+1!

Um, he did mention 'temporary' wiring...

I'd wonder about the keyed door to the computer on the bottom. I've found those doors to be more trouble than they're worth. They typically require the key to close them, but allow the key to be removed when it's unlocked. This leads to the key falling out of the cylinder (and getting kicked under the rack...) This becomes an issue if you expect to use a drive for ripping or playing discs. You end up leaving the door unlocked and open all the time. This doesn't look all that great and leaves another path open for dust to get pulled into the case unfiltered. I say this because I've got those cases and am swapping them out for ones with side-hinged doors instead.

Otherwise the gear layout looks good. Nice work. Just avoid taking the easy way out by cramming all those wires into big bundles. You'll regret that later when you have to replace something, which WILL happen. When you have everything mashed together you run the risk of breaking or disconnecting something unrelated when changes are needed. Again, advice based on experience...

his wiring kind of looks like mind, after I had cleaned mine up

I tried the slide out rack extension kit that MA sells for the Slim 5: it does not work on carpet: I gave up and locked the rack to its base and service it in place: luckily I can get to one side and the back

Should work nice on a non carpeted floor

temp wiring my foot lol..


I'd say it's been like it for a while, sadly I have no room to judge given my current cable pigsty

which will only get worse once i add hdmi, avswitch plus associated wiring into the mix..



when you have wiring looms that extend past 6 feet, i'd start looking at spring loaded spool cable winders.. similar to what you see for electrical extension cables..


reduce power cables to inside the rack..


with exception to power amps, i would consider reduce how cable you have,,

shorten fly leads and have a panel mount where possible av/hdmi/power..


you need to get in to the habit to having structured as cable having long cables like the rack above can cause tripping issues not mention venting problems...

if I had a rack like that, i'd be having my local power co. disconnecting the lead-in due to the electrical hazard the rack has caused.. and must be rectified prior to power reconnection...

as for putting your rack on rails i would likely suggest mounting them prior to carpet install, makes alot easier for maintaining the rack that way.

though personally i'm more for a segregated room layout for av gear easier to control room climate that way... not always easy air conning a 1x2 space too keep av gear cool..
Edited by mystic_sniper28 - 3/4/13 at 8:55am

Would you mind sharing some product info?

Thanks, the key lock is very flimsy, and luckily though the door stays closed while unlocked and is easily opened with a screwdriver, which is not an issue since it doesn't have an optical drive and I am rarely opening it.

My plan (at least it is now), is wait until all the closet construction is done so I know exactly how long to cut down the slack (some cables are 20ft too long). Also I have repositioned the gear in the rack numerous times until I got to a layout I was happy with. I originally wanted to custom make all RCA cables to length, but after making a few, ended up ordering from monoprice as close to the correct lengths I needed which will cut down on alot of the extra hanging off the back.

You can install a drywall access panel or recessed flush mount low voltage enclosure in the wall, behind the rack, above the cable pass through scoops, to hold your cable slack that you may use in the future, aka service loops. I picked up that tip from member 39 Cent Stamp.

mark i'm not sure if there is a product on the market anywhere in the world that will auto coil your av and power cable, though what i was talking about was something similar to what you can buy in a electrical extension cable with a coiled feeder line.. using that same principle..

Cables for this sort of stuff aren't really designed to be moved all the time. Otherwise you risk eventually breaking the conductors inside the cabling. Or cause a connector failure on the equipment. Better to have things fixed in place.

Any tips on the best place to find additional inexpensive blasters? I have a Home Theater Master RF/IR box that works great for me, but the cables are getting a bit beat up and broken in some cases.

yes i know an av rack isn't suppose to be moved all the time bill, the point I was getting at that retractable cable is a better option if you're going to be pulling at your rack..

looking at the mess in the above photo I would say it was time to look at terminated cables with extension fly leads, in that sitrep..


you shouldn't be full of a mass cable like as a situation...

I used a small rare earth magnet to keep the door closed when not in use. I couldn't bear to have the keys left in the lock and the chance that they would get lost. If they weren't in the lock, I'd lose them somehow.

Post 1664 needs a lot of looming and snaking. Lacing bars would greatly help to neaten it up.

My company used to (maybe still do) offer retractable cable management loops to deal with rack-mount servers on pull-out sliding rails. The cables don't retract, but the guide wire does. For this usage, if mounted higher up on the wall (or the rear of the rack, or both) these would pull the bundle up out of the way when the rack is slid back into place. When the rack is pulled out, the reel lets out to allow the cable to flatten out and extend...

I have no idea who manufactured the ones we use(d), but some searches led to these, which would do the trick:



http://hunter.ametek.com/products/product.cfm?ProductCategory_ID=4219&Product_Id=961

Jeff

Mark, was this the item you tried that didn't work on carpet with the Slim5?



The wall mount retractor for cable bundle suspension was recently discussed at RC. The item is called a tool balancer, spring balancer, or tool retractor, and they're sold in multiple sizes by weight.