Installation

 The PDX103, like the PDR100, is designed to be rack mounted. It is mounted with rack slides for easy access. Detailed installation instructions follow. Figure 3 shows an installation that includes the PDR100 Professional Disk Recorder and the PDX103 Video Disk Expansion Unit mounted in a rack.

Figure 3. Typical PDR100 Installation with PDX103 Disk Drive Expansion Unit

The position of the units, in the rack, must be considered because of their weight. If the rack is not firmly mounted to the floor or vertically supported, the units should be located low enough to not cause the rack to tip when the units are pulled out on the rack slides.

WARNING: To avoid serious injury, ensure that the equipment rack is firmly fastened to a floor or wall. The PDR100 and/or the PDX103must be mounted below the vertical center of gravity to prevent tipping of the rack when the units are extended on the rack slides.

Rack Dimensions

 The PDX103 Video Disk Expansion unit is shipped with hardware for rack mounting. Figure 4 shows the dimensions. The PDX103 fits in a standard 19-inch (48.3 centimeter) rack. Spacing inside the front rails of the rack must be at least 17 3/4 inches (45.1 centimeter) to allow clearance for the slide-out tracks.

Figure 4. Dimensions of the PDX103 for Rack Mounting

Mounting the PDX103

 The supplied rack slides mount in any rack that has a front-to-rear rail spacing between 15 1/2 and 28 inches (39.4 and 71.1 cm). Allow six inches (15.25 cm) of clearance for connectors and cable bends between the PDX103 rear panel and any rear cabinet panel. In addition, adequate air flow must be assured around the PDX103 cabinet to provide sufficient cooling. (Operating ambient temperature will affect the amount of air circulation required to keep the PDX103 within its temperature limitations.)

The rack slide set, for each side of the PDX103, consists of three major sections and mounting hardware. Figure 5 shows the rack slide for the right side of the PDX103.

Figure 5. Complete Rack Slide Set for Right Side of PDX103 and Rack

Mounting the Slide Tracks in the Rack

 Locate the proper rack holes as shown in Figure 6. Notice that the hole spacing can vary with the rack type. When installing the slides in racks make sure that the slides are attached using the 0.5 inch spaced holes.

Mount the rails using the enclosed hardware as shown in Figure 5. Figures 7 and 8 show the front and rear rail mounting detail for both deep and shallow racks. Make sure the stationary sections are horizontally aligned and are level as well as parallel to each other.

Figure 6. Spacing for Mounting Holes in a Standard Rack

Figure 7. Front Slide Mounting Detail

Figure 8. Rear Slide Mounting Detail

WARNING: The PDX103 is considered to be too heavy for one person to install. The weight of the PDX103 exceeds 80 pounds. To avoid possible personal injury, do not attempt to install the PDX103 by yourself.

WARNING: If the rack is not attached to the floor or vertical support, the rack can tip when the PDX103 is out on the rack slides, possibly causing serious injury.

Installing the PDX103 in the Rack Slides

  1. Pull the slide-out track section to the fully extended position. See Figure 9.
  2. Insert the ends of the cabinet chassis sections into the slide-out sections.
  3. Push the cabinet toward the rack until the chassis sections lock into the intermediate sections.
  4. Press the stop latches in the intermediate sections and push the cabinet toward the rack until the latches snap into their holes.
  5. Again press the stop latches and push the cabinet fully into the rack.
  6. Tighten the front-panel retaining screws.

Figure 9. Rack Slide Stop Latch

Rack Slide Adjustments

 After installation binding may occur if the slide tracks are not properly adjusted. To adjust the tracks:

  1. Slide the cabinet out about 10 inches.
  2. Loosen slightly the screws holding the tracks to the front of the rails, and allow the tracks to seek an unbound position.
  3. Tighten the mounting screws and check the tracks for smooth operation by sliding the cabinet in and out of the rack several times.
  4. Tighten the front panel retaining screws once the cabinet is in place within the rack to complete the installation.

Rack Slide Maintenance

 The slide-out sections of the tracks do not require lubrication. The dark gray finish on the tracks is a permanent lubricating coating. The track sections should be checked periodically for build-ups of dust or foreign material that might cause them to bind.

Removing the Unit

CAUTION: To avoid possible damage to cables or connectors, be sure all cables are disconnected from the PDR100 or PDX103 prior to attempting to remove the unit.

WARNING: The PDX103 is considered to be too heavy for one person to remove. The weight of the PDX103 exceeds 80 pounds. To avoid possible personal injury, do not attempt to remove the PDX103 by yourself.

  1. Loosen retaining screws and pull cabinet outward until all three slide sections latch.
  2. Press both track stop latch buttons (visible in the stop latch holes) and carefully slide the cabinet free of the tracks.

Electrical Installation

Power Source

 These PDX103s are designed to operate from a single-phase power source having one of its current carrying conductors at or near earth ground (the neutral conductor). Only the line conductor is fused for over-current protection. Systems that have both current-carrying conductors live with respect to ground, such as phase-to-phase in multi-phase systems, are not recommended as power sources.

Mains Frequency and Voltage Ranges

The PDX103 operates at line frequencies of 50 or 60 Hz with nominal mains voltages from 100 to 240 Vac. A number of power cord options to support various power plug configurations are available. See Table 1.

Cabling to the PDX103

The PDR100/PDX103 SCSI bus must be terminated to operate correctly. The PDX103 adds more disk drives to the ones contained in the PDR100. As such, it extends one or both SCSI buses to include four or eight additional hard disk drives. When a PDX103 is used, the SCSI interface is terminated at the SCSI connectors on the expansion unit. The terminators are supplied with the PDR100, and also with the PDX103, as standard accessories.

Extending the SCSI Bus

To connect the disk drives in the PDX103, a SCSI cable must be run from the PDR100 SCSI A (and, where applicable SCSI B) connector to the PDX103 rear panel connector as shown in Figure 10. Terminate the unused connector for each channel with the Passive SCSI Bus Termination plug shown in Figure 11.

Figure 10. Cabling a PDR100 to a PDX103 Video Disk Expansion Unit

Figure 11. Passive SCSI Bus Termination

Video Hard Disk System Configuration

 Once the PDX103 has been connected to the PDR100, the disks must be configured. This is done by running the Profile Disk Utility Program. It may be necessary to format the disks as well as define the physical grouping of the disks. The Profile Disk Utility Program appears on the graphic menu as an icon.

Software Version

The PDR100 software must be Profile Version 1.1.3 or higher to have the PDX103 operate as an add on to the file system. To determine the software version select the Help menu in the About box from the VDR Panel.

If the software is of an earlier version, it will be necessary to load the new version from the disks supplied with the PDX103. In addition, be sure that any subsequent upgrades have also been loaded.

Disk Utility Program

The Windows NT main graphic menu contains an icon labeled Disk Utility. It is necessary to run this utility to assign the Video Hard Disk groups. There are options that allow data to be striped across all disks, or to assign groups of up to 8 disks each by name. In this latter selection video data can be stored in a specific, assignable group of disks rather than be striped across all of the disks in the file system.

Complete information on how to group the disks, along with how to reformat disks (if that is necessary) can be found in the PDR100 User Manual, under "Disk Utilities Program."