Outdoor Enclousure Experience

@geckoVN Pssst… scroll up a little further.

@keithma Yes still have the hex. It has held up very well over the years.

My ADS-B antenna is also at the top of the Hex center post. My hex is not that far off the ground thought. So 25 feet of LMR400 from ADS-B antenna to enclosure at the base of my DYI tilt mount.

I believe the hex has performed well at that height, because of the ridge I mentioned before. The ridge drops off quick in 3 direction. A HF wavelength from the antenna, it seems much taller.

73

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It is, he said it earlier in this thread

Apologies - I didn’t go that far back.

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No worries. I think we should go back to the original topic. As stated earlier, i’ve seen SoNic67 reply as well, but it wasn’t a big deal for me.

Should I add a disclaimer that everything that I post is “in my opinion”? I thought that’s the point of a forum, to express personal opinions. Maybe I am old school… click on my picture on the left for a disclaimer.

What’s happening today, IMO, is that on “social media”, some people take everything as dogma. Cannot tolerate reading other opinions and qualify them as “close minded” to shut them down. Same qualification as for racists, bigots, white supremacists, Nazi, etc…

Who uses that term for technical discussions? Oh well…

And it seems you don’t think using a network cable is a possibility.
At least that’s how your posts get across.

close-minded
adjective

  1. having or showing rigid opinions

It’s a thread about an outdoor enclosure, you enter the thread and basically declare doing it like this is completely wrong and bad.
Sounds to me like a rigid opinion.

“Think before you speak” … well i’m not a fan of that tone, but i wasn’t a fan of your comment either, categorically declaring that doing it like this is bad doesn’t really add to the thread.

My comment comes from my experience as an electrical engineer:

  1. Putting electronics outside is bad engineering practice due to thermal effects and should be avoided as much as is technically possible. Maybe this is OK in Northern Germany, not so much in Southern Italy, Greece, or most of the US (NYC is at Madrid latitude, Washington DC is at tip of Southern Italy latitude)
  2. Ethernet cables are seldom rated for outdoor installation (UV protected and mechanical resistance) and should be careful considered for that application.
  3. Ethernet cables cannot be easily and properly protected against lightning. Electrical codes require grounding for antennas and a grounded surge arrester device (SPD) before entering the house. Gas-filled SPD are very common for coax cables.
    The Ethernet STP shielding is just to drain interference EM fields, will not protect against an atmospheric discharge.

abcd567 even wrote a whole whitepaper on this subject: Lightning Protection Guide

But yeah… who cares? All it matters is that we should not hurt any feelings.

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Not disagreeing with you regarding best practice but as far as regulations are concerned, things are very different here in the UK.
Only communal systems have any regulations that require them to be earth bonded.
99.9% of UK domestic antenna systems have no earthing and have the coax come straight into the house (normally under the roof tiles) and into the TV antenna socket with no surge arresters at all.

I am sure there are regulations in place in UK too, and licensed electricians and commercial installers are following them. To me it’s irrelevant if a DIY homeowner follows them or not. His house, his liability.

Not for me, i am good :wink:

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As I said, the regulations only apply to communal antenna systems.
There are no regulations regarding domestic systems and commercial installers quite legally put up antennas on houses all the time without any external earthing or surge suppression.

This is getting way too hot, regardless of where it’s installed - indoor/outdoor, who cares (seriously guys?). Nice setup, but it would serve you well to purchase a USB-powered 5v fan - plug it into the open USB port on the left to disperse the electrical load (those fans typically consume 1 watt) and mount it to blow over the heatsink you already have installed, or even better if you can mount it somewhat diagonal to also move some air around under the Pi. It will really help to keep some air moving over the heatsink.

It would also help to rearrange the ribs on the heatsink (as it sits) to be more on a north/south arrangement to assist in the chimney effect - hot air is being trapped in the current arrangement in the heatsink rendering it somewhat useless. It’s a free and easy change in the meantime.

So far as indoor/outdoor - too many variables, both are fine. I live where it usually won’t get below 37c (100f) for about 4 months of the year and typical daytime temps are above 44c (112f), don’t underestimate the power of moving air - whether it’s in an enclosure or not - I have enclosure setups in the direct sun here and never a problem. A few bucks will fix you right up, I promise (as big as you can correctly mount is key):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32564966542.html

Also, check this thread out - fantastic software controlled fan setup thats cheap:

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Forced Cooling
Since my building’s management does not allow residents to install any equipment on roof, all my equipment (including antenna) is inside my air-conditioned apartment.

The building management’s decision has resulted in what I call “forced cooling” of my equipment :wink:

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