Who Makes The Best New Equipment Rack?

[W1UJR]

Hi guys, in need of a 5-6 foot rack for the hamshack.

Suggestions on who makes the best 5-6 foot rack?
Would like an old buzzard relay rack style if possible.
Black crinkle idea.

Figured someone may know right off and save me a lot of Googling.

Tnx much,
Bruce

[W1DAN]

Hi Bruce:

While this does not match the black krinkle idea, we use GKM 6 foot racks at work as well as desktop style Middle Atlantic racks (some is on display at You Do It electronics in Needham, MA).

73,
Dan
W1DAN

[KA1ZGC]

By relay rack, do you mean a two-rail telco rack? You won't be able to put much wheight to one without bolting it to the floor, they're meant for mounting equipment that has its center of gravity at the rail.

If you're looking for a four-post cabinet rack, and black matte is a reasonable substitute for black crinkle, we've used Electro-Rack and Pentair racks. I forget which one we're using now. They're almost exactly the same. Their caster bases are fitted with 300-lb casters, so you can really load the cargo into them. We sure as hell do, as my back will testify.

Word of caution, a lot of racks being sold today are sqare-hole. You'll need 10-32 (or 6-32, if that's your preference) cage nuts to clip into the holes to accept the screws. Some do still have 10-32 drilled and tapped rails, but you'll want to double-check. Side rails are also an important consideration if you plan to face-mount something heavy.

If you wind up picking up a square-hole rack, I recommend using U-shaped clip-style cage nuts which clip over the inside of the rail, as you won't need any special tools to move them from hole-to-hole. This is as opposed to square-bracket-shaped cage nuts which clip on to the inside of the square hole, which can be a pain to insert and remove, even with the correct tool. No idea on which cage nut is stronger/better, just which ones are easier to work with.

Hope this helps.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

[KE2EE]

Bruce,
       At work we use a rack made by Chatsworth. It is a 2 legged relay style 19",tapped holes. They are lightweight (aluminum) and high quality, holds up to 1000 lbs. The 7 foot model is about $125 ,discounted.  Available through Graybar electric. These have a natural finish. We just used a set for a Harris microwave hop, and they worked well. Try Chatsworth.com
Graybar.com for a distributor near you.

Mike  

[Herb K2VH]

Hey Bruce,

Love your BUZZARD XING sign.  Very appropriate for an Old Buzzard AMer.  But me, I'm a hawk.  A virtual hawk.

K2 Virtual Hawk.

[Ian VK3KRI]

If you wind up picking up a square-hole rack, I recommend using U-shaped clip-style cage nuts which clip over the inside of the rail, as you won't need any special tools to move them from hole-to-hole. This is as opposed to square-bracket-shaped cage nuts which clip on to the inside of the square hole, which can be a pain to insert and remove, even with the correct tool. No idea on which cage nut is stronger/better, just which ones are easier to work with.

Theres a special tool! I must have installed hundreds(if not thousands !)  with a flat head screwdriver and a flick of the wrist.
                                                                                   Ian VK3KRI

[KA1ZGC]

If you wind up picking up a square-hole rack, I recommend using U-shaped clip-style cage nuts which clip over the inside of the rail, as you won't need any special tools to move them from hole-to-hole. This is as opposed to square-bracket-shaped cage nuts which clip on to the inside of the square hole, which can be a pain to insert and remove, even with the correct tool. No idea on which cage nut is stronger/better, just which ones are easier to work with.

Theres a special tool! I must have installed hundreds(if not thousands !)  with a flat head screwdriver and a flick of the wrist.
                                                                                   Ian VK3KRI

Congratulations. So have I. That's why I hate them. With the side-clip style, you don't need the screwdriver.

After all, the man did ask for opinions.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

[KB2WIG]

My mother in law made made a nice one.........................

[WBear2GCR]

THere's an outfit in the Bronx that makes racks Parmetal? Ummm... their stuff is all over the place in the usual distributors cataolgs... I'll remember the name later of course.

But I get all my rax out of the dumpster. Whenever a company changes the telco room or the server room they tend to throw out the racks... less today than years past (stuff is smaller) but still quite a lot... dunno how your "recycling centers" work out there, or the industrial dumpster people, they likely get dumpsters full fairly regularly....

Some of the nicest racks were made for fancy computer & telco companies who wanted everything to look really really good.

      Ymmv.

           _-_-WBear2GCR

Me, I don't like to use racks, hard to get behind them to move wires and fix stuff...
I do use a 24" genuine Western Electric telco rack with metal shelves, cut down to the 5 ft height, spraypainted black for my audio gear... but that's 4 ft from the back wall for ease of access. 
Western Electric, as we all know, sounds better... 

I got a freebee of another 24" telco rack made from [gasp] steel "[" channel, drilled and tapped, and with feet made of thick thick steel "L" that bolt with 1/2" bolts onto the bottom of the channels back and front... wonder what the heck they were holding up wit dat!?! (I plan to slide the rails together for 19" use, if I ever need a 19" rack of that heaviness...)

[wa2zdy]

And my first rack  mount 2m monster, a GE pre-Prog base - was mounted on a pair of 2x4's!   I ended up with a two rail seven foot tall rack later and believe me, ZGC is correct about the center of balance.  Be real careful, heavy as my frame was, it teetered.

[W1UJR]

Ok, cool guys and thanks for the tips.

Tom, you have a good point the need to bolt the relay rack to the floor, had not thought of that.
I liked that style as it was most old buzzard, but may not be practical.

I have a very nice HRO 50 and speaker, both in black crackle, that need a rack.

TNx agn,
BRuce

[WBear2GCR]

That rack company in da Bronx is Premier...

As far as bolting to the floor? no need, mount on two steel channels... or suitably sized "L" angle iron -  add some casters, and you can move it around too. Use the locking type on the front two, and it won't roll without notice.

You can paint any rack you like with black crackle paint... the frame type rack has the benefit of not hiding the rear of the gear, making it somewhat easier to get at the stuff...

The other thought is that if you've got a fairly fixed set up, you don't actually need a rack at all! Well, at least not one with actual rack spaced holes. A welding shop can make you a frame. Then all you need is shelves fabbed - screw/bolt them spaced as needed. Or have some or all welded in place. Alternately, angle iron makes fine hangers for shelves. You can use steel plate or wood for the shelves as you prefer.

Around here there is a place called Metals Supermarket, I think, that sells all sorts of metal cut to size at very good prices- no charge for the cuts!!

The welds might cost ya more than the metal...

         _-_-bear

[WBear2GCR]

Fwiw, the dumpsters at the local mall are a good source of nice square and rectangular steel frames. They were freestanding clothing racks and other related store accessories. Usually in chrome or black powdercoat. I've seen quite often racks in the shape factor that is very close to rack size in 4-6ft heights. Suitable for modification or sawing into raw material. Often they are rectangular frames with two runners front to back to make it stand. Wacking the runners length and splicing two together on the bottom gets you a nice stable frame which can be set up for shelves with a little drilling and bolting... DIY rack on the cheap (free?).

          _-_-WBear2GCR

[KA1ZGC]

As far as bolting to the floor? no need, mount on two steel channels... or suitably sized "L" angle iron -  add some casters, and you can move it around too. Use the locking type on the front two, and it won't roll without notice.

That would work, but bear in mind Bruce's preference for old-buzzard rigs. He wants to mount some real iron. That base would have to be about the same footprint as a four-post rack. No telling how the rigs' front panels will bear the full wheight of the rigs, which makes four posts attractive for suspending mounting brackets between. Four-posters are built for heavy equipment, two-posters are built for patch and relay panels.

Either way, my ultimate point was that a four-post rack can be deployed out-of-the-box for heavy gear, where a two-post rack will need work before being deployed in that role.

--Thom
Killer Aircraft One Zeppelin Goes Crash

[John K5PRO]

I moved three beautiful racks out of a SK's basement Saturday. They are waiting for interested hams. They are standard double railed 19 inch EMCOR racks, made of steel, 22 inches deep, with wheeled bases. I think they are about  68 inches tall. Most have top plates, and 1/4 inch thick aluminum base plates (custom piece inserted). Only one has side covers. All three are prewired with 120 VAC outlet strips down one side and have a circuit breaker switch. They are located in Espanola, NM. Pick up only.