john12ax7 said:
Did some sketches for some conceptual module faceplates. In some cases 2" width is nice, in others it's unnecessary.
So thinking of some sort of hybrid version. Is there something that would make sense? Like a .700" grid so 12 1.4" or 8 2.1" modules. Or a .667" grid? Maybe something else?
Also for connectors what about shielded lan cat5 connectors? They take up little space and it's an inexpensive way to hook multiple racks together. Lots of db25 or xlr cables can get expensive.
Just throwing out some ideas.
I do not mean to discount your idea but with the hybrid width things start to get out of control.
I think we should stay firm to 2" as this gives us the freedom of using variety of vintage and new transformers which can be quite larger particularly in tube based designs. It also gives us the even number of 8 slots and everybody is happy.
In terms of the connectors I would again like to stay within the industry standard. 2m 8 channel SubD25 to XLR ready made cable costs under GBP 30.00. A panel mount IDC SubD25 costs only a couple of quids.
The other factor we should consider is that SubD25 is already a necessary evil from cross talk point of view. So making the connections anymore compact than that will present even greater risk.
In response to your request in your previous e-mail about keeping the 500 depth to make it easier to adapt existing 500 designs, there is no problem with it.
However, the main problem is the card edge connector positions. We can not keep the existing position of the 500 card edge. Firstly the 500 card edge is 15 pin. We have a maximum rack aperture of 162.6mm and we can not fit 2 x 15 pin card edge as they come up to 168mm.
However, supplying an edge connector adapter card solves the problem. If the user wants to utilise existing 500 designs then they can chop the fingers and hard wire the existing board onto the edge connector adapter.
ruffrecords said:
Obviously I wold like this new 2 inch system to be compatible with standard Euroracks so I can use the same boards for building mixers bi it would appear this is not possible unless the distance from backplane surface to rear surface of front panel is the same as in a Eurorack. This seems to me to be too much of a restriction on the new design.
Fortunately there is a glimmer of hope. I have discovered that some manufacturers make variable length card guides for situations where people need to make non-standard depth cards. I will ivestigate this further.
Cheers
Ian
Ian,
There is no problem with that. As I mentioned before we have the audio and power backplanes sitting forward at the required depth and the connector backplane at the back. The audio and power backplanes will be mounted onto a separate frame which will be fixed to the top and bottom panels. We can provide a number of mounting positions which allow different depth options.
I have already advanced quite far on this. I am planning to complete the mechanical design in a couple of days and then move onto the backplane designs.