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Rack Fan

Middle Atlantic 2U Rack Fan Panel

The Middle Atlantic UFP-2 provides high-capacity 2U active cooling with six fans for racks that generate significant heat from densely packed equipment. It is the right choice for racks with power-hungry computers, multiple digital mixers, or large numbers of wireless receivers that push thermal limits. The extra fan capacity over a 1U panel provides meaningfully more airflow to keep your equipment within safe operating temperatures.

Compare
UFP-2
Documented outputs
00 destination connections
Documented inputs
1Based on documented inputs
Rack space
2UBuilder checks available rail space
Power draw
40W50W documented maximum
Catalog estimate
~$149Use retailer rows for current price and stock

01 · What it does—and what that changes in your rig.

Product overview

Start with the payoff, then work through how it functions, where it fits, and the details that change a real build.

The payoff

Rack Fan decisions, organized around the whole rig.

The Middle Atlantic UFP-2 is a purpose-built active cooling panel that exists to solve one specific problem: a rack that runs hot. Six fans across two rack units move a meaningful volume of air through densely packed gear, and in a touring IEM rig or a busy playback rack stuffed with a computer, a wireless distro, and a handful of receivers, that airflow is the difference between a stable show and a thermal shutdown at the worst possible moment. This is not a luxury item — it is insurance against the kind of failure that happens quietly, without warning, forty minutes into a set.

Documented outputs
00 destination connections
Documented inputs
1Based on documented inputs
Rack space
2UBuilder checks available rail space
UFP-2
Middle Atlantic product panel2U · 40W
Function

How it works in the path

At 40 watts nominal draw and a peak of 50, the UFP-2 needs its own IEC connection, so budget a spare outlet on your power conditioner before you slot this in. The 40mm depth is genuinely shallow, which matters when you are fighting for clearance behind a shallow road case. At 2kg it adds almost nothing to your carry weight. The trade-off for six fans is acoustic presence — this panel is audible in a quiet room, which is irrelevant at show time but worth knowing if the rack sits near an open mic during soundcheck.

Best fit

Where it earns its place in the rack

If your rack runs a high-powered laptop or Mac Mini for playback, multiple Shure or Sennheiser wireless receivers stacked tight, or any combination of gear that leaves you with warm side panels and no empty units for passive breathing room, the UFP-2 is the right call over a 1U four-fan alternative. If your rack is lightly loaded — say, two wireless receivers and a small personal mixer — a 1U panel or even passive ventilation is probably sufficient, and you would recover those two rack units for something that earns its space more directly.

In the rack

Details worth deciding before load-in.

  • Mount the UFP-2 at the bottom of the rack so it pulls cooler air in from below and exhausts it upward through the hot gear above — work with convection, not against it.
  • Run the IEC feed from a switched outlet on your power conditioner so the fans spin up automatically when the rack powers on and you cannot accidentally leave them off during a long show.
  • If your road case has rear-panel ventilation cutouts, align the UFP-2's exhaust side toward that opening; even modest rear clearance dramatically improves the panel's effectiveness.
  • Check that your power conditioner has at least 50 watts of headroom available after everything else is accounted for — the UFP-2's peak draw is small but should not be an afterthought when you are budgeting a tight outlet strip.

02 · Know the whole path before you buy.

Signal path

Learn the route as a block diagram: source, product function, transport, and destination. Select any block to see what enters, what changes, and what leaves.

Interactive block diagramAuto-looping · hover, focus, or tap to hold a stage
Port-type signalProduct functionSystem boundary
Follow one signal from source to destination

Each block answers the same three questions: what arrives, what changes here, and what leaves.

01 · Source · selected
01 · Source

1 documented input

IEC C14

Arrives as
1 documented input
Connector
IEC C14
Signal
power

03 · What this product asks of the rest of the system.

Compatibility

Treat connector names as the start of the check—not the answer. These are the boundaries that determine a complete working path.

Best fit · Rack Fan

Use it when 2U and 40 mm of depth fit the case.

Plan the companion path

Complete the path with upstream and downstream gear that matches connector, direction, signal type, protocol, and wiring standard.

Connector boundary

Documented connectors: IEC C14. Match connector, direction, and signal type—not shape alone.

04 · Every connector, grouped by job.

I/O ports

Switch the product view and the documented port inventory updates with it—hardware and data stay side by side.

Every connector, grouped by job.

Switch panels to keep the hardware view and the documented port list in sync.

Front panel
UFP-2
Rear panel
Middle AtlanticUFP-2
All documented ports for Middle Atlantic 2U Rack Fan Panel
PortPanelConnectorDirectionSignalChannels
Power (IEC)rearIEC C14 inputpower—

Showing 1 of 1 documented physical ports.

05 · Compare the decision, not just the price.

Alternatives

The rows are organized around fit, power, I/O, and system role so a cheaper unit cannot hide a more expensive workflow.

Compare
78F ≈≈
AC INFINITYCloudplate T978F ≈≈
Fit📐 2U📐 1U📐 1U📐 2U
Power⚡ 40W⚡ 20W⚡ 15W⚡ 25W
Weight⚖️ 4.4 lb⚖️ 2.2 lb⚖️ 2.6 lb⚖️ 4.0 lb
I/O🔌 1🔌 1🔌 1🔌 1
Estimate💵 ~$149💵 ~$89💵 ~$69💵 ~$99
Deep diveCurrent selectionFull comparison →Full comparison →Full comparison →

06 · Resolve the questions that can change the purchase or build plan.

Planning questions

Short, source-backed answers surface rack fit, power, cabling, and connection details before they become surprises.

How will the Middle Atlantic 2U Rack Fan Panel affect rack fit and case depth?

It occupies 2U. Its documented depth is 40 mm.

How much power does the Middle Atlantic 2U Rack Fan Panel draw?

Typical draw is 40W and documented maximum draw is 50W.

What connections does the Middle Atlantic 2U Rack Fan Panel have?

1 documented physical ports, including Power (IEC).

07 · See this unit inside a real rack plan.

Builder preview

Placement is only the start. Builder checks space · depth · weight, power headroom, dependencies, and compatible signal paths around this exact catalog item.Open in Builder
2U Rack Fan Panel positioned in a rack planA simplified plan shows the unit taking 2 rack units, with its documented connection path continuing to a planned destination.Middle AtlanticUFP-2CONNECTED GEARnext signal destination2U · 40 mm deep

08 · Related gear, in the order you may need it.

Rack Fan

Middle Atlantic 1U Rack Fan Panel (Quiet)

1U · 1 ports · ~$89
78F ≈≈

Rack Fan

AC Infinity CLOUDPLATE T7 Rack Fan

1U · 1 ports · ~$69
AC INFINITYCloudplate T978F ≈≈

Rack Fan

AC Infinity CLOUDPLATE T9 Rack Fan

2U · 1 ports · ~$99

Planning guides for rack fan systems.

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