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Author Topic: Heavy Duty 19 inch rack shelves  (Read 5197 times)
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wx3k
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« on: December 21, 2016, 09:52:51 PM »

I am looking for a 6U 19 inch rack shelf to support a typical vintage transmitter like a Johnson Viking Ranger. Most of the new stuff is just too lightweight in terms of steel gauge to even consider using. I was hoping to find perhaps some surplus shelves. Thought I would take a chance and ask here.

I am mounting the RANGER in the rack along with the Millen RF deck and other power supplies/Modulator/Speech amp equipment.
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Stephanie WX3K
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"Thunder is good; Thunder is impressive but it is lightning that does the work" ...Mark Twain
wx3k
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« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2016, 09:56:41 PM »

Something like this

http://www.pennelcomonline.com/en/Penn-Elcom-5U-Rack-Shelf-272mm145-Deep-R11945UK/m-6498.aspx


I am looking for a 6U 19 inch rack shelf to support a typical vintage transmitter like a Johnson Viking Ranger. Most of the new stuff is just too lightweight in terms of steel gauge to even consider using. I was hoping to find perhaps some surplus shelves. Thought I would take a chance and ask here.

I am mounting the RANGER in the rack along with the Millen RF deck and other power supplies/Modulator/Speech amp equipment.
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Stephanie WX3K
Eico 720/722/730  HRO50T
"Thunder is good; Thunder is impressive but it is lightning that does the work" ...Mark Twain
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« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2016, 10:25:42 PM »

Bear,  if I remember correctly,  was giving some away.

Check the For Sale section.   There was some there,  albeit awhile ago.

--Shane
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WBear2GCR
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« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2016, 02:16:42 PM »

No, I had 19" frame racks.(still do, come and get 'em!)

But interestingly I am starting to get ideas together on building some.
I've never been a big fan of racks, mostly because it is a RPA (Royal Pain in the Anterior) to get gear in and out
and to make connections around the back.

I've been hoping to find a great deal ("...you want these? Here, take 'em away, get them out of here!" or something inexpensive) on
server slides. I'd pay shipping, fwiw... those are the ball bearing equipment slides used to hold server computers into racks.
If I had them , I'd adapt them with some sort of trough type shelf thingie.

But lacking that, what I am hoping will work is the proper sizes of angle stock in aluminum and the low temp Aluminum Brazing rod.
My plan is to use angle for the vertical against the rack, with holes drilled at EIAJ centers (unless you have a WE rack, which is just 1" spacing) in the appropriate places (not all the holes in that vertical length) and then go 90 degrees with 3/16" x 3" angle for the "rails". Then put something
appropriate across to hold the gear in the form of a shelf if needed

Most gear will hit the 3" width with its feet, so no shelf is needed.

If and when slides ever show up, I'd use them too...

Got very tired of seeing stupid high prices for some bent metal shelves online.

One could do the same trick with steel (the stock is less expensive) and MIG/stick weld or braze too.

My present plan, because I have frame racks, is to mount this to the rear of the frame rail, so the gear can still be screwed into the
front of the frame rail. The aluminum stock is because I have snazzy (surplus) aluminum frame racks.

If one has standard racks with front and rear rails, it would be pretty easy to just put the vertical angle piece on the front and rear,
and use machine screws to hold up the other angle piece that would go from front to rear that holds up the gear... doubt that any
welding or brazing would be needed in that situation.

You need basic tools, a drill press at minimum and a local source of materials.

The "fly" in the ointment is the front/vertical piece, that needs to have a fairly thin profile where it screws to the rack, and a wide profile
where it meets the horizontal angle piece. In aluminum that can be cut with a table saw or radial saw with a very fine tooth carbide blade, lube.
Steel is more difficult, needs bandsaw or milling machine - or you have to weld pieces...
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_-_- bear WB2GCR                   http://www.bearlabs.com
wx3k
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« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2016, 09:34:27 AM »

YES !!!

I have already resorted to making my own. sigh

<snip>
Got very tired of seeing stupid high prices for some bent metal shelves online.
<snip>
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Stephanie WX3K
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« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2016, 11:24:12 AM »

YES !!!

I have already resorted to making my own. sigh

<snip>
Got very tired of seeing stupid high prices for some bent metal shelves online.
<snip>

Well,  dagnabbit,  I was hoping to help here!   Lol.

Wish you where closer bear,  I could use one of those cabinets for power supplies.

Oh well....

--Shane
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WBear2GCR
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« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2016, 09:39:21 PM »



Frame, open frame.

Gave up on "cabinets" years back, got tired of being unable to get at the gear... don't even like open frame much,
which is why I am going to "shelves" and have given in so that I can get a few receivers into a smaller footprint...

...there must be an excess of these in the Northeast, since nobody seems terribly excited about them. Although W2TRH took
a pair to NEARFEST and I guess he let them go to "needy hams" for gas money...



* RACKS-OUTSIDE.jpg (518.99 KB, 980x1307 - viewed 324 times.)
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_-_- bear WB2GCR                   http://www.bearlabs.com
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« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2016, 11:09:45 PM »

Frames,  I get it.   Those where patch panel holders when I was in IT.   Or switch gear.

Yes,  I'd still love them.   Alas,  like the song,  you're so far away from me....

Lol.

--Shane
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« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2016, 07:13:05 PM »

Look at the Middle Atlantic web page.  The company I work for sells there stuff, let me know if I can help. Bob W4RFM
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BOB / W4RFM  \\\\\\\"I have looked far and wide, (I also checked near and narrow)\\\\\\\"
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« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2016, 10:13:39 AM »

Late to this topic I see that you are going to make your own, which is fine and I hope fun. I want to throw some experiences out on the table since everything here is in racks, whether or not it was intended to be. Some may be partially repetitious of other posts but no projects are exactly alike so here it is.

Aftermarket shelves as shown in the link suffer from the weakness of having everything supported by the few front holes. These are very thin and of cheapest stamped and bent manufacture. The bolts have to be very tight or they'll ship and the shelf will bend. That Penn Elcom 5U Rack Shelf mentioned is something I'd use only as a last resort or for very light item like a solid state 100W transceiver. I would never put a Viking on something flimsy like that. Heavy items need support front and back.

These may be better:
http://www.budind.com/view/19+inch+Rack+Shelves/Adjustable+Shelf-Open+Rack

Many racks have rails at the front and another set farther back toward the rear. The best shelves fit that scene, bolting front and back. Angle stock can also be bolted up in that manner to support equipment under the last inch or so of its right and left edges, but for a 100 LB item it's best to use heavy steel or at least 1/4" aluminum. If the gear's feet are not in the way then it will just slide in. A layer of thick nylon tape will ease the sliding-in. Angles are used a lot where a piece of wood is then cut to precisely fit between them as the shelf base. Time honored way for hams. If the rack has no rear rails then brackets can be attached to the rack sides to extend inward and support the rear of a shelf. If angle stock is judged too light then square tubing stock is the next step but the cost and work go up.

Several of the manufacturers of even quite old rack cabinets are still in business. If you can find the name plate or label on the rack, then a phone call can result in a choice of full depth bolt-in shelves made for the rack and they are much stronger than the aftermarket items and always fit. I ordered 15 shelves for a 30 year old three-rack set and the salesperson apologized for a slight lead-time because they would have to make them from the original drawings, set up the machines, etc. and I think they were about $27 each and rated 200 or 300 lbs. Things like the R-390, R-220, NCL-2000, SX-28 sit on them.

Your set is not rackmount so this may not apply, but people say the weight of rigs like R390 should not be supported only by the front panel. (it seemed good enough for FEMA) In some cases the equipment when bolted into the rack does not rest its weight on the shelf but is a fraction of an inch above it. A solution is to make shims of 1/8 and 1/16" steel for the gear to sit on so that its front panel holes align with the rack's mounting holes. Large fender washers work very well, one stack under each corner of the radio. Once this is sorted out, epoxy or silicon glue can be used to stick the washers together and also to the shelf and this is perfect.

If your gear is not rackmount but you want a finished appearance then it is simple to mount a 1U panel across the front of the rack so that when the equipment is pushed forward, its feet or the very bottom edge of its front panel but up against the rear of the panel. Purists may glue a trip of felt on the back of the panel to avoid scratching.

If it's wanted to have the front feet of the gear be the abuttment items, then taller feet can be used so the bottom of the gear extends over the 1U panel with a small clearance. 1U panels can also be cut in half making them 1/2U or 1/3U whatever, but this weakens them and they are more likely to bow forward when the gear is pressed against them.

To strengthen a 1U panel or other panel for use as the front stop, a 3/8x3/8 or 1/2x1/2 inch angle can be bolted to the backside of the panel. It won't bend then.

To hold the gear up against the back of the rack panel, a stout steel angle is used at the rear. It's convenient to make it so that its upright section fits over the grounding stud of the equipment when its lower section is flat on the rack shelf. A hole is drilled in through the angle's lower section and the rack shelf and a bolt with star washer is used to hold it. So the gear is then grounded and held in place and can also be removed by just unscrewing the nut from the grounding stud and removing the 1U panel and sliding it out.

Empty space on either side of the gear can be filled by cutting an inexpensive rack panel vertically so it fits up close to the gear on either side.

There are some pictures of how to mount non-rackmount equipment here. I have done this many times but with an eye toward function rather than beauty:
http://bunkerofdoom.com/rackmount1/index.html

also, a way to easily mount really heavy rackmount items without help.
http://bunkerofdoom.com/kd5oei/psurack1/index.html


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