Racks, rails and panels

From: Ian Primus <ian_primus_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Nov 17 21:01:36 2003

As I start my task of assembling a PDP 11/73, I am trying to get a good
sense of order, and am planning how I want to mount the computer and
associated stuff in a rack. The rack I will be using for most of this
is a four foot high Digital rack, the kind with the black side panels.
My questions are:

How do I get the side panel off the Digital rack? They seem to come
off, and one is loose. I am wanting to remove it, and reattach it so
that it won't rattle. Also, the top panels are a little crooked. I have
tried to look for how the thing is put together, but it's hard for me
to tell, being unfamiliar with racks. What is the trick to removing
those panels?

What are the preferred types of screws to use for mounting things in
racks? One of my racks has threaded holes, but the Digital one doesn't.
Should I just go to the hardware store and get some 1/4-20 nuts and
bolts, or is there a recommended or standard size? Also, what is the
threading on racks with threaded holes? Is this a standard size bolt?

Also, I have a Fujitsu Eagle, which, aside from being very heavy, also
needs a new set of rails. It has some rails already, but I don't have
the mating ones to put in the rack. Do most devices take standard
rails, or are there peculiarities to some drives? Will a normal set of
rails handle a 150 pound hard drive, or do I need something a bit more
robust?

Does it matter what order I put the hardware into the rack? I wouldn't
think that it would, but I'm worried about heat. Once I get rails, the
Fujitsu Eagle will go on the bottom of the rack (Due to it's weight, it
likes to be near the ground...), the PDP 11 will probably be at the top
of the rack, with the tape drive in the middle. Should I leave space
between devices, or will they be all right close to each other? I would
assume that the heat shouldn't be a problem since this hardware was
meant to be in racks, but I thought I would check.

How do I mount a narrow drive? One of the drives is an XMD drive that
was originally in a rack with another one next to it. I only have a
single drive, but I do have the plate that both were originally on. Do
they make "half blanks" for this, or should I just make something out
of wood or cardboard?

On a related note, how should I plug all this stuff in? I'll have at
least three power cords, one for the computer, one for the Eagle and
one for the tape drive, then there will likely be another drive or two.
What should I plug these into? Will a heavy duty power strip handle the
load, or should I split it up? What about a single circuit? From what I
have read, an 11/73 shouldn't draw that much juice, the only thing I
worry about is how much current the drives need. I'd still imagine that
a regular household 15 amp line should do it though.

Thanks!

Ian Primus
ian_primus_at_yahoo.com
Received on Mon Nov 17 2003 - 21:01:36 GMT