Racking Up QuantAsylum Test Equipment
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| New QuantAsylum rack shelf on SKB 19" rack |
I wanted to pull my QuantAsylum test pieces together into a solid kit that I can transport, plug-in and use conveniently. It took me three tries but I finally got it put together in a nice test kit configuration that sets up fast, has all the connections accessible and protects the equipment during transport. The new QuantAsylum rack mount accessory brought two QA test gear components together to form a sturdy package.
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| The assembled system - Click to enlarge |
When the system is deployed the laptop sits on top of the rack and all the cables connect easily. One (white) extension cord connects the rack to AC wall power.
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| Rack shelf power supply - Click to enlarge |
Here is my power supply rack shelf out of the rack. This shelf will actually be mounted upside down in the rear of the rack so the attached boxes will hang from the roof inside. This will keep the adjacent unused front rack space free for two more QA boxes to be added using a second QA rack shelf. The USB Hub has lots of additional ports and is ready to connect with more QA test gear or other USB accessories.
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| USB Hub outlets face towards rear - Click to enlarge |
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| Power Supply & USB Hub hanging - Click to enlarge |
FAST SET UP: (1) Plug the white extension cord into the wall, (2) plug the power supply cable to laptop and (3) plug the USB cable to laptop. Boot up the computer and start analyzing. All the other components are already connected.
The 12-volt/5-amp USB Hub power supply provides lots of current for the hungry QA Audio Analyzer.
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| QuantAsylum rack mount accessory - Click to enlarge |
I had read on the QA web site that there was a rack mount accessory. I contacted QA and obtained their latest rack mount kit, a formed metal shelf with mounting screws for attaching the test equipment components.
The QA shelf is finished in a very attractive QA factory-red paint job. The shelf is made from some fairly thin metal but once you have the QA boxes mounted it firms up nicely. The QA boxes are so compact and lightweight that the shelf does not need to be heavy gauge metal.
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| Note the mounting holes in the shelf and bag of mounting screws |
MOUNTING QA BOXES TO THE SHELF
The shelf came with a small bag of mounting screws which appear to have a bit of blue Locktite on the threads. You remove the stock feet from the QA box and use the new screws to go through the shelf into the bottom of the box where the feet previously attached. All the hardware lined up and mounted very easily.
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| Bottom view of mounting holes |
It took less than five minutes to remove the feet and mount two QA boxes to the shelf.
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| Click to enlarge |
After mounting the QA test devices to the rack shelf I slid the whole thing into the carrying rack to check the fit. Any fears I had about the unit being flimsy or too light vanished after I had everything screwed together tightly.
There is plenty of clearance on the back side for the USB connections on the rear of each QA box.
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| Click to enlarge |
I slid the two rack mounted QA boxes into the rack and mounted it up with industry standard 10/32 screws. All the holes lined up beautifully.
To test the fit of the QA pieces in their new rack mount configuration I mounted a beefy, 1U, 19" DBX stereo compressor above the QA boxes. It was easy to slide the DBX into the rack, nothing on the QA shelf stuck up or got in the way of another piece being mounted above or below.
EPILOGUE
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| The assembled system running - Click to enlarge |
Overall I like the QuantAsylum rack mounting accessory a lot. It was easy to implement, sturdy enough to handle the QA test boxes and light in weight so my portable test rig remains easy to carry.
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| Rear side of rack - Click to enlarge |
Around back there are only three cables exiting the rack for connections, the system sets up in less than three minutes and most of that is spent removing the case covers.
I've got a studio full of equipment just waiting for the testing experiments to begin. Next in this series we'll be looking at the specialized cable connections needed to interface professional audio equipment with the QuantAsylum BNC connectors.
Thanks for reading High on Technology, Good Music To You!©FEB 2024 by Mark King, it's not ok to copy or quote without written permission from the author.
