Media Cabinet

Posted on
Sat May 13, 2017 11:43 am
petematheson offline
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Location: Southampton, UK

Media Cabinet

Hi All,
Does anybody know where to purchase something like this in the UK?

Looking for something similar to move my DSC Alarm, Battery etc plus all my HA kit such as router, switch, hue Hub, Sonos Hub etc...

Kinda want to properly tidy up my messy cupboard and hopefully won't cost an arm and a leg for just a Cabinet and lots of time :)


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Posted on
Sat May 13, 2017 2:32 pm
durosity offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

Depends on what you're looking for really.. what dimensions? Is it going to be out in the open or hidden away in a cupboard? Are you wanting drawers or just a couple of doors and some shelves inside?


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Posted on
Sat May 13, 2017 2:33 pm
petematheson offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

Ah sorry, I didn't post the link! It's not a traditional cabinet. It's more like a very shallow alarm cabinet where everything is mounted vertically? Something tall enough to mount everything ideally.
Although I'm also considering a more traditional network cabinet as it would be good to tidy it all away!


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Posted on
Sat May 13, 2017 3:45 pm
durosity offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

Ah yeah I know the ones you mean. I had one at my old shop that came from RS Electrical, but they don't seem to do them now. If you have room I'd just get a 19" rack cabinet, some drawers and some cable support arms.. if you do it tidy it'll look very professional


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Posted on
Sat May 13, 2017 4:15 pm
howartp offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

I just discovered a fortnight ago, there's a few ranges of 10" data/network cabinets on the market; they're referred to as SOHO (Small Office/Home Office).

I've installed a 12U or 15U from 19power.co.uk (site currently offline) which fits on my study shelf with mm's to spare!

Pic to follow after tomorrow; cat5 patch panels wired to 2x 4port data sockets around the room, plus switch, router, modem and POE switch for new cameras.


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 2:38 am
howartp offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

Image

Image

Image

Wiring is a work in progress - the POE switch still in its box on the cupboard as you can see.

Don't get those 10" keystone jacks; they're crap. Others from regular 19"/AV look like they'll fit without falling out.


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 3:13 am
petematheson offline
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Media Cabinet

Only thing with a proper cabinet is that if I'm putting Philips hue Hubs, Sonos hubs and a wifi router in there it'll likely suck up some of their signals, and range is already bad enough in this house as it is!

Although I just discovered I had some aluminium shielding lining my loft, which stopped my Meraki AP up there from working.
Now relocated to part of the loft not covered in the faraday cage material


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 3:15 am
petematheson offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

And I thought I could install the alarm in the same cabinet if I got one of those very shallow alarm type cabinets too Image


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 3:26 am
howartp offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

I just got my wifi sorted yesterday - finally got whole-house signal from single AP.

(Ubiquiti Unify, cabled to centre of house)


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 4:19 am
durosity offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

@petematheson.. I dunno.. I think you'd be better off just tidying up what you have.. enclosing everything in a steel box is gonna reduce range as you said. If I lived closer I'd be right in there getting your power strip mounted and all the cables nicely routed.. OCD dreams coming true!

@howartp that just fits so perfectly.. like it was made for the gap! However there seems to be a man trapped inside it!

Here's mine. It was a full 42u rack that I cut in half with an angle grinder.. £5 tabletop from ikea bargain corner and some wall anchors to wall mount it (new build loft joists most certainly couldn't take the weight!)

Image

Downstairs also has a small rack made from a couple of Argos media units.. excuse the messy wiring, been having a few issues with my av receiver so been swapping bits in and out to try and fix.

Image


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 5:22 am
petematheson offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

I didn't want to drill loads of holes in there as it might ruin the walls, they seem quite brittle on the surface. Even tapping cable clips in with a hammer has chipped some brick away! It's not plaster or anything - looks like paint direct onto brick / concrete block type material :/


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 5:44 am
autolog offline
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Re: Media Cabinet

howartp wrote:
I just got my wifi sorted yesterday - finally got whole-house signal from single AP.

(Ubiquiti Unify, cabled to centre of house)


Yes - I have switched over to UniFi - Router (USG), Wifi (AP) and Switch 8s (with POE) for my cameras and AP. The wi-fi is absolutely brilliant - I can get 5GHz over the whole house now so our iPhones are permanently on 5GHz while in the house - no more switching to 2.4GHz which they always used to do in the kitchen. My previous wi-fi was the latest Apple Time capsule. I run the uniFi controller software on my Mac Mini. I am considering replacing a couple of remaining D-Link managed switches (24 and 16 ports), so that everything is uniFi.

Of course a post such as this would be totally incomplete without thanking Karl for his uniFi-WiFi-Ap plugin which enables tight integration with Indigo. :D

Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 5:55 am
howartp offline
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Location: West Yorkshire, UK

Re: Media Cabinet

Not got round to looking at plugin yet but I knew it was there. :-)

Tried all sorts for wifi; my modem is in 1970 house extension so signal gets nowhere; added ASUS RT66 router inside it to do fancy stuff, which is better when in range.

Then added 3x Airport Express around house which I still use for Airplay (Airfoil).

Bought 4 homeplugs last August (1 wired to get from extension onto house ring main) which work but throughout for 8-ball Pool isn't strong enough, and you gotta disconnect/reconnect wifi to move around house or they cling to previous AP.

Finally tried the Unify yesterday which is technically free cos I bought a 3pack for church but we only need 2 to cover, so I brought 3rd home.

[sing with angelic voice]Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah![/sing] Finally!


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Posted on
Sun May 14, 2017 12:08 pm
petematheson offline
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Location: Southampton, UK

Re: Media Cabinet

I've just switched off my linksys AC5400 since finding the gap in the roof lining for my Meraki AP. So far so good!
Thinking about a cabinet still, I'm not sure if a tradition cab with all my kit would be too warm?
It's an outside wall so I could vent it somehow, but it's right by the entrance so didn't want an ugly hole / vent in the brickwork ...


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