my new XL setup

[billberet]

i 'borrowed' a telco rack from work,
cut the top of it off cause it wouldn't fit in my basement, braced the top and put in the shelves.
POOF, my new rack
i know it's not pretty, but it does the job and its functional.
origionally i had a smaller rack, and i had to dismantle everything and put it back together on the new rack.
that was a 2 day job, holy crap there are alot of wires !!!!!


here is the old rack




here is my new rack

[billberet]

here is the back of the rack, the old rack is in this pic too, big size difference.
it's a mess but you can't help it, anyone that's done a rack knows, no matter how hard you try.
it's just impossible to end up with everything in a nice orderly fashion.

[vaporhat]

Congratulations.

After seeing the back of your rack I feel better about my own. I know exactly what you mean. I have pulled every wire out of there and put it back in trying to make it neat and clean, but it's very difficult. Then if you ever pull something out.. forget about it.

If any pro installers out there have any tips or strategies they employ, I'm all ears.

[samsonlov]

Tips:

1. Power cables on one side, signal cables on the other.
2. If you are comfortable using a soldering iron, you can "trim to length" your "pre-made" RCA cables on one end and solder-on some new connectors from Calrad or any other brand you like.
("Trimming" your existing cables requires 1/2 the soldering of making a custom cable, is better for the environment since you're re-using instead of throwing-away, and if the left-over cable is long-enough, you've got another "half" of a custom patch-cable for use elsewhere.)
3. Do the same for your power-cables - but DO NOT solder them - you should use "legal" Screw-type replacement plugs available at your local electrical distributor or hardware store. (In the event of a short, the solder could melt before the circuit breaker pops, leaving a life/safety hazard. - sounds unlikely, but better safe than sorry.)
4. Make sure there is enough room between your heat-producing equipment (like Motorola cable/FiOs boxes) for proper airflow - especially if you are relying on "passive" cooling - cooler equipment tends to run better (and longer between failures).
5. Instead of "Zip-Ties", try "Hook and Loop" tape or straps to secure your cables (Re-usable) and much easier to get that "non-detachable" power cable out when a component has to be removed/installed.
6. LABELS! LABELS! LABELS! very useful for trouble-shooting, and makes it A LOT easier to put a component back after a repair/upgrade, etc.

I hope that helps.

[vaporhat]

Great tips! Thank you.

Once I get the motivation back again to rewire my rack I am going to try trimming up some cables. I completely agree about the labeling. I have each cable labeled and a book where I log every cable in my entire house with a number, location, type of cable, and it's use. This has been incredible valuable. I can only imagine the look I am going to get when I sell my house and hand over this book to the new homeowner. They will probably look at me like I am crazy although I am sure they will thank me down the road.

In regards to closet active cooling... I have 3, 120mm exhaust fans, another 3, 120mm inside the closets directly on my amplifier, and 1 10" floor fan that is running 24/7 to add some film cooling to my components. The room is about 85F on hot days with the amplifiers off.

Is there any other active cooling systems that you have seen for this application?

I have thought about adding a bathroom type exhaust fan or holes in the door.

[billberet]

i agree, great tips,
i was already thinking about the custom power cables.

we reciently lost power and i made male male power cable to plug my generator into an outside outlet to power my house. i can use those male (screw) ends and make my custom cables.
then put my signal cables on the other side.
when i get the nerve to rip it all apart again

thanks for the tips !!!!!

[samsonlov]

If you do only a few cables at a time it won't seem like such a big project.
Clean-up the cables to 1 component and then reward yourself with an hour or two of media from that component.

Regarding "thermal management" there are some good tips here:
http://repnet.middleatlantic.com/COMPANY/MarketingFiles/TempInsideRacks/Thermal%20Management%203-04.pdf
and here:
http://www.activethermal.com/whitepapers/ATM_primer.pdf

I hope this helps.

[billberet]

oh yea, i've seen my share of thermal issues, all the server rooms i've built.
when you think you have enough ac, double it!
lol


i have my amps spaced out so i got some good venting, as for the fios boxes, don't care about them
i figure i would just burn them out and get newer ones eventually when they go.

the only thing i don't like about making custom cables is you are locked in after you make them.
you can't move any components around without making new cables. but hopefully everything is in it's final resting place.
i will test out the rack for a month or so, if everything is where it should be, i'll start with the custom cables.
I have a bunch of cable managers laying around at work, i'll borrow them to help keep things looking neat.


happy fathers day to all the dads out there

[samsonlov]

Yes, making sure everything is "stable" before making custom cables is definately a good idea - at home, we don't get paid to make changes.

[samsonlov]

Now that I'm a dad, Father's Day has a whole new meaning - pretty cool.
My daughter, Ocean, is almost 8 months old - a few more months and I can start teaching her how to use xLobby
Happy Father's Day