New rack case with some axe power supply mods

SimonDreyer

Inspired
Hi Folks
I have almost finished building a new rack case for the Axe-ll so thought I might share a couple of ideas I have come up with. Firstly I wanted a case exactly suited to my requirements and could not find a commercial solution. I have bought a Gator bag but it is really not quite deep enough and any inadvertent bump on the rear would be on the connectors, not acceptable. I bought an anti-vibration commercial 4U rack, but it is enormous and weighs 20kg just for the case. I want a light, small rack that I can easily carry and set up.
I designed a 2U rack using Google Sketchup and built it using normal rack hardware but ultralight Alluminium honeycomb panel (Ayres Composite Panels) instead of plywood.

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The only other device I use In my rack is a Brace Audio DWG-1000 Wireless system that needs a 3V power supply. I couldn't find a place to put the power pack so had a quick look inside the Axe and found a suitable spot for it inside. I wont go into too many detail now but basically I put the power pack inside the axe, wired it to the secondary side of the power switch and ran the 3V back out through the midi phantom power connector.

The wireless unit is velcroed to the back of the axe and power is fed from the phantom power socket.
I will put a connector plate at the back of the axe, so that I am not constantly using the axe's connectors, with short patch leads.

I will publish the original drawings of the rack case with all dimensions if anyone is interested.
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Cheers Simon
 
I am well aware that this might jeopardize my warranty but this mod does not interfere with any existing wiring and can be returned to original condition in a few minutes. I used piggy-back spade connectors to break into the mains power supply and the phantom power supply connector is simply disconnected from the board. From the photos you can see that I have been extremely careful and all connections are covered with heat-shrink tubing, power wiring is routed away from electronics and all cable runs are as short as possible. All cables are adequately supported with sticky-backs and cable ties.

Fabricating the rack case is not too hard once you know exactly what you are going to build before you start building. I will update the drawing to "As-built" in the next few days.
 
A creative solution, cleanly executed. Nice!

I hope you never have to find out whether your warranty will still be honored. :)
 
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