buying studio rack, probably quik lok rs 10

[johnsmith1261]

I've read that these open racks have the pro, that because of their nature, they obviously provide more ventillation.
Anyway, my primary question is the one regarding rack ears... can anybody reflect on it? If that is not a problem, then I think it could be a good purchase, and will go for it.

Thanks,
j

[johnsmith1261]

Hello!

I really don't see, why I don't get any replies. What's wrong, I think my questions could be reliably answered by virtually anybody who had owned racks for a few years... Please :]

Thanks,
j

[rack gear]

I have an open frame rack, it's been just fine.

Hosa RMT-152 | Sweetwater.com

As for rack ears, I've never had a rack that supported gear with anything other than the rack ears.

[johnsmith1261]

Thank you for the input!

That Hosa looks really good, has wheels and is tiltable, still cheap
And maybe my rack ears problem is really no problem at all, face plates provide enough support in practice...

Thanks,
j

[Bobbaganouche]

My biggest gripe with Q.L. is that they dont drill standard threads in their rails (even the ones marketed as AM or American). 10/32 should not be a tough thing to pull off on a rack rail.
I have experienced a few instances of Q.L. items with weak welds or other pivot/joint points. Sad to say a lot of their stuff as of late has been in the same quality category as On-Stage.
Raxxess, Middle Atlantic, Odyssey... all viable options.

[johnsmith1261]

Hmm... Why is not having standard threads is a problem? I mean, you can still use it with any gear if you buy screws, can't you? Anyway, don't they come with proper screws?

Other option would be a somewhat used Millenium SR-2012 for very cheap, but I suppose, that if I want to store it under my desk, I'd better buy a tilted one. Anyway, I can't see how could it be convenient to use a 12U non-tilted rack, that stands on the floor... But I have never had a rack

And why does this model have rails on both ends?

Thanks,
j

[Kuusooka]

Originally Posted by johnsmith1261

Hmm... Why is not having standard threads is a problem? I mean, you can still use it with any gear if you buy screws, can't you? Anyway, don't they come with proper screws?

The problem is that you cannot just use regular screws - you need the locking nuts to hold these screws into the rack and Quik-Lok doesn't provide enough for the entire rack.

I've been trying to find these for a few days now and haven't had any luck with local or online retailers that sell Quik-Lok products - I can only find a few retailers in the UK that are stocking the necessary hardware. I'm going to call Quik-Lok tomorrow to see if I can purchase directly through through them or if they can point me in the right direction. I started a new thread a few days ago asking for help with this and no one has gotten back to me, but if I find out a way of obtaining these I'll post as soon as I find a solution.

[johnsmith1261]

I ended up buying the Millenium SR-2012 for dirt cheap. I postponed buying the Quik Lok RS 10 to the point when the Millenium gets filled, unless I find something better till that time, of course.

The cage nuts provided by Millenium didn't really fit the holes, they couldn't be squeezed easily into them. Even significant force didn't help so I ended up buying Adam Hall 5651's at a local store.

Adam Hall 5651 Käfigmutter

These were designed for much thicker rails (Millenium is approx. 1mm), nevertheless they could be put easily into the holes and hold two 1U rack units without problems

Aside from this, I think this Millenium rack was a good purchase.

j

[Kuusooka]

Originally Posted by johnsmith1261

The cage nuts provided by Millenium didn't really fit the holes, they couldn't be squeezed easily into them. Even significant force didn't help so I ended up buying Adam Hall 5651's at a local store.

I just wanted to say thanks - you inadvertently solved my problem. I was searching for Quik-Lok's actual part number for these, or "captive nuts" as they called them on their site, but I had never looked for "cage nuts." Maybe this was obvious, but the search term was all I needed - these are readily available and I guess the square rack format is very common for server racking. If anyone else is having this problem, you just need to look for 10-32 cage nuts for the U.S. version of the Quik-Lok racks.

[johnsmith1261]

You are welcome
Actually I too found the term "cage nut" only a couple of days ago when doing some googling, not knowing what to search for first ;D

[johnsmith1261]

Originally Posted by johnsmith1261

I ended up buying the Millenium SR-2012 for dirt cheap. I postponed buying the Quik Lok RS 10 to the point when the Millenium gets filled, unless I find something better till that time, of course.

Old thread, but I thought I would send an update.

The SR-2012 has proved to be really great so I bought it's 24U version, too.
What's not obvious from the ad pictures is that the SR-2024 has steel+rubber wheels in contrast to the SR-2012's plastic wheels which feel much more robust.

There are a couple of points though that makes me think that the only usable member of the SR series is the 12U unit.

Unfortunately Chinese build quality really shows it's teeth in the higher U models, which makes them good only for having rack rash and nerves:
- Unpopulated, the 2024 has so much backlash that it's top end can literally swing inches left and right. (Ever seen aspic? ) I had to lay it on the floor to get a handle on it.
- Maybe I got a faulty one, but the 24U proved to be overly tight on it's top end. Bottom spaces are just as okay as with the 2012, but I could put only a selected few gears in the top spaces, due to this. If only it was a few millis wider, it wouldn't be a problem...

Bottom line, I will swap mine for a 12U, which I could still recommend. Gots wheels, back rails and adjustable inner support levers.

j

[Zoutman]

Hi John,

I thinking about buying the SR-2012 unit but I can't find its depth in cm anywhere. I guess its also 40cm since the bigger SR units are.
When I read your thread and look at the pictures I also see a line of racks on the backside, does this mean I cannot put equipment in there longer than 40 cm (its depth)?
I've got a 19inch Eye4systems PC wich is 49 cm long.. Do you think this will fit in the Rack?

Thanks!

Cheers,

Sander

[johnsmith1261]

Originally Posted by Zoutman

Hi John,

I thinking about buying the SR-2012 unit but I can't find its depth in cm anywhere. I guess its also 40cm since the bigger SR units are.
When I read your thread and look at the pictures I also see a line of racks on the backside, does this mean I cannot put equipment in there longer than 40 cm (its depth)?
I've got a 19inch Eye4systems PC wich is 49 cm long.. Do you think this will fit in the Rack?

Thanks!

Cheers,

Sander

Hi!

I've just made a quick measurement and the full depth of the SR2012 is 45.5cm. The useful depth is a bit less than this though, as the rack rails are located at about 3cm distance from the front and the back.

I store - among else - two AKAI samplers (S950 and S1000) in it, which are about 41cm deep. It's still okay, but this is really the maximum, as the backplate of these units almost reach the end of the rack.
So, a 49cm deep unit would be clearly too long.

Cheers,
j

[ivansc]

and just to clarify: There are two different styles of caged nuts you can buy for rack purposes, one of which works on the steel (thinner) rails and the other which works on the aluminum rails, much thicker.

It is very difficult to fit the alu ones in steel and vice versa for some reason beyond just the difference in thickness, so make sure you get the right ones.

[Zoutman]

Thanks for the quick response!
I was thinking again about the length.. and I'm sure it doesn't matter if my equipment will stick out a few cm
Since the PC is 43 cm in width (except at the mounting front) it should just go past the rear 19inch strips. What do you think?

Cheers

[johnsmith1261]

Originally Posted by Zoutman

Thanks for the quick response!
I was thinking again about the length.. and I'm sure it doesn't matter if my equipment will stick out a few cm
Since the PC is 43 cm in width (except at the mounting front) it should just go past the rear 19inch strips. What do you think?

Cheers

I think it could work as you described. Actually my above mentioned samplers are so deep, that their ends go past the rear rack rails (as I mentioned, the rack rails are at about 3cm depth in the rack and my samplers' backplates are nearly level with the rack's back).

Thus, given that your unit is 49cm deep and the AKAI's are about 41cm deep, expect to have about 7-8cm's sticking out from the rear of rack... Just turn it against a wall

j

[Zoutman]

Great thanks for the info
Gonna click the buy button now!
If you want you can see where its going to be > About | Studio Xander

Cheers!

[johnsmith1261]

Originally Posted by Zoutman

Great thanks for the info
Gonna click the buy button now!
If you want you can see where its going to be > About | Studio Xander

Cheers!

Nice But a bit hard to read, as I don't speak Dutch.

[Zoutman]

Was just a link for the picture