11 Slot DIY API 500 series rack

[[silent:arts]]

no ??? ;D










not yet

 

[dandeurloo]

any sort of timeline?  Sorry to bug.

 

[[silent:arts]]

any sort of timeline?  Sorry to bug.

- well the Prototype PCBs should arrive next week
- I have already ordered the XLR connectors, but the female ones have a lead-time of a few weeks
- still have to place an order for the Edacs and the PSU part
- Sahib needs the PCBs to do / check his prototype
- taking orders / group buys / manufacturing will take some time
- we are doing this in our (little) spare time

will take some time, but shouldn't take until christmas.
I would prefer eastern.
but I don't know.

 

[jensenmann]

Dan will surely help you organize the groupbuy to speed up things 

right, Dan?
;D

 

[dandeurloo]

i would be interested depending on estimated cost and time line.  I just don't know how long i can hold off the wolves of gear addiction and no 500 series stuff.  Anyone else interested?

 

[[silent:arts]]

the estimated cost will depend heavily on what you want to build
(and where you buy the parts),

it goes from the simple cheap version
(11 Slot 15Pin with external PSU and SubD Connectors)
up to the king size version
(12 Slot 18Pin with integrated PSU, custom PSU transformer and 24 Neutrik XLR Connectors)
bought in single quantity and using best quality parts this version can get expensive ...

btw, expect some photos this evening, DHL tracking says "delivered" ;D

 

[dandeurloo]

great, i can't wait for some pics.

 

[RedNoise]

;D

 

[[silent:arts]]

GDIY511:

GDIY512:

GDIY506XLR & GDIY506SubD:

sorry for the crapy pics.
GDIY51PSU PCBs should arrive end of the week.
once all PCBs are in I will ship a set to Sahib for his case prototype.
hope the parts to stuff and test the PCBs will arrive soon ...

 

[mitsos]

nice.. dig the yellow color.. thanks volker!

 

[bernbrue]

Hi Volker,
I love your new avatar. Hope to see you in a yellow T-shirt soon. These pictures let the sun shine brightly. Excellent work.
regards
Bernd

 

[jdbakker]

GDIY511:

On the final version you may want to consider mounting holes for the EDAC connectors. Without those, module insertion/extraction stresses are transferred directly to the solder joints, and that's a maintenance nightmare waiting to happen, especially for equipment used on tour. The same goes for the Neutriks: directly soldering them to the board is not a good plan, even with an extra-thick PCB.

Lining up the board mounting holes with the Neutriks and not the EDACs is somewhat questionable, depending on the stiffness of the case.

JDB.

 

[[silent:arts]]

... Hope to see you in a yellow T-shirt soon ...

;D  ;D  ;D
will never happen, I'm always dressed in black

 

[[silent:arts]]

On the final version you may want to consider mounting holes for the EDAC connectors. Without those, module insertion/extraction stresses are transferred directly to the solder joints, and that's a maintenance nightmare waiting to happen, especially for equipment used on tour. The same goes for the Neutriks: directly soldering them to the board is not a good plan, even with an extra-thick PCB.

Lining up the board mounting holes with the Neutriks and not the EDACs is somewhat questionable, depending on the stiffness of the case.

valid points, thanks for the suggestions.
but I have some others too

EDACs:
- haven't seen the EDACs screwed down on any 500 Rack before (API (in real), Purple Audio, etc (photos only))
- under the upper mounting holes there are signal traces to the 50 pin remote connector
- PCB thickness of the backplanes is 3.2 mm

XLRs:
- they are only soldered directly to the backplane if you want to do an API500 only version without the extra features
- if you use the "remote I/O connectors" (XLR or SubD) they are soldered on extra PCBs

Lining Up:
- this is Sahibs Job with the cases. there are enough PCB mounting holes. and as said before: I do not think a lot of people will build the API500 only version. all others have to use the "remote I/O" anyway

for sure there is a way to build the best, robust and tour safe version.
the intention of this thread was to do a cost effective DIY version.
we included loads of features.
no way to include all

another thing: if this prototype PCBs work well they won't be changed.
too much time and money invested already.

 

[Harpo]

beautiful work .. will need some more rackspace ..

Lemonblack is the upcoming colour for T-shirts. ;D

 

[[silent:arts]]

... Lemonblack is the upcoming colour for T-shirts. ;D

I could include T-shirts as a further option ;D

 

[joe-electro]

Unbelievable. You guys kill me. You really do.

---Joe

 

[jdbakker]

EDACs:
- haven't seen the EDACs screwed down on any 500 Rack before (API (in real), Purple Audio, etc (photos only))

Not even for the lunchboxes? I would expect the EDACs on those to be screwed down, given the amount of abuse they get.

In a previous life I designed/debugged industrial measurement equipment. Our legacy subrack backplane had similar connectors, and IIRC they were in the top 5 of causes for failure (to the point where step 2 in our field engineers' checklist was to try it in a different slot, just after 'see if it has power'). Bolting the connectors to (a new revision of) the backplane board helped, switching to proper (DIN 41612) connectors and guide pins helped even more.

Admittedly, several of these units were installed in nastier environments than the typical studio rack, and as they were allowed to draw more power per cm3 I suspect thermal cycling was worse too. Then again, just like in the 500-format the EDAC is a major mechanical component in the mounting of the subrack module.

(In some cases, having a thicker backplane board can put more stress on the connectors, as a stiffer backplane will yield less to push/flex stress, so that the contacts and the solder connections get to deal with more of the mechanical load).

XLRs:
- they are only soldered directly to the backplane if you want to do an API500 only version without the extra features
- if you use the "remote I/O connectors" (XLR or SubD) they are soldered on extra PCBs

Fair enough. I had read about that option upthread, but forgotten about it when composing my post. Sorry about that.

for sure there is a way to build the best, robust and tour safe version.
the intention of this thread was to do a cost effective DIY version.
we included loads of features.
no way to include all

Sure. I could see that a typical usage scenario involves connecting the rack to a patch panel (love the DB25 option, BTW), installing modules as they get bought/built and pretty much never moving/rewiring/replacing anything, and for that your plan should work just fine. I was thinking from the POV of what a pain debugging intermittent mechanical problems can be on units that do see more abuse, and was looking for minimally intrusive modifications to make the design a bit more robust.

Looking forward to seeing the end result,

JDB.

 

[TomWaterman]

Fantastic work Volker!!!

You are a machine!

 

[guavatone]

Unbelievable. You guys kill me. You really do.

---Joe

x2