Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Short version:

Old bed rails, chopsaw, drill press; welder and angle grinder optional. Lubricate well with alcohol and one to three similarly mechanically-minded friends. You may be forced to make a strategic withdrawal in the wee hours of the morning as exhaustion overtakes you; this just makes for a more interesting return sortie a day or two later. 


Cheers,


mnem
*whump* ZZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzzZZzz...

Too young to drink and my friends are carefully arranged lines of sand. 

And what is wrong with simply stacking them up? By definition they will be boat anchors anyway so therefore not going to run away. [emoji23]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

I want a sever rack to A) clear up space on my current table (no more parts boxes on the floor)  &
B) to look 

My plan A to use said serer rack is to take a shelf like the one i linked and secure them by any means necessary, if any means are in fact necessary.
Plan B, make ears for the fun of it and also to look 


But really one excellent example of the virtues of a server rack, my 608C is taking up a large hunk of my table that i could just as easily use for something else.

Agreed but aren't server racks 19.5" wide with the occasional shelf in them? If so use the shelf,s to stack them on? It gets them off your bench and floor with having to have the ears.

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[Mr. Scram]

If you have equipment that's light enough it needs to be secured to the shelf, it's too damned new. 


mnem
"...when gravity fails,
and negativity don't pull you through...
Don't put on any airs,
When you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue.
They got some hungry women there,
And they'll really make a mess outta you-ou..."

My bench grinder tends to disagree. Heavy as anything, but also scary as anything if you omit bolting it down.

[neo]

Agreed but aren't server racks 19.5" wide with the occasional shelf in them? If so use the shelf,s to stack them on? It gets them off your bench and floor with having to have the ears.

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

Exactly my plan, to use this as the shelf. Affixing them, the boat anchors, if i have to.

[mnementh]

If you have equipment that's light enough it needs to be secured to the shelf, it's too damned new. 


mnem
"...when gravity fails,
and negativity don't pull you through...
Don't put on any airs,
When you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue.
They got some hungry women there,
And they'll really make a mess outta you-ou..."

Let me be more specific, should i try making rack mount ears OR should i just zip tie the items together onto a 200lb server rack shelf.  The second option negating the need (and cost) of me attempting to make ears.

Short version:

Old bed rails, chopsaw, drill press; welder and angle grinder optional. Lubricate well with alcohol and one to three similarly mechanically-minded friends. You may be forced to make a strategic withdrawal in the wee hours of the morning as exhaustion overtakes you; this just makes for a more interesting return sortie a day or two later. 


Cheers,


mnem
*whump* ZZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzzZZzz...

Butchers you are all metalwork butchers 

 

And its done ready to add to the rack, square and a 'proper' job 

Maybe so, but I'll offer this free advice, based on mounting hundreds of bits of networking gear in racks, and decades earlier, hundreds of bits of PA, Music, Sound processing & amplifier gear in mobile racks and stacks...

Never count on the chassis of the gear as a structural member for your framing; always make a bracket that is self-supporting that your gear hangs from. I've done the clever trick you did of bolting the equipment to each other (it does look awesome, BTW), only to have them, much to my horror, pull the chassis apart of one or both units. Eventually, they WILL at least sag right at the joint; it is nigh-inevitable. Your best hope of avoiding this is to have that set of gear resting directly on top of another single piece so it supports their weight; but THAT can be VERY hard to accomplish within the constraints of standardized slot spacing.

I know this seems counter-intuitive, as much network gear is made precisely this way with just metal angles bolted to the chassis; but network gear doesn't get move AT ALL and is very rarely handled at all once it's hung. And sometimes, it STILL sags at the chassis joint; that's why we have shelves for heavy stuff.

It seems the act of adding an extra junction like this somehow not only invites Murphy, it incenses him to do his worst.

Short version:

Old bed rails, chopsaw, drill press; welder and angle grinder optional. Lubricate well with alcohol and one to three similarly mechanically-minded friends. You may be forced to make a strategic withdrawal in the wee hours of the morning as exhaustion overtakes you; this just makes for a more interesting return sortie a day or two later. 


Cheers,


mnem
*whump* ZZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzzZZzz...

Too young to drink and my friends are carefully arranged lines of sand. 

Alter your FOV; remove at least one or two degrees of separation. Your friends should at most be on the other side of that carefully arranged sand; and then, only part of the time.

In short: Get up, get out, meet people, DO something even if it's wrong. IRL should be more to you than an acronym for an abstract concept. 

(SNIP)

And what is wrong with simply stacking them up? By definition they will be boat anchors anyway so therefore not going to run away. [emoji23]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

And we've just gone recursive, so I'm going to go weld something now... 

If you have equipment that's light enough it needs to be secured to the shelf, it's too damned new. 


mnem
"...when gravity fails,
and negativity don't pull you through...
Don't put on any airs,
When you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue.
They got some hungry women there,
And they'll really make a mess outta you-ou..."

My bench grinder tends to disagree. Heavy as anything, but also scary as anything if you omit bolting it down.

Ahh, yes... but that's MACHINERY, not EQUIPMENT. The difference is subtle; mostly it revolves around whether or not the subject has sufficient motivation to jump off the bench of its own accord... 


mnem
...and whether Murphy is interested in you at the moment.

[Cerebus]

Maybe so, but I'll offer this free advice, based on mounting hundreds of bits of networking gear in racks, and decades earlier, hundreds of bits of PA, Music, Sound processing & amplifier gear in mobile racks and stacks...

Never count on the chassis of the gear as a structural member for your framing; always make a bracket that is self-supporting that your gear hangs from. I've done the clever trick you did of bolting the equipment to each other (it does look awesome, BTW), only to have them, much to my horror, pull the chassis apart of one or both units. Eventually, they WILL at least sag right at the joint; it is nigh-inevitable. Your best hope of avoiding this is to have that set of gear resting directly on top of another single piece so it supports their weight; but THAT can be VERY hard to accomplish within the constraints of standardized slot spacing.

I know this seems counter-intuitive, as much network gear is made precisely this way with just metal angles bolted to the chassis; but network gear doesn't get move AT ALL and is very rarely handled at all once it's hung. And sometimes, it STILL sags at the chassis joint; that's why we have shelves for heavy stuff.

I'd agree with all of that but point out that these are HP boxes which were properly designed to be mounted like this. That's why that generation has a thick aluminium die casting at the front. You'll note if you look at the inside of that generation, that transformers and other heavy stuff was always put at the front of the enclosure.

Somewhere I've got some of the bits designed to lock two of those half rack units together in the middle, they make the units mutually slot into each other without an intervening gap.

Often the problem with rack mounting gear isn't that the chassis isn't strong enough, it's that it isn't strong enough if only supported at the front. Add brackets to the rear as well and 99% of stuff is fine. Always get racks that have rear rails unless they aren't more than 10-12 inches deep (including cable space). If it's a full 600x600mm rack, rear rails are essential.

[bd139]

Yes. Also never count on the quality of the rack. I've seen a few 1U units which were just racked at the front and they bend the vertical rails out when they sag. This you don't find until you're trying to install a set of sliding rails (mounted on front and rear verticals) for a larger item and then you realise the bastards don't sit flush. You can't exactly go lumping them with a hammer when they're full of disks either.

Still better than one place I found. Turned up to found our servers were just piled up on top of each other in the bottom of a 2 rail comms rack. If the DC had mounted them properly it'd have all fallen over or broken. Had to get the bottom machine out without taking down several high profile web estates.   

[mnementh]

Maybe so, but I'll offer this free advice, based on mounting hundreds of bits of networking gear in racks, and decades earlier, hundreds of bits of PA, Music, Sound processing & amplifier gear in mobile racks and stacks...

Never count on the chassis of the gear as a structural member for your framing; always make a bracket that is self-supporting that your gear hangs from. I've done the clever trick you did of bolting the equipment to each other (it does look awesome, BTW), only to have them, much to my horror, pull the chassis apart of one or both units. Eventually, they WILL at least sag right at the joint; it is nigh-inevitable. Your best hope of avoiding this is to have that set of gear resting directly on top of another single piece so it supports their weight; but THAT can be VERY hard to accomplish within the constraints of standardized slot spacing.

I know this seems counter-intuitive, as much network gear is made precisely this way with just metal angles bolted to the chassis; but network gear doesn't get move AT ALL and is very rarely handled at all once it's hung. And sometimes, it STILL sags at the chassis joint; that's why we have shelves for heavy stuff.

I'd agree with all of that but point out that these are HP boxes which were properly designed to be mounted like this. That's why that generation has a thick aluminium die casting at the front. You'll note if you look at the inside of that generation, that transformers and other heavy stuff was always put at the front of the enclosure.

Somewhere I've got some of the bits designed to lock two of those half rack units together in the middle, they make the units mutually slot into each other without an intervening gap.

Often the problem with rack mounting gear isn't that the chassis isn't strong enough, it's that it isn't strong enough if only supported at the front. Add brackets to the rear as well and 99% of stuff is fine. Always get racks that have rear rails unless they aren't more than 10-12 inches deep (including cable space). If it's a full 600x600mm rack, rear rails are essential.

Fair enough... and agreed for sure on full-depth brackets or shelving as I referred to already. Those AL castings can get pretty brittle with age though; then failures become heartbreaking events.

Yes. Also never count on the quality of the rack. I've seen a few 1U units which were just racked at the front and they bend the vertical rails out when they sag. This you don't find until you're trying to install a set of sliding rails (mounted on front and rear verticals) for a larger item and then you realise the bastards don't sit flush. You can't exactly go lumping them with a hammer when they're full of disks either.

Still better than one place I found. Turned up to found our servers were just piled up on top of each other in the bottom of a 2 rail comms rack. If the DC had mounted them properly it'd have all fallen over or broken. Had to get the bottom machine out without taking down several high profile web estates.   

Or a 16-port switch with 6" long ears holding up a freaking 3KVA UPS... or a 2U 4U server... or BOTH.  Been dere, dunnat, burned the shirt. While I was wearing it.


mnem
Why am I not welding at this very moment?

[Cerebus]

Those AL castings can get pretty brittle with age though; then failures become heartbreaking events.

I've seen plenty of brittle failures in Al casting in my time, heck I've seen shattered Al castings. I have never seen one of the HP ones with brittle failures. I've seen much abused HP kit, plenty dented and gashed, but never a brittle failure. I'm not saying that it never happens, just not in my experience and only with HP gear. I think they just got the metallurgy right, probably including some relatively expensive post casting annealing.

[bd139]

HP aluminium stuff is usually nuclear bomb proof. Shame about their plastics which usually get destroyed by the cast lump attached to their butts.

[nixiefreqq]

HP aluminium stuff is usually nuclear bomb proof. Shame about their plastics which usually get destroyed by the cast lump attached to their butts.

this 5340a would not count above 250mhz.

was gonna' go in and look for a problem in the sampler front end.  but before I got the time the handle just snapped off.

after that it has always worked a-ok up to the 6ghz limit of my in house generators.

go figure!

hp aluminium is pretty tough......except for the handles.

thats my story and i'm stickin' to it.

[bd139]

Oops. Stings when stuff like that happens.

Nice 8640. Been after one of them for ages.

[beanflying]

HP aluminium stuff is usually nuclear bomb proof. Shame about their plastics which usually get destroyed by the cast lump attached to their butts.

this 5340a would not count above 250mhz.

was gonna' go in and look for a problem in the sampler front end.  but before I got the time the handle just snapped off.

after that it has always worked a-ok up to the 6ghz limit of my in house generators.

go figure!

hp aluminium is pretty tough......except for the handles.

thats my story and i'm stickin' to it.

Just send it to me I have experience in brazing broken HP handles 

[Cubdriver]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the handle at some point took a good hit that cracked it at the point it failed, and eventually what was left gave up on holding.  I've had a few take hits due to piss poor packing, and one or two in my stable are partially cracked where they join the chassis.  At some point I'll braze them.

-Pat

[bitseeker]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the handle at some point took a good hit that cracked it at the point it failed, and eventually what was left gave up on holding.  I've had a few take hits due to piss poor packing, and one or two in my stable are partially cracked where they join the chassis.  At some point I'll braze them.

Limb + crack = bad day

Yeah, micro-fractures from prior trauma could certainly lead to such failure.

[nixiefreqq]

HP aluminium stuff is usually nuclear bomb proof. Shame about their plastics which usually get destroyed by the cast lump attached to their butts.

this 5340a would not count above 250mhz.

was gonna' go in and look for a problem in the sampler front end.  but before I got the time the handle just snapped off.

after that it has always worked a-ok up to the 6ghz limit of my in house generators.

go figure!

hp aluminium is pretty tough......except for the handles.

thats my story and i'm stickin' to it.

Just send it to me I have experience in brazing broken HP handles 

had an 8403a modulator with the same 17" deep side rails.

the 8403a was a some kind of pulse generator for use in radar testing.  don't own a radar......so it donated a rail to rehabilitate the 18ghz nixie counter.

now the 8403 is wonky lookin', but who cares?  ("wonky" is a word the little woman taught me.  she also has called me a "bloody idiot".  is that really different than any other idiot?  AND she once threatened me with something called "bubble and squeak"....no idea what that is.....but it sounds pretty damn scary.  keep telling her she left london 50 years and really needs to learn to speak english.) 

its the first day of spring here in south central pa and there is 6 inches of happiness on the driveway.  going out now to fire up the snow blower.

[tggzzz]

On Sunday you have a roast joint, roast potatoes, and a vegetable such as carrots, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, parsnips. You should cook too much of everything so that nobody goes hungry.

On Monday you have the remains of the cold meat, and everything else is coarsely cut up and heated in a frying pan - and that's the delicious bubble and squeak.

Naturally you can now buy bubble and squeak in supermarkets, which entirely misses the point!

[bd139]

Or not because my oven is broken

Please don't talk about any food which involves oven cooking as I'm missing it . New oven on Thursday. 

[Specmaster]

Or not because my oven is broken

Got a Halogen or Microwave that you could use in the main time then?

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[bd139]

Got a Halogen or Microwave that you could use in the main time then?

Getting replaced on Thursday.  However you can't microwave chickens, cows, pizza, roast potatoes, garlic bread, lasagne in a manor that doesn't result in ick.

Grill still works but I'm actually running out of things to grill now.

And it's still too blood cold for salad.

[Specmaster]

Got a Halogen or Microwave that you could use in the main time then?

Getting replaced on Thursday.  However you can't microwave chickens, cows, pizza, roast potatoes, garlic bread, lasagne in a manor that doesn't result in ick.

Grill still works but I'm actually running out of things to grill now.

And it's still too blood cold for salad.

Toast it is then, cheese on toast yummy [emoji16]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[tggzzz]

Or not because my oven is broken

Please don't talk about any food which involves oven cooking as I'm missing it . New oven on Thursday.

You're an engineer. Stop whining and MacGyver something.

How many PSUs have you got? Or boatanchors?

[nixiefreqq]

Got a Halogen or Microwave that you could use in the main time then?

Getting replaced on Thursday.  However you can't microwave chickens, cows, pizza, roast potatoes, garlic bread, lasagne in a manor that doesn't result in ick.

Grill still works but I'm actually running out of things to grill now.

And it's still too blood cold for salad.

Toast it is then, cheese on toast yummy [emoji16]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

what?  cheese on toast?

swmbo once tried to feed me "beans on toast" and claimed it was a real thing back home.

come on......she made that up.....right?

[bd139]

You're an engineer. Stop whining and MacGyver something.

How many PSUs have you got? Or boatanchors?

My wife wouldn't let me build a fire round my safe. I gave up then.

Got a Halogen or Microwave that you could use in the main time then?

Getting replaced on Thursday.  However you can't microwave chickens, cows, pizza, roast potatoes, garlic bread, lasagne in a manor that doesn't result in ick.

Grill still works but I'm actually running out of things to grill now.

And it's still too blood cold for salad.

Toast it is then, cheese on toast yummy [emoji16]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

what?  cheese on toast?

swmbo once tried to feed me "beans on toast" and claimed it was a real thing back home.

come on......she made that up.....right?

That's what I had for dinner, with a fried egg



(mine looked worse than the stock photo above)

[Cerebus]

Well, we had mushrooms on toasted freshly baked ciabatta for Tea tonight.

Then we had the sweet, sweet cinnamony oven-baked apple strudel that I'd also made because I knew that mushrooms on toast was a bit 'lightweight'.

Pasta bake tomorrow I think, but I might go with some pan fried chicken with tarragon, finished off in the oven.

Heh, heh, heh... 

All true by the way.

[nixiefreqq]

holy freakin' crap!

looks like I owe the little woman an apology.

or we could just pretend this conversation never happened.

will try to un-see that picture too.

(maybe its the kind of thing you have to be indoctrinated to early in life?)