Installation "how to"

brandondmorris1 · 25th January 2012

Hey all. Ive been engineering for a few years now and have recently built a 12sp Rack from scratch. Now my aim is to see if I can get a few tips on how to do "professional" installs. Of course this is just for me, BUT I wanted to get a few ideas and things to keep in mind when installing rack gear.

If this sounds a little odd, for those of you thinking, "Dummy, just rack it up, screw down and connect everything", what I'm really talking about is methods for organizing cables in the back of the rack to minimize rat's nests and to keep power cables from causing hums and noise in the audio cables.

My intention was to somehow route the power cables on the inside walls of the rack and keep the audio cables in the middle. I'm probably going to either use zip ties for the power cables or plastic loom. For the audio cables, maybe a combination of twisty ties (think bread ties) and zip ties or velcro cables ties.

I guess I'm just looking for some tips on organizing things so I don't have as much cable clutter.

Thanks all!

ODZ · 25th January 2012

you got the right idea keeping power and audio on seperate runs. I would even take them down opposing sides of the rack (or a rack mount power strip? so you have a single line powering the whole rack). If they have to intersect, keep them perpendicular if possible. Zip ties are the way to go with simple screw down (or less reliable adhesive) tie anchors and maybe some corrugated cable tubing and it'll look just fine. Asthetics do matter, especially when you gotta go digging for that one failing line in a rack full of wires you want to be able to "easily" identify a channel. oh, and use multichannel snakes if you can to reduce the girth of audio runs.

BriHar · 25th January 2012

+1

Also avoid coiling power cables to take up excess. This can cause hum and the more turns in the coil the more intense the magfield - not to mention heat generated if there's a lot of current being drawn.

brandondmorris1 · 27th January 2012

aHA! That's a good thought there about the power cables. I had not thought about that but you're definitely right. I was looking on this site below and found a lot of nifty items that look like it would do the trick. Some are a litte more heavy duty than we would need for organizing rack gear but there's a lot of nifty stuff.

Cable Organization Items
Cable Ties and More - Compare Quality, Service and Price - Home Theatre Wire Management, Cable Organizer, Cord Management, Wire Management, Sleeving Cable Management System and Cabling Management, Wiring Accessories, Electrical Cord Organizer, Wire T

Anyone got anything else that may help? Really wish I had a patchbay. A while back it didn't seem like too big a deal to just have to move one cable, but lately that's become way more of a hassle than it seems.

brandondmorris1 · 5th February 2012

Hey all. Been working on the rack and cables this week and the rack came out looking much better than I was thinking. However, my inexperience as a carpenter shows. Some of the finer detail work, I'm not so great with but it has been holding everything together and feels pretty sturdy anyways.

For the cable organization, it appears there's not really a perfect solution due to where cables are physically located. i.e. Since no patchbay, everything is hard wired to each other. Certain cables have to go from the left side of one box to the right next etc. I just used some twisty ties I forgot I had been saving up with a few pull ties for the heavier cables. For the power cables, since I didn't make the rack wide enough, there was just enough room on the sides of the gear for power cables.

All in all it's coming out pretty well. I've been using it about a week now but today I just finish cutting out a kick panel at the bottom in the front and the stain is drying now which seems to take a lot longer than I thought.

Ill post up some pictures when I get the kick panel on.

25th January 2012	#1
brandondmorris1 Gear nut Joined: May 2008 Posts: 131 Thread Starter	Installation "how to" Hey all. Ive been engineering for a few years now and have recently built a 12sp Rack from scratch. Now my aim is to see if I can get a few tips on how to do "professional" installs. Of course this is just for me, BUT I wanted to get a few ideas and things to keep in mind when installing rack gear. If this sounds a little odd, for those of you thinking, "Dummy, just rack it up, screw down and connect everything", what I'm really talking about is methods for organizing cables in the back of the rack to minimize rat's nests and to keep power cables from causing hums and noise in the audio cables. My intention was to somehow route the power cables on the inside walls of the rack and keep the audio cables in the middle. I'm probably going to either use zip ties for the power cables or plastic loom. For the audio cables, maybe a combination of twisty ties (think bread ties) and zip ties or velcro cables ties. I guess I'm just looking for some tips on organizing things so I don't have as much cable clutter. Thanks all!

25th January 2012	#2
ODZ Gear nut Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Seattle, Wa. Posts: 118	you got the right idea keeping power and audio on seperate runs. I would even take them down opposing sides of the rack (or a rack mount power strip? so you have a single line powering the whole rack). If they have to intersect, keep them perpendicular if possible. Zip ties are the way to go with simple screw down (or less reliable adhesive) tie anchors and maybe some corrugated cable tubing and it'll look just fine. Asthetics do matter, especially when you gotta go digging for that one failing line in a rack full of wires you want to be able to "easily" identify a channel. oh, and use multichannel snakes if you can to reduce the girth of audio runs. __________________ -NO-ATL-SEA ODZ PTHD Certified Operator Certified ICON expert https://www.facebook.com/birdhousestudioseattle http://www.avid.com/support/training...s/Owen_Strain_

25th January 2012	#3
BriHar Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2011 Location: Winterthur Switzerland Posts: 188	+1 Also avoid coiling power cables to take up excess. This can cause hum and the more turns in the coil the more intense the magfield - not to mention heat generated if there's a lot of current being drawn. __________________ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

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27th January 2012	#4
brandondmorris1 Gear nut Joined: May 2008 Posts: 131 Thread Starter	aHA! That's a good thought there about the power cables. I had not thought about that but you're definitely right. I was looking on this site below and found a lot of nifty items that look like it would do the trick. Some are a litte more heavy duty than we would need for organizing rack gear but there's a lot of nifty stuff. Cable Organization Items Cable Ties and More - Compare Quality, Service and Price - Home Theatre Wire Management, Cable Organizer, Cord Management, Wire Management, Sleeving Cable Management System and Cabling Management, Wiring Accessories, Electrical Cord Organizer, Wire T Anyone got anything else that may help? Really wish I had a patchbay. A while back it didn't seem like too big a deal to just have to move one cable, but lately that's become way more of a hassle than it seems.

5th February 2012	#5
brandondmorris1 Gear nut Joined: May 2008 Posts: 131 Thread Starter	Hey all. Been working on the rack and cables this week and the rack came out looking much better than I was thinking. However, my inexperience as a carpenter shows. Some of the finer detail work, I'm not so great with but it has been holding everything together and feels pretty sturdy anyways. For the cable organization, it appears there's not really a perfect solution due to where cables are physically located. i.e. Since no patchbay, everything is hard wired to each other. Certain cables have to go from the left side of one box to the right next etc. I just used some twisty ties I forgot I had been saving up with a few pull ties for the heavier cables. For the power cables, since I didn't make the rack wide enough, there was just enough room on the sides of the gear for power cables. All in all it's coming out pretty well. I've been using it about a week now but today I just finish cutting out a kick panel at the bottom in the front and the stain is drying now which seems to take a lot longer than I thought. Ill post up some pictures when I get the kick panel on.