Stupid question about racks
Michael Parker
An electronics rack.. the plain old 19" variety, used for audio equipment
and computer networking stuff...
I know the width. I need to know the spacing and characteristics (diameter,
threaded or not, etc.) of the holes in the side rails...
After looking at the prices, and comparing them with a bunch of drill bits,
a couple old bed rails, and some time with the drill press, I'm seriously
considering building the darned thing myself.
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Tony Leathem
by a metalworker (VERY solid units) about 5 feet high and drilled that are
looking for a new owner..For FREE I might add..
--
Cheers
Tony..
Tony Leathem
LecWreck
25 Coulson Place
Orange NSW 2800
ICQ#56800714
Michael Parker <pha...@mindless.com> wrote in message
news:38868...@127.0.0.1...
Tyler Wolfe
hight is measured in rack units so say a 20 rack unit rack is the taller
ones.
The spacing is weird. the first hole is 3\8inch the second is 5\8inch from
the first the third hole is 1\2 from the second then 5\8, 5\8, 1\2, 5\8,
5\8.... and so on. the 3\8 is only the hole closest to the top and the one
closest to the bottom!!! the screw size is 10-32 !!!!!!!!!!
250,000 Miles a per second, It's not just a good idea, it's the Law!!
Tyler Wolfe
Chief Engineer
WATH/WXTQ Radio
Athens, OH
e...@wxtq.com
Michael Parker wrote in message <38868...@127.0.0.1>...
Tim Mitchell
writes
>Yes, this is a really dumb question..
>
>An electronics rack.. the plain old 19" variety, used for audio equipment
>and computer networking stuff...
>
>I know the width. I need to know the spacing and characteristics (diameter,
>threaded or not, etc.) of the holes in the side rails...
>
>After looking at the prices, and comparing them with a bunch of drill bits,
>a couple old bed rails, and some time with the drill press, I'm seriously
>considering building the darned thing myself.
>
you can fit caged nuts in where you want them, but you could probably
drill & tap holes if you are just going to build it once and leave it.
In which case you should measure the spacing of the mounting holes on
your equipment.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Mitchell
Email: t...@sabreltd.demon.co.uk Sabre Technology Ltd.
http://www.sabreltd.demon.co.uk Electronics for the
Sound & Lighting industry
in Kingston-upon-Hull, United Kingdom
Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.
BOB URZ
need them, and install them in your box. You don't want to drill and tap
all those holes.
BOB
William Janssen
than one screw size used. If making your own then 10-32 would
be suitable.
On the bed rails, I think you will find that they are hardened and
you will have a hard time drilling them.
Bill K7NOM
Tyler Wolfe wrote:
>
> one rack unit is 1.75inch bolt spacing for on rack unit is 1.25inch, Rack
> hight is measured in rack units so say a 20 rack unit rack is the taller
> ones.
> The spacing is weird. the first hole is 3\8inch the second is 5\8inch from
> the first the third hole is 1\2 from the second then 5\8, 5\8, 1\2, 5\8,
> 5\8.... and so on. the 3\8 is only the hole closest to the top and the one
> closest to the bottom!!! the screw size is 10-32 !!!!!!!!!!
> 250,000 Miles a per second, It's not just a good idea, it's the Law!!
>
> Tyler Wolfe
> Chief Engineer
> WATH/WXTQ Radio
> Athens, OH
> e...@wxtq.com
>
> Michael Parker wrote in message <38868...@127.0.0.1>...
> >Yes, this is a really dumb question..
> >
> >An electronics rack.. the plain old 19" variety, used for audio equipment
> >and computer networking stuff...
> >
> >I know the width. I need to know the spacing and characteristics (diameter,
> >threaded or not, etc.) of the holes in the side rails...
> >
> >After looking at the prices, and comparing them with a bunch of drill bits,
> >a couple old bed rails, and some time with the drill press, I'm seriously
> >considering building the darned thing myself.
> >
> >
> >
> >
tesch...@mayo.edu
there is a narrow-wide-wide pattern to their placement.
If you make your own, be sure each side matches this
pattern from the top to bottom or vice-versa.
Last year I attended several college auctions.
A dumpster was provided for whatever the buyers didn't
want off their pallet/lot. Some people would buy
an old minicomputer for a just a few parts and throw the
rest away. Some of those minis were built into
half size communication racks. (Which I helped flip
into the dumpster-how's that for low cost?)
Some thing to check out.
No, it is not a dumb question.
Some of the racks have threaded holes, others have smooth
holes and you use nut/clips to secure the items.
And, (I'm not sure of this) the threaded holes
might be English or Metric threads!
Oh yeah, our system of describing hard disk drives as
"full height", "half height", or "1/3 height" stems
from the pattern of rack holes. Full height equals 1U (unit)
(or is it 2U?)
so you can buy racks by the "U size".
Ren
dona nobis pacem
Michael Parker
drilling them, quite successfully. It was nowhere near as speedy as drilling
through plywood, of course, and I'm fully expecting to go through multiple
drill bits.
Buying predrilled rails isn't out of the question, if somebody can tell me
where to get them cheaply.
William Janssen wrote in message <3887C059...@calweb.com>...
>Good answer on screw holes spacing but there are have been more
>than one screw size used. If making your own then 10-32 would
>be suitable.
>
>On the bed rails, I think you will find that they are hardened and
>you will have a hard time drilling them.
>
>Bill K7NOM
>
>Tyler Wolfe wrote:
>>
>> one rack unit is 1.75inch bolt spacing for on rack unit is 1.25inch, Rack
>> hight is measured in rack units so say a 20 rack unit rack is the taller
>> ones.
>> The spacing is weird. the first hole is 3\8inch the second is 5\8inch
from
>> the first the third hole is 1\2 from the second then 5\8, 5\8, 1\2, 5\8,
>> 5\8.... and so on. the 3\8 is only the hole closest to the top and the
one
>> closest to the bottom!!! the screw size is 10-32 !!!!!!!!!!
>> 250,000 Miles a per second, It's not just a good idea, it's the Law!!
>>
>> Tyler Wolfe
>> Chief Engineer
>> WATH/WXTQ Radio
>> Athens, OH
>> e...@wxtq.com
>>
>> Michael Parker wrote in message <38868...@127.0.0.1>...
>> >Yes, this is a really dumb question..
>> >
>> >An electronics rack.. the plain old 19" variety, used for audio
equipment
>> >and computer networking stuff...
>> >
>> >I know the width. I need to know the spacing and characteristics
(diameter,
>> >threaded or not, etc.) of the holes in the side rails...
>> >
>> >After looking at the prices, and comparing them with a bunch of drill
bits,
>> >a couple old bed rails, and some time with the drill press, I'm
seriously
>> >considering building the darned thing myself.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
RWatson767
> Stupid question about racks
Racks GENERALLY use panels that are multiples of 1-3/4" in height. An A panel
is 1-3/4", a B panel is 3-1/2" high and so on. The usual screws are 10-32. The
screw spacing usually matches the screw spacing in the panel(s). There is
usually not a provision to offset mount the panels to a space that doesn't
exist. In other words the rack has the same spacing provisions that a panel
has. Some racks are so hard they can't be drilled.
And then there are military racks. Sometimes they are called UHF racks since
they came out about the same time as Military UHF radios. They tend to vary in
screw size. 1/4"-32 TPI is commonly found. The screw spacing is the same. The
racks are sometimes aluminum and the screws are typically softer than the 10-32
screws. The heads are usually #3 phillips.
There are also other standards, particularly in panel width. Racks come in many
heights but retain the same spacing standards.
Hope this helps
Bob AZ
Michael Parker
It thrills me how many people continue to respond to this old thread.. If
you look up, there's a reply from Tyler Wolfe telling me the exact
"irregular" spacing, which I plan to use.
General consensus seems to point at 10-32 screws. In the event of the odd
component that comes with different screws, I can always keep a handful of
10-32's floating around and use them instead.
tesch...@mayo.edu wrote in message <86a7ef$su5$1...@tribune.mayo.edu>...
tesch...@mayo.edu
i.e. thread threads
That is why my reply came after others had answered it.
I saw it, I responded in the manner I best knew,
and continued sequencing postings.
And in my 'limited' experience as a tech,
I've run across 2 different screw sizes in racks
as well as racks with smooth bore holes which
need nutclips and then some nutclips need a machine screw
instead of a bolt to fasten equipment to the rail.
'general concensus' doesn't work in those cases, Parkey!
;*)
Ren
dona nobis pacem