Today is a simple one, the Middle Atlantic UTR1. This simple 1U rack shelf is meant to mount equipment that is not ordinarily rack-mounted. If you have not heard of Middle Atlantic, it is Legrand’s AV rack brand, so this is a bit different than many shelves we see since it is from a relatively large vendor.
We purchased ours on Amazon (Affiliate link.)
Middle Atlantic UTR1 1U Rack Shelf
The UTR1 is 10″ deep and has a 25lb weight capacity. You can tell that this is not designed for extremely heavy gear just based on the size, as well as the fact that it came slightly bent. Luckily, it was easy to straighten.
Looking at the shelf surface, we can see that it is far from a solid surface. One option folks will have is to use zip ties to keep gear in place on the surface.
Another option came in the box in two large hook and loop strips that you can affix to gear and the rack and keep it in place.
Installed in a rack, we put two pieces of gear on top. First was the Everything Fanless Home Server Firewall Router and NAS Appliance we reviewed last year and the Dell Precision 3260 Compact we reviewed earlier this year. This is a reason to use a shelf like this if you have to mount mismatched gear side-by-side.
One important area is that the rack shelf is quite a bit narrower than the inside of our 19″ rack. As a result, you need to account for the additional width.
Our unit did not come with cage nuts and bolts, so you will need to source those like the Chatsworth Products CPI Clik-Nut.
Final Words
During the recent Dell Precision 3260 Compact review, many asked whether they would fit two to in 2U on a shelf. We heard the same thing when we did the Intel Atom C3758R firewall review. These small shelves are useful for a lot of folks since they work not just in larger racks, but also in small racks like the Startech 12U 19-Inch Desktop Open Frame 2 Post Rack (RK12OD.) Having the holes throughout the shelf makes zip ties very viable for securing gear versus some of the solid shelf options.
They also have a 1U shelf designed for four post installations that has sliding rear arms for better support as well as dedicated 2U shelves. This unit is designed for zip ties or velcro to be used to secure devices down but they also have stronger solid shelves. The lack of cage nuts makes sense for this model as it is aim more towards AV installations which tend to use racks with embedded threaded screw holes. This also explains why it is a tad narrower than what you’d expect for a 19″ shelf. Due note the mounting holes are quite a wide oval shape.
The more interesting Middle Atlantic product I’ve used is there DC power supplies which offer 5V, 12V, 18V and 24V options that have a few mix and match options. The key advantage here is that it reduces the number of power bricks that’d need to be installed inside of a rack to support smaller gear and adapters. I’ve spoken with their reps and pitched the idea of it also supporting dual AC power inputs and/or a battery backup unit but no such ideal product has arrived.