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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » General Discussion
Using Excell to design a rack cabinet
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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:39 am    Post subject:  Using Excell to design a rack cabinet
Subject description: Ready to start populating the tower of power!
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I'm trying to design a rack cabinet for all my equipment, and thought you might be interested in this spreadsheet which gives me an idea of how it will look.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how high it should be? I originally thought about 1.8M would leave room for extra stuff, but it's full already. Should I go for a shorter initial cabinet with the view of building a second one? Short enough to put my D50 on top maybe? Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.


Rack Design.xls
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Last edited by Uncle Krunkus on Thu May 03, 2007 6:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dragon's Lair



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Why don't you try something like this

http://www.dragonslair.ca/images/studio5.jpg

This was my old studio console, it has a 19" rack "pedestal" on each side, , you could also extend the racks all along the top, under the shelf, like it is on the left side.
I have since sold the mixer and the 8 track RR, and am now redoing the entire studio to accomodate my modular.

I have to READ THE MANUAL, and see if I can figure out how to post the picture here directly Shocked
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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Thanks Dave,
I've since decided to go with one tall cabinet, like in the spreadsheet, which initially will hold just about all of my stuff. As I expand my modular bits and effects etc. control room type equipment will get shifted into another (dual) rack unit/keyboard stand. (which will probably look alot like your desk)
This first one will be the 6'2" bombshell of the studio. I'm building it from maple, and it will have a rosewood stain. I'm going to build into it a filtered fan to keep things cool and clean, and most of the power outlets will be on an auto switcher, (again built into the base) which will turn everything else on when I turn on the amp. It will eventually be the residence of my modular bits and pieces, so it will also have a built in +/-15V PS, with ammeters in one of the rack spaces. I want it to end up looking very retro and Frankenstein's lab like, yet be very modern and practical in it's functionality.
I'll post some pics here soon. (It's just about put together! Cool )

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The Why Project



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

You can never have enough rack-space, so buy them as big as can fit
in your studio, extra space always comes in handy... Anyway that's my
own experience, I've bought/collected quite a bit of gear, and haven't sold
any of it, so in my case, space is always a challenge.

Looking at the spreadsheet, I wouldn't put the patchbay in the middle,
but rather at the top. That works best for me, but I can't really put a finger
on why. I've had patchbays at different locations in my racks, and have
now concluded that I like them at the top.

Kind regards,

The Why Project
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kkissinger



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Brilliant idea to use a spreadsheet to lay out your rack equipment.

I too use 42U racks and I have attempted to layout such that the equipment that requires the most amount of tweaking is within reach while I am seated at my computer or keyboard. Like your layout, my cd player and an integrated amp are at the bottom -- items that require the most tweaking are at shoulder level (while seated). My patch bays (I have two of them) are situated such that my patch cords can reach them (from behind) and that I can patch between them from the front.

I have found that I can never have enough patch bays. My philosophy (not entirely realized) is that I want to bring every input/output point to a patch bay (except for anything over line level, of course). Also, I have 'standardized" around 1/4" TRS patch cords to make my patching easier. I find that to have some standardization helps to keep the work flowing -- I guess when I am busy making music I don't want to grind to a halt while crawling behind equipment or digging up adapters.

Also, I like to use normalled connections that reflects my most commonly used signal paths. Right now my patch bay has cords hanging out of it everywhere -- I am working in 5.1 configuration and my setup is biased towards stereo -- before long I'll be doing (yet another) reconfiguration on my patch bays. Smile
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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Here's the reason my soldering iron has been cold lately.
She's a 6'4" brunette bombshell, and I'd just test fitted some equipment in her when I took this shot. Shocked Should be finished soon.


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kkissinger



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Wow, that is gorgeous!
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Gothboy



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Very nice! Shocked
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toybox



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

not small is it good job thumleft
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blue hell
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Uncle Krunkus wrote:
She's a 6'4" brunette bombshell


Wow, big plans ! How many are you making Wink

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also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.
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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Oh, I can make some more if anyone wants one. I think we should talk postage first though. Wink
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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Here's a pic of the underside.
Power socket and fuse are on the aluminium plate. Above that you can see my auto-power-up board. The power feeds through a hole on the lower right into one of the ducts. In the middle is the cooling/dust filter fan. It pumps air up the back of all the units from the long holes you can see at the top. They will have dust filter material put into them. Easy to clean. Wink
If this ever becomes a tower of modular equipment, there will be plenty of room to install a dedicated PSU, or two.


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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Here's a shot of the power input. I recessed the IEC socket and fuse holder to eliminate the need to have the whole thing sitting 2" away from the wall. (It's deep enough as it is.)


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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:01 am    Post subject:
Subject description: Ready to populate the tower of power!
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And here we are looking into the lower back panel. I covered the back panels in this dodgy foam insulation I found on rubbish day. It's sufficient to improve the air tightness, drop the sound of the fan, and generally turn the whole box into a bit of a sound sink. The power strip is on the right, the duct on the left one will have the longer audio runs in it.


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doctorvague



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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 3:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Absolutely gorgeous. You've really got some woodworking chops. I guess "chops" isn't a good descriptive woodworking word is it?? Very Happy

Phil
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seraph
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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 5:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Uncle
can the "6'4" brunette bombshell" be used as an orgone chamber too Question

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Uncle Krunkus
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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

seraph wrote:
Uncle
can the "6'4" brunette bombshell" be used as an orgone chamber too Question


What's an "orgone chamber"?

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seraph
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PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Uncle Krunkus wrote:

What's an "orgone chamber"?

never mind, it was meant to be a joke but if want to know more about it...

Wink

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