Alex Altman Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hey all, just thought I would post some making-of and in-action photos of my new cart. I built it just prior to a film I'm currently on and it has been performing very well. I really wanted an encapsulated rack based design, but also have something that is portable enough to break off into a smaller "brain" for insert car shots, etc. I also wanted to make the rack unit as ergonomic and space efficient as possible. I'm one of these fellows who likes to stand while he works as well. The first photo shows the panels cut out and being held together for final measuring purposes. All the equipment fits in with not much room to spare so I really had to make sure there was clearance for connectors, cables, etc. The next four photos show some tiny drawer slides I found to mount my keyboard on. The angled shelf holds my 788T and the keyboard hides underneath it until I need it. I can't say enough about how much I like the computer in the next few pics. A friend and I built this hackintosh and it has been really great (despite a few hackintoshy bugs that are getting ironed out). The gist of the computer is that it's all solid state, has panel mounted XLR ins and outs for audio via an internal USB audio interface, and a very efficient 12V regulated power supply with a panel mounted XLR4 input. I wanted it to run Wave Agent, LecNet, and something for playback. Having two monitors really makes a huge difference for certain programs as you can see in the photos, and also puts a lot of display in 3 rack spaces. The computer itself is mounted on the back of the cart on it's side behind the two 7" monitors. Next! Lights. I made a wooden enclosure wrapped in diffusion and placed an 12V LED light strip inside for the front of the cart. For the back I placed the same type of light strip naked wired to a rocker switch. Other things... I mounted a female XLR input on the front of the cart that I plug my slate mic into. Makes a nice sturdy connection point that terminates to a TA3F for the channel 8 input on my 788T. I have I/O panels on the lower back of the rack for all my other connections. The last few photos shows the cart in real life. I call it a "vertizontal" cart for because my gear is arranged in a vertical style, but mounted on a horizontal cart. My cart base is a Rubbermaid with 8" pnuematic tires replacing the casters and all the fixings for boom poles, cable hooks, antenna mast, etc. I am planning on building a steel skeleton inside the cart for more rigidity. The rack on the bottom has drawers for gear and lightweight Crown XTi series power amp. You can see how the rack comes off easily (two thumbscrews on each side into aluminum brackets) and fits, for instance, into a bus for a driving scene or onto an insert car. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Alex I love your cart. Because it's small and handy. Very good job. And the best unit on your cart is the monitor for Pro Tools and Wave Agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Moore Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Reminds me of an arcade game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rillie Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Beemer behind in shot 1. K?or R? Oh, nice cart BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabianoliver Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hi, good work! It's a K, a K100 or a K75? Fabian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewFreedAudio Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Good eye on the Beemer! I just bought a 2008 K1200GT and I also have an R1200C. Now I need to get a nifty looking cart like this one... www.matthewfreed.com Production Sound Mixing for TV, Films, and Commercials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Very unique approach --- I like it. "Vertizontal" description is clever but I think it is basically an upright horizontal design that just happens to be supported by a horizontal cart (platform). At some point in the future I'll bet you ditch the Ruubermaid and go with a wheeled platform base that has essentially the same footprint (square, upright) as the cart racks. Your design is one of the few that uses a triangular or trapezoidal (something other than square or rectangular) main car space. This helps provide working access to the gear without having to have too many sliding shelves or having to reach into the cart. Several of the RastOrder carts do it this way and I think it makes a lot of sense. Now, I am inspired to build yet another cart that is truly modular with an upper part that can be easily separated and used in a more mobile fashion. As you know, my present cart was designed to separate into two parts but the upper part (with most all the gear) just got too big and too heavy to lift off the lower part so I never separate the parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Also, curious about the Hackintosh route you took with the computer. It looks like you are running all Mac software so why not go with a Mac Mini? I guess Lec-Net is Windows only but that can be run in Mac OS with emulation (or dual boot if you want). Maybe starting with the hardware you used gave you as lot more flexibility with the I/O, stuff you definitely would not have with a Mac (we all know how Apple doesn't want you to do any fiddling under the hood). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Rillie Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Jeff, I think this explains Alex's choice for the Hackintosh. Sounds brilliant to me... "The gist of the computer is that it's all solid state, has panel mounted XLR ins and outs for audio via an internal USB audio interface, and a very efficient 12V regulated power supply with a panel mounted XLR4 input. I wanted it to run Wave Agent, LecNet, and something for playback." I also think Alex will ditch the Rubbermaid, and end up with something more along the lines of the top section footprint. And yes, Fabian I was pretty sure it's a K, because it reminds me of my K75s dashboard. Regards, Jim Rillie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Altman Posted April 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 Thanks guys. Spencer, yes there was definitely inspiration from an arcade cabinet!. I stumbled upon this http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-Nintendo-arcade/ one day and instantly imagined it on a cart. I am thinking about having some classic arcade vinyl graphics printed that I can stick on the side... I may ditch the Rubbermaid one day, but for now it really fits my needs. It's just big enough without feeling like a larger Magliner cart. I have all my gear arranged just like I like it with a small space on the side (the rest of the cart top) for prepping wires, additional gear, etc. Who knows though? I seem to change my setup frequently so I may not be so in love with this setup in the near future. The Hackintosh certainly isn't as pretty or small as a Mac Mini, but it is a purpose-built computer whereas the Mini isn't. I also forget to mention that it has FW 400 and 800 ports, and eight USB ports for max connectivity. This might sound like overkill, but I will never need to rely on a USB hub or adapter cables for different FW connections now. And having the more rugged, locking connections for audio and power built into the box make it feel more reliable to me. Unfortunatly I am not a bike guy, so I can't say which model it is. I built the cart in a friend's basement who is a bike nut. I sent him a message asking which bike that is. I'll let y'all know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Alex, With all that computing power onboard, what are you using your laptop for? And does anyone ever accidentally deposit a quarter into your cart? Looks great. Really cool. I remember you showing me the designs. Glad it has worked out so well for you. -Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Altman Posted April 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hey Matt! I just had the MacBook set up for email, etc (we all know that means FB) so my Hackintosh doesn't have to be online. No quarters yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 looks like a MOOG !! wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomboom Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Never did much cart work ; what's the main use of speakers on the cart ( I notice your Speakeasy unit) ? I guess, keeping the boom on between takes and monitoring what's happening on the set ? I feel a little dumb asking something that's surely obvious since a lot of carts I see have some kind of speakers on them... :-S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Altman Posted April 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hi Pierre, I find myself using the speaker quite often actually. There are the times you mention when I am between takes and don't want to wear my cans (or in-ears in my case). Also, it comes in very handy for playing back takes for a group of people, auditioning playback tracks for talent/clients back at the cart, and playing tunes while wrapping at the end of the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Altman Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 For the bike guys, I found it is an '85 K100RT in the first picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomboom Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Thanks Alex, that makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McL Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Zounds, that's one sweet bit of gear enclosure. Sorry I looked at this just before sleep 'cause I know I'm gonna have cart dreams. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Altman Posted April 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Thanks a lot Jan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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