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After building my first pair of subs off this site
it quickly became clear I needed a place to store and transport the associated
equipment. Commercially available racks are relatively cheap but thought I’d
have a go at making my own. I couldn't find much useful info on the subject so
pretty much just made it up as I went along. A lot of thought went into this
project but I also made quite a few errors so I Thought I’d share this for
anyone thinking about something similar. Feel free to laugh at my equipment,
this is just a hobby for me and there is only so much cash I can justify
spending on something that gets only very occasional use.
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Case was constructed out of 18mm ply, I’m sure you
could go a lot thinner but I had some left over from a previous project.
Measurements need to be very accurate and corners need to be square because
small errors become very noticeable when you attempt to slide the last bit of
gear in the last remaining rack space! I got my sizes right even with my
hopeless collection of tools and makeshift workshop by clamping top and bottom pieces
together before cutting and same for the sides to ensure opposing panels were exactly
the same dimensions. However I stuffed up during the final gluing and assembly
so mine ended up not quite square
the front and rear removable
lids were created by fully assembling and gluing all six sides, then simply
cutting the lids off. The flat alloy strips around the edges created a snug fit
for the lids. I couldn’t find anywhere that sold rails to secure the fronts of
the rack units so I ended up fileling square holes in a strip of angled alloy
and securing the equipment by inserting a coach bolt from the rear and using
nuts on the front. The result was; units were very secure but was an awfully fiddly
process to get everything mounted. Would DEFINATLY be worthwhile buying the
correct rails, my method was a pain in the ass.
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Next I wanted to have everything at the back as organized
as possible. I used a power conditioner at the top of the rack. Not sure how
important or effective they are but it certainly makes a convenient power
strip. Also the peace of mind of having everything surge protected is not a bad
thing. Extra power socket at the back is for mixer/laptop and the speakon
sockets are much more convenient then the bare wire terminals on the old crown.
I made up custom length xlrs and power cords to keep everything neat and tidy
but that a move I regret now that I need to change the configuration to a 3 way
system. All in all this was a fun and relatively successful project hope this write-up
might help someone.
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