Rack 'Em!
Welcome to Tech Talk, Pico Macom's series of technical notes featuring useful information and equipment tips. This installment of Tech Talk discusses Pico Macom's MOR-Series of equipment racks and accessories.
Headend Planning or Retrofit
Building a headend from the ground up is a relatively easy proposition, given that from the planning stage you can figure the space available, number of racks, amount of equipment required to provide the specified channels, equipment powering, accessory equipment and launch amplification.
However, adding to an existing headend isn’t always as easy. Most times, headends and equipment rooms are planned and built to use all available space. Placing new equipment between existing gear is a recipe for disaster. Heat build-up from lack of proper ventilation will significantly shorten the life of your equipment. Overloading the power circuit will also contribute to heat and cause outages due to tripped circuit breakers. With good headend planning, this can be avoided. If you are modifying an existing system, these problems can be minimized with the use of Pico Macom’s MOR-Series equipment racks and accessories.
Rack and Stack
The best way to approach a new headend build is:
- Put together a planning chart (Example A). This allows you to assemble your channel list.
- Figure out the total number of equipment pieces and the number of rack units they will require.
- Select the size and number of MOR-Series racks you need.
- Examine the space, cooling and power available for your headend.
- Lay out the headend on paper for maximum cooling and power distribution.
- Leave room for growth; it is not uncommon to only occupy two-thirds of the rack space.
The best way to approach an existing headend retrofit is:
- Put together an “as-built” chart (Example A) of the existing channel lineup and equipment physical layout and update it as you make changes.
- Review the equipment to see if there are equipment units that can be spaced differently to create space (Example: MOR-S Series shelves).
- Identify equipment that can be upgraded to smaller units without compromising performance (Example: MPC-Series mini-modulators and chassis).
- Examine the space, cooling and power you have available for the new equipment in your headend.
- Where needed, install power distribution strips (Example: MOR-PSH and MOR-PSV power strips).
- Always leave air-flow space between units and never block ventilation slots in chassis maximum cooling and power distribution.
Following the simple steps above and the use of Pico Macom equipment will ensure that your headend will operate trouble-free for many years of satisfied service. Our sales engineers are available to advise you with useful planning support and equipment selection. Please give us a call at 1-800-421-6511 and let Pico Macom help you with your next project.
Click here to download the manual for the CEF Series.