Show me your RACK - Page 19

Are all of the shelves the zero spaced ones? I ran into some problems as I mentioned with those shelves and the face plates. First it would require removing the metal tabs off the back of the faceplates, plus the screw would hit the shelf if it went past the frame. Not a problem to modify everything around this but by this point I figured I should just order the proper rsh shelves.

And yes I would be interested in seeing the updated pictures.

No, the only one that is zero space is the one that the receiver is currently sitting on. I got that to put my 1909 on while I waited for the custom shelf to come out (I edited my last post in case you missed it). I probably should have gotten the RSH shelf by itself to begin with but oh well. I'll probably find some use for the zero space shelf somewhere. The rest of them were ordered as the RSH set. I decided to take up most of the space on the lower half of the rack that you cannot see with some 4 space latching drawers with the DVD media inserts. I figure if I ever need to expand down the road I can pull these out and sell them. The rack is a 37 space slim 5

Theater was mostly "finished" two years ago. We watched movies for nearly a year-and-a-half, then I actually got off my ass and finished most of the details last fall before I hosted my first meet. Still lots of little projects everywhere I look, but this is the current state of things.

I have a lot of work to do with wiring outside the rack - phone, satellite, Cat-5 and RG-6 runs to the rest of the house... I just can't get motivated to do that stuff... I just keep watching movies instead. Huh.

SC

WOW, nice looking rack. Does that 360 ever get overheated in there?

Do you guys take these pics yourselves? They almost look professional. I have a hard time getting decent pics of my rack with the low amount of lighting in the basement, even with my Nikon D70.

Thanks! I haven't had any problems with overheating the PS3 or 360... yet. I'm not a hardcore gamer - just the occasional hour or two with Halo 3, Forza or GT5 - maybe once a month or something. The PS3 and 360 definitely kick out some heat, though. They run hot just sitting idle.

That was a bit of trickery to get the nice front rack shot: A long exposure and waving a utility light around! Seriously! The illumination in my room is not very even; it would have looked like a black hole in the corner without some supplemental lighting. That shot was f/18 and 10 seconds @ ISO 200. The long exposure gave me time to use the utility light to "wash" the area with soft light. Wave it all around (yes, you'll look like a dork) to avoid harsh shadows. It'll take a few tries to get a nice soft-looking light without reflections or hard shadows, but it works. Stop down for good DoF, focus well, and use a remote shutter release. Get creative! Experiment!

Here's another shot I took of the front panel on my prepro using the same $10 aluminum painter's light:


Strobes and diffusers would be better, but most people don't have that equipment (or the room to set it all up). I have the equipment, but no room. OTOH, almost everybody has a camera and a basic tripod. If you don't have a remote shutter release or only have a manual camera, use "night mode" and the self timer.

You can take some great shots with a cheap point and shoot and a plastic tripod if you're willing to experiment.

Back to rack talk...

SC

Awesome! I never thought of the painting with light trick. I'll have to give that a shot, I have the equipment just not the knowledge.

I have been trying to find the post that showed some problems with roughing in for a MA Slim5. Does anyone have the dimensions? How much space should I allow outside the outer dimensions of the rack for drywall, corner bead, mud etc?

Semi-finished with the faceplates, still waiting on one shelf/faceplate that isnt currently available for my cablebox but other then that, its done and wow it makes a big difference.

I'm not sure if it was worth the $800 I put into just the new shelves/faceplates & drawers (not including the actual rack) but again it does make a big difference and im glad I did it. Below are before and after pics.

ecrabb what kind of wood did you use on your rack trim. I like the grain and color. Thanks

The dimensions can be found here. I did not put any drywall around the back of my rack, I left it completely open. I just framed it in to fit and let the front of the rack protrude out a little bit past the sheetrock so that I would have something to butt the trim up to.

Oops... I missed your question, CableMan. The trim in the theater matches the trim in the rest of the house - all hard maple with a clear finish.

SC

Thanks ecrabb. It looks good i might have to steal your idea.

You're welcome! It's definitely not a cheap wood, but I love the look. Feel free to steal away!

If you go to the right lumber supplier, some will let you pick through the stock to find your favorite pieces. Depending on whether you like the look (or not) you can choose or avoid the figured ("curly") pieces. I loved that look, so I grabbed a few pieces specifically for a stair rail and the shelf face pieces. I think it gives the pieces a kind of "custom furniture" feel since you usually see bird's eye and curly maple in furniture and musical instruments.

Cheers,
SC

Im trying to finish up my rack with custom faceplates for my SRSR MA rack. I still need to order faceplates for my PS3, Xbox360, Scientific Atlanta 8300HD and an Emotiva UMC-1 (when avbl). Does anyone know how many U's these specific faceplates are? I would assume the Emotiva will be 3 or possibly 4, but was told that it should be somewhat the same size of their previous Pro's. I only have 14 U's left if I want to keep my 4u DVD cabinet otherwise I can lose it and have 18.

I know the PS3 takes up 3 units, also if you download the mid atlantic rack tools software it allows you to create a diagram from all available components. For instance it allows me to a PS3 component with faceplate and using the measurement tool tells me that faceplate now took up 5.25" which equates to 3 units.

I added all your components (PS3, Xbox, 8300) into the rack tools software and they all appear to be 3 unit faceplates except the UMC-1 which wasnt available.

Also, you can use the MA RSH search engine. This will tell you if there is a shelf available and how many spaces it is.

Im kinda surprised they cant get proper measurements directly from the manufacturers and want customers to mail in there components if there not already listed. I have a fairly common cable box (pace tdc779x) that has been on the market for at least a year now and im surprised its not available in there listings.

Thanks!! I didnt realize there was software out there that would have helped. Appreciate the info.

You can download it for free at racktools.com.

nice rack ecrabb

Well I've bought most of the gear and cables, finally decided the best location for my rack, but now I need some real rack knowledge before I order the rack.

I have the option of usinig rack rails or getting a slim 5-43

What I'm not sure of is the depth of rack to purchase.

Here's what will be in the rack.

Home server w/ears 2U Norco 2008 8 bay hotswap 25.5" deep
Lian-Li 4U HTPC rackmpount case w/ears- 21" deep
Onkyo M282P Amps (x2) w/ears
The rest will be A/V gear with MA Custom Shelf/Faceplates
(AV Receiver/HD Radio Receiver/2 Sat DVRs/XBox60/Media Shelf/Misc Gear Shelves/16 port rack mount gigabite switch (mount on the back side on the rack)/Patch panels on backside of rack

Should I get a 20"deep rack, 26" deep, just rails at the front and back, but how deep?

I'm confused, any thoughts or help?

I'm hoping to start installation in a week, so I need to make a decision and place an order.

(I haven't bought side rails yet for the HTPC and server, not sure if I need them). (Do the server/HTPC/Onkyo Amps need back rails and side rails? Just back rails? or just the ears)

Many Thanks,

Jeff

Is it 20", I thought it was only 19 but perhaps thats the shelf depth Im thinking of. Anyway my rack is only 19-20 in depth and I dont think any of the components besides the receiver are above 12" so its plenty of room

What is behind the rack? Do you have extra room? Are you thinking of putting anything on the back side? I went with the 20" deep rack. I put a network switch and patch panels for network and speaker wire. With the 20" depth I had to arrange it so my shortest components were on the other side of the switch/patch panel. I think a slim-5 rack would definitely make things easier but you can save alot of money going with the rails.

Some great looking projects - good inspiration!
I am looking for an xbox 360 rack mount kit - can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Jon

Im not sure what ya mean Jon but if you have a mid atlantic rack, you can get a shelf & faceplate that fits the xbox360

Ok thanks. I don't have a middle atlantic rack, but I think it is compatible. I will call them and see what I need. You are right - I want the shelf and faceplate

Jon

Pick the type of shelf you want here. Searach for the component you want to mount here. In the comments section of your order from performance audio paste in the part number from the middle atlantic site, in the case of an anodized shelf for the xbox 360 it would be RSH4A3S MICROSOFT XBOX360.

You can order from other places but I have had good luck with performance audio because of a recommendation of someone in this thread. I think their prices are pretty competitive as well.

If you are patient, you can put in a saved search on ebay for something like "middle atlantic 360." It will email you every time one comes up for sale. I got mine on ebay for half the new price and I have seen others come up as well. The 360 is a pretty common component.

@ ecrabb

Do you have a thread showing pics of your completed theater? The pic of the rack makes me want to see how good the rest of the theater is. (I tried doing a search but didn't have any luck.)

Thanks

Yeah come on slacker..where are your updated theater pics ??