AC Power Distro???

[mattasbob]

Alright, I crawled in behind my racks the other day and realized I have a ton of ac plugs everywhere. SO I figured it's time for a clean up. I got rid of and added some new gear so i'm gonna do a little re-cabling clean up. My problem is this my humble project studio now has a website and clients and things have grown beyond the old plan (it happens to every gearslut I guess <g>) My problem is that I have around 70 devices that require power. My power is fairly clean (I have two circuits dedicated to my gear) One gets all the audio stuff and the other gets the computer stuff. But I only have 6 plugs for each. I know it's a bad idea to plug strips into strips into strips etc... So what is the best way for me to go about adding plugs? WHats the best way to get this all set-up up happily and safely?

I'm not an electrician, so I'd be very interested in seeing what the best approach here is.

Thanks in advance for taking the time.

Matt
www.shatteredwings.com

[Dave Martin]

I've got eight 16 space racks in the control room; most of them have a couple of powerstrips attached in the back of the rack. Usually, one strip plugs into the other, and then it goesn into outlets built into the cable troughs.

[mattasbob]

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned how I have things set up now. All the gear is connected to Furman Power Conditioners. (excluding computers etc... which are all connected to a UPS) All of the furmans are connected to one circuit. Is this the most sensible set up? Should I have a mains power conditioner before the furmans? I'm sorry if these questions seem stupid, I just want to be sure i'm doing what makes the most sense. Thankfully my power is very clean and I am not experienceing any hum or loops.

[Ren Man]

Matt,
What you are doing with the computer on the UPS on one circuit and all the other gear on another circuit is an excellent approach. If you want the cleanest power do the following (you probably know most of this stuff but it never hurts to go over the basics again).
1) GET RID of ALL power strips with surge protection or RF/EMI filtration etc. - these will only add more noise to the line. Note:the built in circuit breakers are OK. I used several different models of Tripplite strips (again with NO surge protection and/or RF/EMI filtering which I purchased online through Pro Vantage= best price and FAST service.
2) Use ONE main line conditioner and home run as many of your strips to it as you can (the Triplite strips I purchased all had 15' cords). Daisy chaining strips won't hurt as long as you don't exceed the amp capacity of the first strip and so on down the line.
3) When choosing the main line conditioner, the Furman PL Pro series II gives you the protection without the line noise and other associated problems; or go for the Furman IT Reference if you can possibly afford it. There are on line training 'videos' available on Furman's site which can provide you with valuable information on these power problems and why Furman's offerings are the best choice solutions. I recently upgraded my control room to balanced (symmetrical) power and the improvement in audio quality and lower noise floor is obvious. Take the time, do the research and you'll be better equipped to decide what route you should go.
4) Separate your power and audio cables as much as possible. If you have to cross the two, do so at 90 degree angles if possible.
5) If you can afford the IT Reference, the advantages are tremendous. It is four independant isolated balanced transformers in one. This way you can group your various types of gear together (preamps, digital processing, mic power supplies, mixers etc.) and eliminate inter-equipment pollution. The IT REF also has a bank of outlets dedicated to specifically feed power amps or active monitors non-balanced power (see the Furman "videos" for more info). Balanced power is immune to induced noise from unblalnced lines and doesn't CAUSE induced noise on other lines near it, so those bundles of power cords aren't a problem. Note: balanced power is only effective on gear with the third wire ground, but I haven't experienced any problems from my 'wall-wart' gear or 2 conductor 'lamp cord' gear. If you want to take it to the n-th degree you can add a third wire ground to the 'lamp cord' gear. However, you're stuck with the 'wall-warts'
good luck

[7rojo7]

1- UPS big enough for your studio> 1- isolation transformer big enough for your studio>>>>> distribution to power strips that you can make yourself with off the shelf parts.
I made a bunch of "powerstrips that have Powercon connectors and IEC outlets so I can plug IEC to IEC without the fear of inverting the phase on anything.