shitty rack warning - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 06:08:10 am
content: If you buy a cheap rack, the one that is made out of folded sections, be careful because its basically weak as fuck. I had it loaded with RF and AC equipment for about 4 months now and the underside bowed because it weighed down enough to screw up the metal that the angle aluminum is attached tohttps://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dbMAAOSw9Ydfh4bq/s-l1600.jpg, but I got the tall version and trimmed it a little to fit in the room nicelyI suggest adding reinforcement on the bottom, they do much less then their rated for,I thought I was stupid for making my own but then I realized my bolts are 4x thicker and it has not deflected half a millimeter in 3 yearsnow I have the fun of unloading it, bending metal and bolting in big pieces of round stock steel ribbing to make it stronger. It deploys like a tripod lol

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 07:46:09 am
content: When it comes to racks, it'sE366XAor GTFO.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 07:48:15 am
content: maybe with the doors removed, if you actually do something with all those connectors on the back of gear reaching over an open rack is appealing, if you are making a test bench for something in particular its good, and I find myself rearranging the equipment alot

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 07:56:25 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on July 16, 2021, 07:48:15 amWhat I do is tell the seller to keep the side panels and the doors, then send it motor freight. There is no need for the sides and doors in most environments, other than cosmetics, and the rack will weigh quite a bit less without them. The seller will be happy because they can sell them to a scrap recycler.Then, you simply leave enough room to squeeze behind the rack when you need to work on something. It should bepossibleto get back there -- otherwise you're in real trouble, because you aren't going to move these things once they're full of equipment -- but notcomfortable, because otherwise you're wasting floor space.I have four of these and wish I had room for another. They are awesome.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 08:03:07 am
content: yea I used to lift pretty heavy and their a bitch to move especially on a tile floor when they are fully loaded.I don't use the screw though, I bought shelves for everything. Anyway it should be OK if I get a 2x 1 inch thick steel rods and thread them to add ribs .. the equipment is way more fun to pay for then the rack but I was able to actually get some cool setups going where I make use of all the 'features' in gear.. designing circuits is actually fun again when I can test design details I am unsure of without making a 'hole in 1'day 1: rearrange equipmentday 2: use equipmentI actually have been sliding it in and out of its hole frequently, kind of want to put a sheet of aluminum on the floor so its not driving over grouted tiles, but I can defiantly use the exerciseI need like two or 3 more lol, the only problem is now sometimes there is so many cables I can't see the equipment or adjust things without disturbing it but I bought another 50 feet of rg400 and 50 connectors and 40 feet of rg316 so I can make a ton of cables of various lengthsthere is so much unexplored stuff because normally you can't even access those additional features in typical setups without a complete mess. also the other fun part is polishing like 200 BNC connectors to get em nice.. I found the little 1.1mm nylon brush in a dremel works good for the center pins

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 11:52:04 am
content: Thing is that most people use these racks to mount much lighter equipment. Stuff like networking gear or audio gear and such where the devices are mostly just one or two PCBs inside a mostly empty box.Old RF test gear dinosaurs are about the heaviest things you can put in such a rack. The closest contender are likely the huge servers that are filled to the brim with a mountain of hard drives. Another contender might be the giant speaker amplifiers used on live concerts (But those tend to be packed into a different style of portable rack).I keep my test gear inside a old 42U Compaq server rack. It already came on caster wheels for nice and easy moving around. The thing is built like a tank, its difficult to lift even with all the doors and panels removed. Just one side panel is so thick and heavy that it takes a fair bit of effort from one person to carry. Similar for the doors. Forgot what the thing weighs by spec, but its well over 100kg. I probably stuffed close to about 200kg of gear into the thing and its rock solid. I picked up the thing used for i think about 80€

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 12:07:25 pm
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on July 16, 2021, 06:08:10 amOnce its buckled, you'll *NEVER* get the strength back, unless you reinforce it with as much or more metal than it had originally, firmly attached to the faces and/or edges of the existing structure so as to maximize stiffness, or simply replace every part that is even slightly buckled. That's a lot of work and expense . . .IMHO, buy a better heavy duty (possibly used) rack, transfer stuff from the old rack then dispose of it, but *DON'T* overload the replacement rack!

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 01:56:49 pm
content: the rated ebay pounds was not reached or exceeded, its just standard lies

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 04:31:02 pm
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on July 16, 2021, 01:56:49 pmThe Chinese on ebay will also proudly sell you a 18650 lithium battery with a capacity of 10000mAh all while the best 18650 cells from people like Samsung only reach 3500mAh. When you actually measure the capacity you get more like 1500mAh if you are lucky. Similar story if you search for flashlights, they will proudly sell you a 50 000 lumen LED flashlight that is the about the size of a whiteboard marker and runs from a single AA battery, you don't need to actually test it to know that there is no way you are getting those sort of lumens out of that little toy.Try looking around your local used goods market sites and find a old rack cabinet they are throwing out. People want to get rid of them quickly due to how large they are and shipping is not an option so they typically go for under 100 bucks. Only catch is that you will need to go get it in person and load it up onto a trailer.

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 10:16:31 pm
content: Quote from: Berni on July 16, 2021, 04:31:02 pmYep. The only way you will get the rated amount of energy out of eBay batteries is to weigh them and multiply by c2.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2021, 04:48:34 am
content: its propped up on a scissor jack for now