Batboard

Can someone give me some tips on doing this, or tell me if I'm nuts? We started to disassemble one of them this weekend, and it looks like it'll be quite a task.

Does Motorola make special rack mount brackets for the power supply/PA setup, or do we need to take the back rail out and somehow mount it in our rack?

It also looks like the rails are welded together??

Any tips/tricks/prayers would be welcome and appreciated. Thanks!

SP

because the MSF power supply weighs so much, it has a specially designed track that it rides in to hold it properly.

when i placed my MSF into a quantar cabinet (don't ask why) i just put the power supply on the bottom of the cabinet and extended the leads to the PA about 20 inches to compensate ...


doug

The receiver/exciter and Pa will rack up without a fuss. The power supply needs some consideration. We did rack up a few of these because the building/site owner wanted us to use the existing racks. This was a while ago. I think if you take the MSF5000 apart and look how it is mounted in the cabinet for clues.

Klep,

You picked a good time to ask this question - I just had the same problem come up - here is what I found out.

MSF5000 shipped 'standard' in the familiar white front-access-only cabinets. These have internal frame rails with brackets welded in place to support the station components. There were several cabinet options available. First, you could get the standard cabinet in different sizes in case you needed to add a MRTI fo example.

There were several options like C307 which put the station in a 70" Micor indoor cabinet. When so mounted there are special brackets that secure the station components to two vertical rail sets - one at the front of the station & one at the rear. These vertical rails are like rack rails, but the brackets are configured for support at both front and rear.

Last - you could order the C164 rack mount option (plus another option number that specifies the height of the rack). This is what I think you are looking for - mounting the station in an open 'relay' rack. In this situation the station components are mounted to special brackets that allow the station to be centered front to back in the rack. In other words the brackets mount to just one set of rails. The radio sets forward from the rack about the same extension as a Quantar (so it looks good if in the same or an adjacent rack)

Now - the hard part - try to find these brackets! I could not find any mechanical parts listing for these options. You could try parts ID - or if you have such a station - look for numbers on the brackets themselves (which is what I did). Here they are:

0784413T01 PA/PS Left
0784413T02 PA/PS Right
0784382T01 Tray Left
0784382T02 Tray Right

These numbers all come up as valid in Accesspoint. Also - I placed an order and they were all in stock. They will run you between fourty-something and eighty-something dollars per bracket. This will bring the cost of the project to $250 - $300. Not cheap, but if this is for a commercial install - you want to do it right. Also - if your time is worth anything - you would spend more than that hacking up the old cabinet frame to make a kluge!

One last thing - there are a couple different methods Motorola used to mount the antenna/power/phone line I/O panel when the station is rack mounted. I couldn't find any numbers on the ones I have. I figured I could deal with fabricating something to hold that. You could try parts ID if you want a totally 'factory' solution.

Outstanding! That is EXACTLY what I'm looking for.. one question about the brackets you list, though. We have another similar installation that we need to put an MSF in an existing cabinet, not an open rack like the rest of them. Will these brackets work for that also? We have both front and back rails in the cabinet, and plenty of room, but doors obviously on the front and back and it seems from your comments that these brackets might cause the equipment to stick out too far?

THANKS AGAIN VERY MUCH. Your help is GREATLY appreciated.

You probably could use these brackets in a Micor type cabinet by relocating the rails toward the center of the cabinet - however - the reason I needed the rack mount brackets is that I am removing a station from a Micor type cabinet and installing it in a 'relay' rack.

I won't be getting to that for a week or so - but when I do - I will see if the brackets in the Micor type cabinet have numbers on them that I can post for everyone's use. Also - I will have to consider whether I will need the ones I have for a future project & if not I might be convinced to part with them.

I will advise.