Stackable/Portable Racks

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chipwits

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Hi,

I am going to get a 4U rack mount computer case as well as many rackmount pieces of gear like sound card, preamps, etc.

I'd like to keep my room orderly and figure a rack is the best approach. I'd also like for it to be portable, so I can take my entire studio with me to a friend's or relatives house for recording. So I guess I need stackable rack cases, the bottom one being on wheels. Large enough to contain a computer and still be able to put the rack covers on the front and the back for transportion. Also, I need to be able to transport this all in my 4 door honda (no truck).

Would appreciate any recommendations for 4U case, stackable racks, the largest rack I can go with to fit in a car (8U?). Want a quality portable stackable rack on wheels, yet affordable. Perhaps two 8u stackable units?

Thanks,
Chipwits
 
you should either look into the SKB19-8u by SKB or maybe have one made of plywood laminate with aluminum extrusion, like calzone, road ready, hybrid, and so on. Gator also makes a few, as does grundorf, oydessey, hybrid, case makers. If you do go with the wood type you need to make shure that they are without ball corners so they can be stacked. I can send you links to a bunch of different soulutions if you can't find any of these to look at. You may also want to look into the SKB R4 roto rack for a more affordalble alternative. A caster kit can be added to most of these. You are probably going to have to go with at least a 16" deep shell .
 
Thanks a bunch Peter. I've checked out the pricing on that SKB 8u and have seen some selling it for as little as $119, but many others selling it for like $210. Strange.. lol.

Anyways, it says max depth is 18 1/2", that deep enough for say an Antec 4U computer case? Also will the rails buckle? perhaps I should place it on the bottom of the rack?

Thanks,
Chipwits
 
chipwits said:
Thanks a bunch Peter. I've checked out the pricing on that SKB 8u and have seen some selling it for as little as $119, but many others selling it for like $210. Strange.. lol.

Anyways, it says max depth is 18 1/2", that deep enough for say an Antec 4U computer case? Also will the rails buckle? perhaps I should place it on the bottom of the rack?

Thanks,
Chipwits
Click to expand...
if you have seen them for $210 that sounds about right, the ones that you have seen might be the roto rack version possibly which I wouldn't reccomend in anything larger than a 4u. The SKB19 8u in the newer style has rear rack rail which can help support the unit. You shouldn't have any problem with the rack buckling, I've seen these support poweramps as heavy as 60lbs, but putting it on the bottom is probably the best idea anyway, and keeps it from being top heavey when being transported. Make shure you leave enough room for ventilation when mounting any kind of computer equip, and that the other gear near it will play nicely without any kind of emi. as far as the depth, just see if you can get a depth on the computer, I believe that the shellsize on the rack is about 17" with an inch and 1/2" depth on the lid giving you the overall 8 1/2" depth. Its ok if it sticks out a little over the shell as long as the lid will fit.
hope that helps
 
think i can fit a 12u gator or skb in my 1989 honda accord 4 door? =P Would be nice to have it all in one.
 
all in one?

all in one is convenient, but these things can get heavy and big! 8u may be unwieldy to cart around.

i have discovered that it is easier to split the stuff. i use two stackable 6u units . . . a lot lighter and more able to make use of limited transport space.

the disadvantage of two (or more) units is that you need to think carefully about what goes in what to minimise interconnections.

i also made myself a little dolly on which to push these things around if needed.
 
a good way to seperate them as you said you must choose carefully, I like to put the output and input connections right on the outside of the case, recessed of course, then make a jumper snake to connect the two cases together, and to add to the other question, a 12u would be pushing it a little bit, Just think of a rack space as 1 3/4" per space + a few inches more overal for the dimensions of the case soe a 12u would be 21" = about 3 more for about a 24" dimension by about 20" deep by about 20-21" wide, measure the opening of the front door, that would be the biggest.
 
One important thing to consider is that the depth of your typical pc rack case (~20") is much deeper than the inside depth of the typical portable rack case (~17"). You'll also have all the connections on the rear of the pc case (power cable, monitor cable, etc) that will add an extra inch or so. Have you considered using a laptop instead of a rack-mount? The new intel "core duo" chips are smoking fast, and most new laptops can take 2gb of ram. Add an external drive or two for storage and you'll be good to go...
 
The SKB Rack Depth is 18 1/2" and the back lid I guess is suppose to add 2 1/2" to that for a total of 21". The depth of the Antec Take 4 rackmount case is 20 1/2". So I am assuming I can just barely put the back cover of the SKB on for transport, assuming I of course disconnect all the cables to the PC first.

I like the idea of the rackmount for a few reasons. Ability to plug PCI cards in it (e.g. Delta 1010), 3 hard drive raid (3 samsung spinpoints, supposedly inaudible). Studio would pretty much be in one 10U (or 12u) box. The notebook would be one more thing to bag up along with all the external devices for it. Thinking of possibly getting a keyboard/monitor/mouse tray for the rack also down the road.

Also like the ability to swap out motherboards, cpu's etc for upgrades or repair.

James
 
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