A thread for RackMacs

[CC_333]

@cheesestraws I see. I was building an AM/MW radio transmitter (here in the US, I can broadcast without a license per Part 15 of the FCC rules, which limit the transmitter to 100 milliwatts with a 10 foot antenna; I'm not sure what, if any rules exist for such over in the UK), and I was toying with the idea of building it into a rack mount enclosure, so I could keep the power supply and the transmitter in the same box, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted, and the rack cases I was leaning toward were kind of more expensive than I wanted, so I ended up with this:
This particular transmitter (top) can broadcast in stereo (yes, Stereo AM is a thing!), and the Realistic tuner beneath it is capable of receiving the stereo signal (note the prominent "AM STEREO" label above the signal meter).

c

 

[demik]

@wanderingjew
That's so awesome, good job !

 

[olePigeon]

Here's my only rack mount stuff, and probably the most important item in my collection: NASA surplus rack mount Macintosh IIfx. It has dual National Instruments GPIB interface cards (4 cards total) and an 8•24GC video card. While it didn't go into space, it was part of the Reduced Gravity Flight Program. It was installed on a KC-135 0-G aircraft that flew out of Johnson Space Center, logging data for various tests. When it was replaced by more modern equipment, it was moved to a lab at Johnson where it continued its dutiful work. Yes, the ignition key turns it on. You can also turn it on via the keyboard, but that's not as fun.

Above it is a fairly rare Shiva FastPath 5R. It's just two barebones Shiva FastPaths inside. I hope to one day get a small rack mount enclosure and put the IIfx and FastPath in there with an era appropriate switch. I also need to cut a piece of air filter material and repair the filters. It's a custom size. The IIfx also has mounts on the side for rails, so I might be able to make it able to slide out to gain access to the internals. I also plan to build an external floppy connector. As you can see, the enclosure only has an opening for 1 floppy. So I'd like to run a cable out the back for the other floppy drive.

 

[Nixontheknight]

Here's my only rack mount stuff, and probably the most important item in my collection: NASA surplus rack mount Macintosh IIfx. It has dual National Instruments GPIB interface cards (4 cards total) and an 8•24GC video card. While it didn't go into space, it was part of the Reduced Gravity Flight Program. It was installed on a KC-135 0-G aircraft that flew out of Johnson Space Center, logging data for various tests. When it was replaced by more modern equipment, it was moved to a lab at Johnson where it continued its dutiful work. Yes, the ignition key turns it on. You can also turn it on via the keyboard, but that's not as fun.

Above it is a fairly rare Shiva FastPath 5R. It's just two barebones Shiva FastPaths inside. I hope to one day get a small rack mount enclosure and put the IIfx and FastPath in there with an era appropriate switch. I also need to cut a piece of air filter material and repair the filters. It's a custom size. The IIfx also has mounts on the side for rails, so I might be able to make it able to slide out to gain access to the internals. I also plan to build an external floppy connector. As you can see, the enclosure only has an opening for 1 floppy. So I'd like to run a cable out the back for the other floppy drive.

View attachment 54916

other than the cards, is the iifx stock, or did they upgrade anything inside before it was decommissioned?

 

[olePigeon]

other than the cards, is the iifx stock, or did they upgrade anything inside before it was decommissioned?

The motherboard is stock as far as I can tell, but there's a custom circuitboard that goes between the motherboard, the power supply, and the ignition switch, with additional leads that go off to extra fans. It also has two wires that are soldered on to the back of the motherboard to an ADB port.

There's custom mounting hardware for the hard drives (there were two, but one died) and floppy drive, plus a nifty arm that locks down over the NuBus cards to keep them in place.

I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

 

[paws]

> I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

Are you, umm, asking the 68k Mac Liberation Army if any of us want to see the inside of a NASA-upgraded IIfx?!

 

[CuriosTiger]

The motherboard is stock as far as I can tell, but there's a custom circuitboard that goes between the motherboard, the power supply, and the ignition switch, with additional leads that go off to extra fans. It also has two wires that are soldered on to the back of the motherboard to an ADB port.

There's custom mounting hardware for the hard drives (there were two, but one died) and floppy drive, plus a nifty arm that locks down over the NuBus cards to keep them in place.

I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

Everyone wants to see it.

 

[LaPorta]

I use it as an AppleTalk router—LC-class logic boards are more common than LocalTalk to Ethernet gateways and cheaper, and the user interface to set up Apple Internet Router is better. But also, I wanted an excuse to build a rackmac

Color me completely uninitiated...what does an AppleTalk router do, exactly?

 

[cheesestraws]

Color me completely uninitiated...what does an AppleTalk router do, exactly?

Think "posh LocalTalk to Ethernet gateway". It allows multiple physical networks to talk to one another. Mine glues together wired LocalTalk, AirTalk (attached to the other serial port of the LC) and Ethernet.

 

[cheesestraws]

Oh hey, I made a Rackintosh.

Would you mind sending me CAD files for the back, to save me measuring where the port holes should be?

 

[Torbar]

Would you mind sending me CAD files for the back, to save me measuring where the port holes should be?

assuming you're looking for the STL files and not like, the raw CAD design files-they're here

GitHub - bbenchoff/RackmountMac

Contribute to bbenchoff/RackmountMac development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

(not linked to on his page directly, but had to go through the github link and find it there)


I've got an old Sonicwall NSA2600 that I'm planning to use the case/PSU from for my own Rackintosh LC project, so these files are definitely coming in handy. Printed out the backplate last night and it fits like a glove with my LC logic board+network card

 

[cheesestraws]

assuming you're looking for the STL files and not like, the raw CAD design files-they're here

I managed to get what I needed out of the STLs with a bit of OpenSCAD wrangling. Cheers

 

[djhaloeight]

All three of the Rack Macs in this thread are awesome! Love how first one kept the beige color scheme and the second recreated the Q605 front bezel. The third is just cool cuz its ex-NASA, and has a key...nice

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

So glad to have seen this thread resurface again. Got a suggestion for those who'd like to do a RacMac, but would rather do it with laser cut parts for the case. @bigmessowires got a really good start for such with his Clear LC case.



A clear RacMac LC project would be great I think. Translate the front plate into a 19" rack compatible, quarter inch Plexi RacMac mounting flange faceplate.

I'd think about eliminating the PSU in a switch to PicoPSU now that's become a thing. Do that and the case can be narrow enough to put two LC format boards in a side by side config.

PicoPSU saves a lot of weight along with the cubic and is inexpensive. It's the DC brick that's the big expense. That you could share amongst any number of different Macs both on and off a rack.

The right wall mount/desktop rack could house several models of RackMacs. Maybe it's time to start up a homebrew MacRack thread? Doesn't nearly need to be 19" wide.

 

[cheesestraws]

A clear RacMac LC project would be great I think. Translate the front plate into a 19" rack compatible, quarter inch Plexi RacMac mounting flange faceplate.

Yes, it would be cool - although you'd have to bear in mind that rack cases are held up by the ears on their front so you'd have to make sure it would all be up for that. I'm currently recasing my LC because the plastic case it is currently in has a bad case of sag.

I'd think about eliminating the PSU in a switch to PicoPSU now that's become a thing

I run mine off DC/DC converters - but a picopsu may be cheaper at this point

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

. . . although you'd have to bear in mind that rack cases are held up by the ears on their front so you'd have to make sure it would all be up for that.

Definitely, hence the switch to quarter inch front plate which should be strong enough, given the weight saving by going with PicoPSU.

I'm reevaluating such for my somnolent 2UBG3 hack, ordered a new three slot riser up for the occasion. When I get the hang of doing custom risers I'll put my whisper card on a left angle riser to clean things up considerably.



Eliminating the traditional FDD/Zip modules for SD on IDE along with the PicoPSU switch will ease pressure on the eared faceplate tremendously. But may need to bolt deep support metal mounting ears up to the sides may be necessary. Setup above was top and bottom plates for fitment only. Currently it's in a full plexi case 3U config in the same location.

Several other projects for my 19" TelCo Rack have been on the backburner. Looking at all the crap I have hung on its sided have me thinking of costing out a narrower, Unistrut based system. More flexibility/compact form factor for worktop use and the ability to pick it up for storing away would be pretty slick.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Just ordered up a nice little mounting kit, great deal for this much stuff at just $12 +tax!

For Netgear Dell Switch Multivendor Ears Rack Mount Bracket Kit | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for For Netgear Dell Switch Multivendor Ears Rack Mount Bracket Kit at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[cheesestraws]

I'm revamping the rackmac. The next iteration looks like this so far...:

 

[Snial]

I'm revamping the rackmac. The next iteration looks like this so far...:

View attachment 76887

Hmmm, looks good. How did you do the Rack? Did you just buy it off-the-shelf; cut some holes and make a faceplate?

 

[cheesestraws]

Hmmm, looks good. How did you do the Rack? Did you just buy it off-the-shelf; cut some holes and make a faceplate?

Aha, the trick to this, I have discovered, is to get a crappy 48-port switch that nobody wants off eBay. Something like an HPE one, you know - the kind of thing that hangs around on eBay for months then goes to recycling. They're in decent cases and the 48 ports means they already have a huge hole in the front that's a really handy size for stuff.

I got this one for a tenner: I didn't want the switch, but I got a 1U rack case, a 12/5V dual PSU and 14 decent heatsinks for that tenner, which counts as a bargain as far as I'm concerned. This is hugely better value than getting a new 1U project case, which will be more expensive, not have a big hole in the front, and will probably (IME) be worse quality.

They also tend to have LEDs and management ports that can be repurposed for fun. That's the plan here.