N9JIG Racks the Shack

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N9JIG

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For years I have been thinking about racking my shack and I finally got around to doing it. First, the pics:

Overview:

Overview.JPG


Consoles:

All.JPG


Right Rack ("Always On")
BCT15 (3), BCT15X, BCD996XT, BCD536HP, PSR600 (2), HP-1x, Maxtrac

Right.JPG



Center Rack (More Scanners):
Pro197, PSR410, BCT15 (5), BCT15X (2), TMD-700A

Center.JPG


Left Rack (Specialty Radios):
CDM1250-VHF, CDM1250-UHF-R2, IC7000, R8500, CSI PL decoder, Cimarron MDC Decoder

Left.JPG



Inside the Center Rack (showing wire routes):

Inside.JPG



Computer Desk:

Desk.JPG



The racks are from NorthComm (Radio Specific Power Supplies). Marc, the owner, has been working with me on this project and couldn't have been more cooperative. When I found his products I realized this was the way to go. They use Jotto Desk faceplates (http://jottopublicsafety.gojotto.com/console-accessories.html?Attribs=705&catID=278) which makes it simple to move things around.

Each cabinet (from Chief, ERS-10 - 10U Slanted Economy Rack) has an Astron SRM25 25 amp power supply. Each power supply is connected to a PowerPole strip that allows various 12 power devices to be easily connected. (My entire shack uses PowerPole).

The 2 end cabinets also each have an AC power strip to power accessories etc.

The Right and Center have Stridsberg multicouplers, an 8-port in the center cabinet and an 8 port as well as a 4-port 800 MHz. unit in the right cabinet.

The rack on the right is left on 24/7 with some of the radios used for data systems. The Maxtrac is used to decode ATCS and send the data to an aggregater. The PSR600's are used for Pro96Comm. The 4 BCT15's are used for Fire Tone alerting and the other radios are used for local operations.

The rack in the center is used for scanning and searching. One radio each is set up for VHF air, UHF air, Railroads, and fire channels. The others are used for the whims of the day.

The left rack has my CDM's used for work and GMRS stuff. It also has my IC7000 all-band HF rig as well as my R8500 receiver. The R8500 has a pair of decoders, one for PL and the other for MDC.

So far the speakers on the radios have been sufficient, since the rear of the cabinets are open the volume level is fine without external speakers. The 8500 has a speaker on the rack and the Moto's have front firing speakers.

On top of the racks are my portable chargers and handheld collection. I have a few others out in the car and garage.

Computers are an Apple iMac 27 inch i7 with 16GB RAM, and HP i7 Windows 7Pro machine with 9GB RAM and a MS Surface.

The shack has the Wife Seal of Approval for lack of wires and clutter. I still need to get on the floor and clean up the wires under the desk and shelves but that will wait for later... I also ran out of black rack screws so had to use silver ones until the resupply arrives.
 

mancow

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firemann

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Rich,
Another outstanding job!! I have 5 speakers in my console and need to install something like those LEDs to make it easier to see which radio is active at any moment.
Thanks for posting.
Bill E.
 

Wally46

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Pretty darn nice! I bet no transmissions get past you lol. I seem to listen a lot more than I talk myself. I've always got my scanners going in my radio shack. A lot of action here in this small town.
 

W9WSS

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I would say my usual "show us the antennas," but I already know that they are up in the attic, and many of them are buried in insulation. Doesn't matter, everything sure works well.

I've seen "the before," now I have to see "the after" sometime, Rich.
 

fixit35

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wow fantastic shack. that should be in a magazine with a article and how it all began
 

N9JIG

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A nice thing about how this is set up is that each of the 3 cabinets are entirely self contained. 1 AC power cord and a couple or 3 antenna cables and the whole cabinet can be picked up and relocated.
 

wise871

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Rich, you always impress me when you make changes to your setup. This is your best one to date. I would love to copy what you did but I would be in the poor house with just one cabinet with power supply.
 
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