For the last few years on my desk I have kept a couple of scanners for day-to-day use. These have generally been in a Scanner Master 4-scanner desk stand. I added a bracket on the side for my SDS100 and would often put an extra radio on top as shown below:
On the rear of the panel I use a Stridsberg 8-port active multicoupler, that shares the antenna to the radios in the rack and my two HomePatrols on the desk. The rack has 2 BCD536HP’s, 2 BCD996XT’s, an SDS200, and an SDS100. These will go into the new rack.
This has worked well for me but if you know me you know that I am never happy unless I am changing things. My friend Jonathan made a cabinet for 4 scanners that worked great, it lives on a shelf above his desk. I considered copying that and making one of my own but realized that it would require some sort of angling to make it work for me. If it were flat on the desk it would be hard to see the display or access the buttons. My woodworking skills are limited to what I can get the guy at Home Depot to cut for me so a squared box would be no issue, having any angle cuts would be nearly impossible.
I started to look for pre-made cabinets for this project, looking at 4u to accommodate 2 2u panels. and found they are called “Turret” racks for the angle they use. Since the SDS200 will not fit properly into a 2u rack I figured I would mount it to the top using the standard bracket but then thought that if I could find a turret rack with a flat top I could just set the SDS200 on top along with my desk mic and perhaps other stuff. I could also use the extra inside room if needed for the multicoupler and power devices.
I found such a rack at AudioRax. They make a large selection of 19” racks that you can configure almost any way you want. They had a 4u rack with a flat top that was perfect for my needs. They sell a 4u turret rack in black without the flat top for about $90 as a stock item but I opted to spend the extra money and get the special order flat top for about $140 with the woodstain in my choice of color. (4 Space (4U) | Baltic Birch Angled Desktop Rackpod Turret Fl) It arrived within the week and took less than 5 minutes to assemble.
I ordered some of the 2u DIN sleeve rack panels from Scanner Master, they should arrive soon. I opted to go this route as they do not require faceplates and have a cleaner look than the ones I use on my Network Cabinet build. There is no visible hardware except for the edge screws holding the panels to the rack. I already have a couple of these on my cabinet and will likely get some more to replace the ones I use now to eliminate the hardware appearance.
For power I needed 2 AC outlets in the cabinet (One for the 12VDC supply, and one for the HP1) as well as 2 USB power ports (HP2, SDS100). I stopped by Best Buy as well as other places and found a couple options. Since I did not yet have the cabinet I was unsure of how much room I would have so I looked for a compact solution. I found a desktop power solution that had 3 AC, 2 USB-1 and a USB-C power outlets along with a 5-foot line cord. This as all in a small 6x6 inch package and was perfect for this project. As it turned out the case was plenty big enough to use a larger unit but I like this one anyway.
I made a power harness with 5 Uniden 3-wire power cords (Thanks Dale!) as well as a coaxial plug to use on the multicoupler. I reused my 4-scanner power adapter from Scanner Master which is a 12V 6A transformer, plenty to run 5 scanners and the multicoupler. I velcro’d the AC power strip to the base of the cabinet and the DC supply as well. The multicoupler was attached to the top of the interior of the cabinet. I bought a 12-inch AC line cord for the power brick so I would not need to tie up all that extra cord from the standard line cord.
I used stick-on felt pads under the rack to allow me to slide it a bit here and there without marring the desk finish. I used rubber feet under the SDS200 to keep it from sliding on the top of the rack. There is plenty of room on top for other stuff, like my desk mic, speakers etc.
I hope to have the panels here in the next day or two, I have the DIN sleeves and the radios waiting for them (Thanks again Dale!) so when that arrives I will install the radios in them after mounting them to the rack.
The Home Patrols will live either on top of the rack next to the SDS200 or more likely on the desktop in the well under the front lip. The overhang of the panel is just right for the HomePatrols to fit under.
I will post pics of the finished project as soon as it has been completed and placed. For now here are a couple pics of the job in process:
Here is a picture of the rear of the cabinet with the AC power strip, DC supply and multi coupler installed and the SDS200 placed. The SDS100 will go on a Scanner Master Desk Stand along side or on top of the finished project:
Here is the front of the cabinet with the HomePatrols and SDS200 placed. The racks and the other scanners will be installed when the racks arrive, hopefully in a day or two:
On the rear of the panel I use a Stridsberg 8-port active multicoupler, that shares the antenna to the radios in the rack and my two HomePatrols on the desk. The rack has 2 BCD536HP’s, 2 BCD996XT’s, an SDS200, and an SDS100. These will go into the new rack.
This has worked well for me but if you know me you know that I am never happy unless I am changing things. My friend Jonathan made a cabinet for 4 scanners that worked great, it lives on a shelf above his desk. I considered copying that and making one of my own but realized that it would require some sort of angling to make it work for me. If it were flat on the desk it would be hard to see the display or access the buttons. My woodworking skills are limited to what I can get the guy at Home Depot to cut for me so a squared box would be no issue, having any angle cuts would be nearly impossible.
I started to look for pre-made cabinets for this project, looking at 4u to accommodate 2 2u panels. and found they are called “Turret” racks for the angle they use. Since the SDS200 will not fit properly into a 2u rack I figured I would mount it to the top using the standard bracket but then thought that if I could find a turret rack with a flat top I could just set the SDS200 on top along with my desk mic and perhaps other stuff. I could also use the extra inside room if needed for the multicoupler and power devices.
I found such a rack at AudioRax. They make a large selection of 19” racks that you can configure almost any way you want. They had a 4u rack with a flat top that was perfect for my needs. They sell a 4u turret rack in black without the flat top for about $90 as a stock item but I opted to spend the extra money and get the special order flat top for about $140 with the woodstain in my choice of color. (4 Space (4U) | Baltic Birch Angled Desktop Rackpod Turret Fl) It arrived within the week and took less than 5 minutes to assemble.
I ordered some of the 2u DIN sleeve rack panels from Scanner Master, they should arrive soon. I opted to go this route as they do not require faceplates and have a cleaner look than the ones I use on my Network Cabinet build. There is no visible hardware except for the edge screws holding the panels to the rack. I already have a couple of these on my cabinet and will likely get some more to replace the ones I use now to eliminate the hardware appearance.
For power I needed 2 AC outlets in the cabinet (One for the 12VDC supply, and one for the HP1) as well as 2 USB power ports (HP2, SDS100). I stopped by Best Buy as well as other places and found a couple options. Since I did not yet have the cabinet I was unsure of how much room I would have so I looked for a compact solution. I found a desktop power solution that had 3 AC, 2 USB-1 and a USB-C power outlets along with a 5-foot line cord. This as all in a small 6x6 inch package and was perfect for this project. As it turned out the case was plenty big enough to use a larger unit but I like this one anyway.
I made a power harness with 5 Uniden 3-wire power cords (Thanks Dale!) as well as a coaxial plug to use on the multicoupler. I reused my 4-scanner power adapter from Scanner Master which is a 12V 6A transformer, plenty to run 5 scanners and the multicoupler. I velcro’d the AC power strip to the base of the cabinet and the DC supply as well. The multicoupler was attached to the top of the interior of the cabinet. I bought a 12-inch AC line cord for the power brick so I would not need to tie up all that extra cord from the standard line cord.
I used stick-on felt pads under the rack to allow me to slide it a bit here and there without marring the desk finish. I used rubber feet under the SDS200 to keep it from sliding on the top of the rack. There is plenty of room on top for other stuff, like my desk mic, speakers etc.
I hope to have the panels here in the next day or two, I have the DIN sleeves and the radios waiting for them (Thanks again Dale!) so when that arrives I will install the radios in them after mounting them to the rack.
The Home Patrols will live either on top of the rack next to the SDS200 or more likely on the desktop in the well under the front lip. The overhang of the panel is just right for the HomePatrols to fit under.
I will post pics of the finished project as soon as it has been completed and placed. For now here are a couple pics of the job in process:
Here is a picture of the rear of the cabinet with the AC power strip, DC supply and multi coupler installed and the SDS200 placed. The SDS100 will go on a Scanner Master Desk Stand along side or on top of the finished project:
Here is the front of the cabinet with the HomePatrols and SDS200 placed. The racks and the other scanners will be installed when the racks arrive, hopefully in a day or two: