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New Hawkwoods/Wendys Broadcast Power Distribution Rack


NathanWBS

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Hi everyone,

 

We have collaborated with Hawkwoods to produce The Power Distribution Rack aimed at primarily soundies.

 

It has a 4 pin XLR input socket, four 4 pin XLR 12v outputs (with a combined rating of 5A), and six unregulated 4 pin XLR outputs. Two USB connectors are included for powering/charging compatible devices with a combined rating of 2A. The LED screen displays battery voltage remaining in red and total current being drawn in blue.

 

Please see the pictures below and let us know what you think.

 

Cheers,

Nathan.

 

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post-9258-0-64730700-1406809088_thumb.jp

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I saw this on Facebook Nathan. Very nice. Of course I don't use rack mount gear ; )

The only minor criticism I have is the front location for the input lead. That's a bit untidy to my mind.

Hi James,

 

This is mainly to allow a quicker swap of batteries, it can also be relocated to the back of the unit upon ordering (may require some build time).

 

Great looking product, when is it available and any idea on pricing?

I would second that about the input on the front, would serve much better on the rear I'd imagine.

 

Hi Shug,

 

It is in stock and available to order now at £495+VAT per unit.

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This is very cool. Any reason why the rack is so deep? I would ideally have a very shallow unit for this sort of thing and place it on the back of my rack with possibly a small remote for the front with the meter, on/off switch, and USB ports. I'd also like to see two power inputs that switch from AC to DC, or batt to batt. That would keep the front of my rack station tidy and allow me to utilize space behind my essential components.

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This is very cool. Any reason why the rack is so deep? I would ideally have a very shallow unit for this sort of thing and place it on the back of my rack with possibly a small remote for the front with the meter, on/off switch, and USB ports. I'd also like to see two power inputs that switch from AC to DC, or batt to batt. That would keep the front of my rack station tidy and allow me to utilize space behind my essential components.

 

Hi JonG,

 

It is designed as a 19" 1u rack unit and measures only 6" in depth. We could possibly incorporate a mains PSU into the unit but we wouldn't be able to make it smaller than what it is. Also the remote option would not be cost effective unfortunately.

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Nice piece of kit but I am in agreement that no one would want the input cable on the front panel poking out like that: you are not going to be plugging in and out frequently so it should definitely be on the rear. If you are working on a cart the chances are that you will be on mains most of the time. A PSU built in seems to be the obvious omission as that could float the block battery and if the mains were lost the block battery would continue seamlessly. The PSU would need tailoring to the battery chemistry being used - but I would have thought that would be right up HW's street. I would also add a row of switches in all that space on the front panel - one for each output - so that individual pieces of gear could be switched on and off as when you are on batteries, turning things off to save juice is what you do. Nice idea that might suit some. It is well executed but I think lacks perception of how things are generally set up on a cart. 

 

Tim

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Nice piece of kit but I am in agreement that no one would want the input cable on the front panel poking out like that: you are not going to be plugging in and out frequently so it should definitely be on the rear. If you are working on a cart the chances are that you will be on mains most of the time. A PSU built in seems to be the obvious omission as that could float the block battery and if the mains were lost the block battery would continue seamlessly. The PSU would need tailoring to the battery chemistry being used - but I would have thought that would be right up HW's street. I would also add a row of switches in all that space on the front panel - one for each output - so that individual pieces of gear could be switched on and off as when you are on batteries, turning things off to save juice is what you do. Nice idea that might suit some. It is well executed but I think lacks perception of how things are generally set up on a cart. 

 

Tim

 

Hi Tim,

 

Your make good points but as I mentioned the 4 pin XLR port on the front can be relocated to the rear of the unit upon placing an order. Remote Audio do a unit called the Meon Life that has a few features that you suggest but at a cost of around $1500 in the States. Our unit is currently £495+VAT and we would like to keep the cost to the end user as low as possible.

 

We will certainly look in to these suggestions though!

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Does it feature overload protection? reverse polarity protection? self resetting breakers on each output? 

 

I ask as I'm about to purchase a Remote Audio setup for about the same price (Hot Box v2, Shuntbox & RM v2) for my new cart system.

 

Hi Matt,

 

Sorry for the delay in response to your questions.

 

We will be upgrading all current units and future units will come as standard with individually self resetting fused outputs.

 

We will recall all units that we have sold and apply this upgrade free of charge.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Nathan, I see the price has gone up by £30 this month. Is this a permanent rise?? Can we expect the cost to increase again anytime soon - as I'm yet to take the plunge.

 

Hi Matt,

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

 

We have just slapped our IT guy over the head and the error has been fixed. The price is still only £495+VAT.

 

You can either call the office or order through our site.

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Any chance of making the power input on the front the default configuration?

 

Hi BAB414,

 

Having the power input on the front of the unit is the default configuration as seen in the above pictures.

 

If you wish for the power input to be on the rear we would need to know when purchasing, this may incure a delay as the unit is made to order in this configuration.

 

As a note all outputs are now individually fused on all units.

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How easy is it to make this mains powered? I would say 95% of the time I have mains power to my cart (I imagine its the same for most folk).

I would be willing to pay more for a mains powered unit. Wouldn't care for any battery charging ability.

I'm in the market for a unit like this right now.

Thanks.

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I too feel that a charger is not really necessary in a distro unit anymore. Not with the kind of chemistry we use nowadays. In fact, even with SLA batteries i don't really think it is needed. 

 

Also, not every sound mixer works with AC available most of the time. For that matter, I keep away from AC. My cart is fully equipped to run on DC for 16 hours fully loaded. Even if i add a second monitor (LCD) and some more gear, i think i can easily pass a day's work on one 1200 Pelican (25 Ah) and one 1150 Pelican (18 Ah) SLA battery pack. And i have two of each at all times, easily available.

 

A distro with everything that a distro SHOULD have is what i need. In today's world it may mean (apart from the basics) - a few USB slots, better readings ( remaining capacity, consumption in A, etc in a way that can adjust to any battery chemistry ranging from SLA to LiFePo4), multiple options for connectivity and multiple switching options, light-weight and robust, maybe more (as per suggestions from everyone out here)... 

 

-vin

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How easy is it to make this mains powered? I would say 95% of the time I have mains power to my cart (I imagine its the same for most folk).

I would be willing to pay more for a mains powered unit. Wouldn't care for any battery charging ability.

I'm in the market for a unit like this right now.

Thanks.

 

Hi Shug,

 

It is possible but how many amps would you be looking to draw from the unit?

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Yep exactly the same request as Gareth,

 

the ability to switch between 12v and mains is important. Forget about the battery charging as Lithium batteries appear to be the way everyone is going now and they mostly require there own charger.

Cheers, looking forward to seeing if it is something that is possible.

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Hi Nathan,

 

I'd be interested if it had mains as well, wouldn't need to draw more than 10amps.

The ability to switch between 12v battery & mains would be great (as the PSC cart power did)

 

cheers

Gareth

 

Yep exactly the same request as Gareth,

 

the ability to switch between 12v and mains is important. Forget about the battery charging as Lithium batteries appear to be the way everyone is going now and they mostly require there own charger.

Cheers, looking forward to seeing if it is something that is possible.

 

Hi guys,

 

Sorry for the delay, had to discuss it with Hawkwoods.

 

We can supply a mains PSU which is 15V 10amps at £80+VAT extra with the PDR.

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