[R-390] RE: Installing a R390

[Patrick Jankowiak]

Been off the list a while, please excuse the late post. I wished to 
comment on rackmounting 'things', having spent alot of my free time 
doing so.

I've used rackmount shelves with good success. If the radio chassis is 
  such that ventialtion underneath is necessary, a perforated shelf 
can be used.

In mounting the radio, the rear of the chassis will sometimes be (or 
want to be) some small fraction of an inch above the shelf. To work 
with this, a small strip of aluminum stock can be placed partway under 
each rear corner of the radio. The part of the stock that is clear of 
the radio can be screwed to the shelf, or just glued with silicon 
glue, whatever you prefer. Either way, the radio is not going anywhere 
and will be supported at the rear.

For mounting the R-390 in a BUD rack or similar unit with no rear 
rails and in a case where I did not want to try with aluminum angle 
because i could not precision-measure, I have drilled holes in the 
sides of the rack and put sections of 2x2 in as rails on which the 
radio is supported on or slides in on. The easiset way to do this is 
to lie the rack down, put the radio in the rack where you want it and 
fasten the screws (and it now hangs down straight). Then fit the wood 
up against the bottom edge of the radio and the inside of the rack. 
Now you can easily see whereabouts to drill perhaps three 1/4" holes 
from front to rear of the rack side suitable for lag bolts. remove the 
wood, drill the holes, and then replace the wood. Drill pilot holes 
for the lag bolts through the holes you just made in the rack. Screw 
the lag bolts in. If you want, you can put a small shim of 1/32" 
aluminum plate towards the rear of each wood rail. (don't use pressure 
treated wood because it has chemicals in it. Use nice dry wood) A 2x2 
is about 1.5" across, so this assumes you want one RU (1.75") of space 
between your radios. Done!

If there is a need to mount non-rackmounted gear in a rack and you 
have a shelf, I've found a little trick for that as well. It's 
outlined at www.bunkerofdoom.com/rackmount1/

Patrick