patch panel – io 0.0.1 beta++

rack wiring: 8-pin mini DIN angst

Han-earl Park — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:16:39 +0000

Almost completed the wiring of the rack (except the patch panel foot switch connectors which I am leaving for the moment). No problem with the XLR connectors, quarter inch phones, MIDI cables, barrel connectors… then I hit a major snag with the 8-pin mini DIN panel socket for the Mac serial connector. Too small, too fragile, too many wires, too much… arghhh.

Well, I needed to rethink this, and since I don’t want to spend too much more time on it, I went and purchased a Mac serial extension cable instead. Life is far too short, and my time is better spent elsewhere.

rack: loaded and powered up

Han-earl Park — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:51:34 +0000

Here’s the test of the power supply and the power inlet of the patch panel.

rack, loaded and ready for power on test

rack, loaded and powered on

enclosures: patch panel

Han-earl Park — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:17:05 +0000

One of the, again, less glamorous, but practical elements of io 0.0.1 beta++ is the patch panel. The panel holds the connectors that need to be accessed frequently (with the exception of the audio inputs to the pitch-to-MIDI converters since they already reside on the front panels).

Patch panel (bottom unit in rack)

The connectors are, from left to right, IEC power connector, two XLR audio panel connectors, two 1/4″ phone connectors (for use with the pitch-to-MIDI converters’ foot switches), MIDI input and output connectors (that allow one of the pitch-to-MIDI converter’s output to be intercepted, or to patch an external MIDI signal into io 0.0.1 beta++) and a 8-pin mini-DIN Mac serial connector.

Patch panel (left)

Patch panel (right)

Incidentally, if the rack case is placed on its side, the left side of the patch panel will be nearest the floor. Thus, if oriented that way, the power and audio output connectors (most likely heavier cables, and needing to trail a reasonable distance) will be lower, and the serial connector (most likely headed up to a table or chair) will be higher.