Excellent equipment rack
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches. Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product. I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit. It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly. The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor. Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting. After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways. To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces. To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts. This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design. It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
In this case, “U” represents a “Rack Unit” or “RU”, which has been for some time the standard unit of height for rack-mountable equipment. One RU has a height of 1.75 inches. Pretty much all rack-mountable equipment of which I am aware have heights that are integer multiples of 1.75 inches.
DaveD
Sent from a small flat thingy
On Jun 11, 2019, at 02:02, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches. Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product. I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit. It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly. The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor. Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting. After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways. To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces. To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts. This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design. It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
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and follow the instructions there.
Star Case (https:www.starcase.com) is U.S. company (in Indiana) that sells similar open-frame rack kits for very reasonable prices. I have several and have been very pleased. They are available whatever height you want, with depths of 20 to 30 inches. They have lots of accessories to trick out your rack.
As Perry ssid, they are quite wobbly but they have various cross braces available that will stiffen them up. I have hundreds of pounds in a 6 foot one and it's rock-stable.
They ship broken down in a flat box plus tall cardboard tube for the vertical. Assembly is bssically like an Erector Set.
On Jun 11, 2019, 7:00 AM, at 7:00 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for
an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too
heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U
Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches. Adjustable depth 23
to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for
US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I
bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.
I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been
engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four
posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and
the top and bottom brackets will fit. It comes with the exact 50 M6-20
head bolts and nuts needed for assembly. The nearest SAE equivalent
bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets
to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had
space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor. Wanting to be able to
move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider
then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel
casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even
on floor carpeting. After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to
twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways. To prevent
twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front
and rear angle pieces. To prevent a side-to-side movement required an
8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical
posts. This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced
holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.
It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on
each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L
shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the
outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top
the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the
floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space
than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to
keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
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and follow the instructions there.
Have used older 2 post racks for years. Have 10 in service and like them.
The older ones had been available cheap and are very sturdy/heavy. Like
Perry I have done the wood base. Longer out the back then the depth of
equipment for stability.
If you do find older 2 post racks there are 2 types. The EIA screw thread
and telco thread.
Enjoy.
Paul
WB8TSL
On Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 9:00 AM John Ackermann. N8UR jra@febo.com wrote:
Star Case (https:www.starcase.com) is U.S. company (in Indiana) that
sells similar open-frame rack kits for very reasonable prices. I have
several and have been very pleased. They are available whatever height you
want, with depths of 20 to 30 inches. They have lots of accessories to
trick out your rack.
As Perry ssid, they are quite wobbly but they have various cross braces
available that will stiffen them up. I have hundreds of pounds in a 6 foot
one and it's rock-stable.
They ship broken down in a flat box plus tall cardboard tube for the
vertical. Assembly is bssically like an Erector Set.
On Jun 11, 2019, 7:00 AM, at 7:00 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts <
time-nuts@lists.febo.com> wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for
an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too
heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U
Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches. Adjustable depth 23
to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for
US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I
bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.
I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been
engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four
posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and
the top and bottom brackets will fit. It comes with the exact 50 M6-20
head bolts and nuts needed for assembly. The nearest SAE equivalent
bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets
to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had
space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor. Wanting to be able to
move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider
then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel
casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even
on floor carpeting. After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to
twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways. To prevent
twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front
and rear angle pieces. To prevent a side-to-side movement required an
8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical
posts. This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced
holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.
It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on
each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L
shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the
outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top
the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the
floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space
than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to
keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to
http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
and follow the instructions there.
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to
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and follow the instructions there.
Here is what a U is:
Main article: Rack unit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_unit
Racks are divided into regions, 44.50 millimeters (1.752??in) in height,
within which there are three complete hole pairs in a vertically
symmetric pattern, the holes being centered 6.35 millimeters (0.25??in),
22.25 millimeters (0.88??in), and 38.15 millimeters (1.50??in) from the
top or bottom of the region. Such a region is commonly known as a U,
for /unit/, or, in German, HE, for /H??heneinheit
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6heneinheit/, and heights within
racks are measured by this unit. Rack-mountable equipment is usually
designed to occupy some integer number of U. For example, an
oscilloscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope might be 4U
high, and rack-mountable computers are mostly between 1U and 4U high. A
blade server https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server enclosure
might require 10U.
Occasionally, one may see fractional U devices such as a 1.5U server,
but these are much less common.
The height of a rack can vary from a few inches, such as in a broadcast
console, to a floor mounted rack whose interior is 45 rack units (200.2
centimeters or 78.82 inches) high, with 42U being a common
configuration. Many wall-mounted industrial equipment enclosures have
19-inch rack rails to support mounting of equipment.
A R-390 is 10.5 inches tall so it is 6U.
Your rack could be drilled for using mounting screws of: 10-32, 12-24,
M6 or require a nut plate for equipment mounting.
73
Glenn
On 6/11/2019 2:02 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches.?? Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.?? I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit.?? It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly.?? The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor.?? Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting.?? After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways.?? To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces.?? To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts.?? This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.?? It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
??However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
and follow the instructions there.
--
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
Am 11.06.19 um 13:36 schrieb John Ackermann. N8UR:
Star Case (https:www.starcase.com) is U.S. company (in Indiana) that sells similar open-frame rack kits for very reasonable prices. I have several and have been very pleased. They are available whatever height you want, with depths of 20 to 30 inches. They have lots of accessories to trick out your rack.
It seems that IKEA "Lack" attracts more and more people to house their
19" devices.
They happen to fit and can easily be stapled.
I have also built a table/rack combination from Ikea material.
The working table is 2 pcs. Ikea Pronomen wood, 60*200 cm each.
It has 8 legs and is 120 cm deep.
The 1st and 2nd story are also 1 Ikea Pronomen each, with shorter legs.
The rack to the right is standard Schroff/Hofman stuff. It can be rolled
to the right
to the mechanics section to get it it out of the way.
The biggest thing since last week is the hanging mount of the
microscope. :-) :-) :-)
Finally, no more clumsy, heavy microscope foot that used to be always
in the way.
<
https://www.flickr.com/photos/137684711@N07/48043564871/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/
>
While I'm at it:
Are there any time nuts at the HAM Radio in Friedrichshafen, the weekend
around 21.June?
I'll be there to visit the SDR subconference.
< http://2019.sdra.io/pages/programme.html >
regards,
Gerhard, DK4XP
Very interesting! Recently I had a somewhat similar experience. My neighbor was throwing out some shelving that looked like what I need. It was gray steel, all the vertical parts needed but no shelves. I made shelves from plywood and ended up with a nice addition to my lab. To make it mobile I sat it on a dolly that fit almost perfectly so now I can move it.
I put my VNA and some tools on it and it's a perfect fit in the corner of the room.
Just because I am an electronics engineer doesn't mean I can't do mechanical stuff.
Bob
On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, 08:00:43 AM PDT, Glenn Little WB4UIV glennmaillist@bellsouth.net wrote:
Here is what a U is:
Main article: Rack unit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_unit
Racks are divided into regions, 44.50 millimeters (1.752??in) in height,
within which there are three complete hole pairs in a vertically
symmetric pattern, the holes being centered 6.35 millimeters (0.25??in),
22.25 millimeters (0.88??in), and 38.15 millimeters (1.50??in) from the
top or bottom of the region. Such a region is commonly known as a U,
for /unit/, or, in German, HE, for /H??heneinheit
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6heneinheit/, and heights within
racks are measured by this unit. Rack-mountable equipment is usually
designed to occupy some integer number of U. For example, an
oscilloscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope might be 4U
high, and rack-mountable computers are mostly between 1U and 4U high. A
blade server https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server enclosure
might require 10U.
Occasionally, one may see fractional U devices such as a 1.5U server,
but these are much less common.
The height of a rack can vary from a few inches, such as in a broadcast
console, to a floor mounted rack whose interior is 45 rack units (200.2
centimeters or 78.82 inches) high, with 42U being a common
configuration. Many wall-mounted industrial equipment enclosures have
19-inch rack rails to support mounting of equipment.
A R-390 is 10.5 inches tall so it is 6U.
Your rack could be drilled for using mounting screws of: 10-32, 12-24,
M6 or require a nut plate for equipment mounting.
73
Glenn
On 6/11/2019 2:02 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches.?? Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.?? I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit.?? It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly.?? The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor.?? Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting.?? After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways.?? To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces.?? To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts.?? This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.?? It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
??However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
and follow the instructions there.
--
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
and follow the instructions there.
Hi All;
I have found when rack hunting it is best to look at local test equipment auctions. Even really nice racks often do not receive any bids and more importantly no shipping. In my labs I use exclusively Agilent/Keysight because they are exceptional quality and parts a commonly available. The one minor problem is they are a touch narrow, and some items like Wavelek calibrators are a really tight fit, but workable. I find in local auctions when they show up they are (like other racks) usually very inexpensive. The trick is if you have any plan to go to racks in the future start looking early and buy when you see them even if not yet prepared to use them and store them until needed.
Hope that helps
Tom Knox
303-554-0307
"Peace is not the absence of violence, but the presence of Justice" Both MLK and Albert Einstein
From: time-nuts time-nuts-bounces@lists.febo.com on behalf of Bob Albert via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 9:59 AM
To: Perry Sandeen via time-nuts
Cc: Bob Albert
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Excellent equipment rack
Very interesting! Recently I had a somewhat similar experience. My neighbor was throwing out some shelving that looked like what I need. It was gray steel, all the vertical parts needed but no shelves. I made shelves from plywood and ended up with a nice addition to my lab. To make it mobile I sat it on a dolly that fit almost perfectly so now I can move it.
I put my VNA and some tools on it and it's a perfect fit in the corner of the room.
Just because I am an electronics engineer doesn't mean I can't do mechanical stuff.
Bob
On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, 08:00:43 AM PDT, Glenn Little WB4UIV glennmaillist@bellsouth.net wrote:
Here is what a U is:
Main article: Rack unit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_unit
Racks are divided into regions, 44.50 millimeters (1.752??in) in height,
within which there are three complete hole pairs in a vertically
symmetric pattern, the holes being centered 6.35 millimeters (0.25??in),
22.25 millimeters (0.88??in), and 38.15 millimeters (1.50??in) from the
top or bottom of the region. Such a region is commonly known as a U,
for /unit/, or, in German, HE, for /H??heneinheit
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6heneinheit/, and heights within
racks are measured by this unit. Rack-mountable equipment is usually
designed to occupy some integer number of U. For example, an
oscilloscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope might be 4U
high, and rack-mountable computers are mostly between 1U and 4U high. A
blade server https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server enclosure
might require 10U.
Occasionally, one may see fractional U devices such as a 1.5U server,
but these are much less common.
The height of a rack can vary from a few inches, such as in a broadcast
console, to a floor mounted rack whose interior is 45 rack units (200.2
centimeters or 78.82 inches) high, with 42U being a common
configuration. Many wall-mounted industrial equipment enclosures have
19-inch rack rails to support mounting of equipment.
A R-390 is 10.5 inches tall so it is 6U.
Your rack could be drilled for using mounting screws of: 10-32, 12-24,
M6 or require a nut plate for equipment mounting.
73
Glenn
On 6/11/2019 2:02 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches.?? Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.?? I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit.?? It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly.?? The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor.?? Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting.?? After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways.?? To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces.?? To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts.?? This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.?? It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
??However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
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--
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
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I have found my racks at the MIT flea in the past.
The great thing about 2 posters is they easily come apart and can fit in
the car.
Plus the pieces by themselves are reasonable in weight.
Regards
Paul
On Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 2:05 PM Tom Knox actast@hotmail.com wrote:
Hi All;
I have found when rack hunting it is best to look at local test equipment
auctions. Even really nice racks often do not receive any bids and more
importantly no shipping. In my labs I use exclusively Agilent/Keysight
because they are exceptional quality and parts a commonly available. The
one minor problem is they are a touch narrow, and some items like Wavelek
calibrators are a really tight fit, but workable. I find in local auctions
when they show up they are (like other racks) usually very inexpensive. The
trick is if you have any plan to go to racks in the future start looking
early and buy when you see them even if not yet prepared to use them and
store them until needed.
Hope that helps
Tom Knox
303-554-0307
"Peace is not the absence of violence, but the presence of Justice" Both
MLK and Albert Einstein
From: time-nuts time-nuts-bounces@lists.febo.com on behalf of Bob
Albert via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 9:59 AM
To: Perry Sandeen via time-nuts
Cc: Bob Albert
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Excellent equipment rack
Very interesting! Recently I had a somewhat similar experience. My
neighbor was throwing out some shelving that looked like what I need. It
was gray steel, all the vertical parts needed but no shelves. I made
shelves from plywood and ended up with a nice addition to my lab. To make
it mobile I sat it on a dolly that fit almost perfectly so now I can move
it.
I put my VNA and some tools on it and it's a perfect fit in the corner of
the room.
Just because I am an electronics engineer doesn't mean I can't do
mechanical stuff.
Bob
On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, 08:00:43 AM PDT, Glenn Little WB4UIV <
glennmaillist@bellsouth.net> wrote:
Here is what a U is:
Main article: Rack unit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_unit
Racks are divided into regions, 44.50 millimeters (1.752??in) in height,
within which there are three complete hole pairs in a vertically
symmetric pattern, the holes being centered 6.35 millimeters (0.25??in),
22.25 millimeters (0.88??in), and 38.15 millimeters (1.50??in) from the
top or bottom of the region. Such a region is commonly known as a U,
for /unit/, or, in German, HE, for /H??heneinheit
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6heneinheit/, and heights within
racks are measured by this unit. Rack-mountable equipment is usually
designed to occupy some integer number of U. For example, an
oscilloscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscilloscope might be 4U
high, and rack-mountable computers are mostly between 1U and 4U high. A
blade server https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server enclosure
might require 10U.
Occasionally, one may see fractional U devices such as a 1.5U server,
but these are much less common.
The height of a rack can vary from a few inches, such as in a broadcast
console, to a floor mounted rack whose interior is 45 rack units (200.2
centimeters or 78.82 inches) high, with 42U being a common
configuration. Many wall-mounted industrial equipment enclosures have
19-inch rack rails to support mounting of equipment.
A R-390 is 10.5 inches tall so it is 6U.
Your rack could be drilled for using mounting screws of: 10-32, 12-24,
M6 or require a nut plate for equipment mounting.
73
Glenn
On 6/11/2019 2:02 AM, Perry Sandeen via time-nuts wrote:
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for
an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too
heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four
Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches.?? Adjustable depth 23 to 32
inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and
free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I
bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product.??
I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been
engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts
are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and
bottom brackets will fit.?? It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and
nuts needed for assembly.?? The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20
x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had
space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor.?? Wanting to be able to
move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then
the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters
on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor
carpeting.?? After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to
twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways.?? To prevent twisting, I
fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle
pieces.?? To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece
of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts.?? This is easy
to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design.??
It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each
outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
??However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L
shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the
outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the
brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the
floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than
in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to
keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
and follow the instructions there.
--
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
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and follow the instructions there.
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To unsubscribe, go to
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Hi Perrier:
Here's some info on 19" Racks:
https://prc68.com/I/Rack.shtml
--
Have Fun,
Brooke Clarke
https://www.PRC68.com
http://www.end2partygovernment.com/2012Issues.html
axioms:
- The extent to which you can fix or improve something will be limited by how well you understand how it works.
- Everybody, with no exceptions, holds false beliefs.
-------- Original Message --------
Yo Bubba Dudes!,
Needing to go vertical with my test equipment I went bottom feeding for an equipment cabinet on ebay.
To make a long search story short: they were way too expensive, too heavy to ship and too far away for pickup.
So I kept searching and finally came across what was listed as *42U Four Post Open Frame Server Data Rack 19 inches. Adjustable depth 23 to 32 inches.ebay number 152319524877.Sold by Raising Electronics for US $188 and free shipping.
I was unsure what a U height meant put it seemed tall enough so I bought one.
I was a little apprehensive about this being a Chinese metal product. I was very pleasantly proven very wrong.
Although it only comes with a picture of an assembled unit it has been engine ed so there is no way you can assemble improperly. The four posts are all equal and can be installed with any end up or down and the top and bottom brackets will fit. It comes with the exact 50 M6-20 head bolts and nuts needed for assembly. The nearest SAE equivalent bolt size is 1/4 20 x 1/2L which I purchased to hold L shelf brackets to the frame.
I set the depth of mine to 26 inches so my 5370's fit well and I had space for both power and BNC cables to be inside the frame.
This rack is designed to be bolted to the floor. Wanting to be able to move it, I cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood a little longer and wider then the base footprint and installed 4 inch tall Harbor Freight swivel casters on the four corners for ease of movement in any direction, even on floor carpeting. After assembly it was 6 ft 9 inches tall.
Now this being a bolted together skeleton frame it is prone to twisting and or becoming a parallelogram sideways. To prevent twisting, I fitted a plywood board on the top bolted to the top front and rear angle pieces. To prevent a side-to-side movement required an 8 inch wide piece of scrap aluminum plate bolted to the rear vertical posts. This is easy to do as there are a plethora of precision spaced holes available.
There was some very serious thought given to the vertical post design. It has six 90 degree folds done in such a way that the inner edge on each outer side gives a 19 inch opening.
However behind it is as inner fold where one can install recessed L shaped brackets. Now the inner fold is about and inch narrower than the outside edge.This allows making a wider shelf that can float on top the brackets but can't slide out either end.
This was very useful when configuring the instrument arrangement.
I also found that with the bottom shelf being just 6 inches above the floor I was able to install more equipment in the same vertical space than in my previous normal sized equipment cabinet.
Another bonus with this type of configuration is that it's easier to keep the equipment cool and it's much lighter.
Regards,
Perrier
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
and follow the instructions there.