lincomatic

Has anyone had an AP outdoors for an extended period of time?
I keep seeing all these websites everywhere with AP's put into boxes and mounted on poles baking in the sun all day. In the sun where I live, the temp gets up to 115 pretty often in the summer ... no doubt the box would get even hotter. Can the electronics really take this kind of heat w/o failing over the long term? Personally, I'm kind of skeptical.

(Hey, just noticed this is the first time I've actually posted using the Caps-Lock key for anything but acronyms! ... in case anyone is wondering why I usually don't bother w/ caps, it's because my hand hurts like hell from using the Ctrl key in Emacs all day & nite...I'd give anything to have an old VT100 keyboard instead of the sh*t they sell these days).

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Thorn

linc,
Some of them use fans with a temp switch. The attached is one example I found recently. ORiNOCO AP2000, mounted on a tower in a NEMA-4box. This is from a WISP in Hungary.

I have had a WAP11 v1 in the attic for about a year. Temp there tends to exceed 100°F in summer; it works fine. Don't forget Hurghada, Red Sea, EGYPT. I'd think that guy's temps would rival yours! http://www.d128.com/wireless/

Attached Images

hungary box_sm.jpg (25.3 KB, 289 views)

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Thorn
"Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"

lincomatic

hmm. perhaps i've been too paranoid, then. but then what's up with all these guys having apple airports fail due to the lack of ventilation in that dorky orb apple encases them in?

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Thorn

V1 of the Airport had 2 undersized and underrated caps in the PS section. They will heat up and die on their own, even if ventilated. I suspect it was another case of Marketing winning out over the Engineers.

Marketing: "Studies show Apple users want a cute flying saucer shape. Make it fit the pretty flying saucer case NOW! Replace those two round thingamabobs with smaller ones."

Engineer: "It might just die."

Marketing: "'Might die', doesn't mean it will die. DO IT!"

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Thorn
"Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"

sparafina

Know of any examples of homebrew AP's using a laptop in an outdoor enclosure?

lincomatic

speaking of laptops, do you have any info about that cheap epson laptop you got? model #? does it have 2 working PCMCIA slots? i'm trying to build a router/repeater for my bro.

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sparafina

its an epson actionnote 650c, however I spoke too soon about it working. The power supply is flaky and I need to replace the cmos battery, probably just use a couple of double A's and if that works I'll solder some watch batteries together.

rerunn

OT But......

I have an old dec vt100 sitting in my basement. Can't believe you like that buttery ass feeling keyboard

I prefer the older IBM "clickety click" keyboards -- the sound drives my wife up the wall

lincomatic

yeah, but they have the nice curved top keys like an ibm selectric. maybe it's so buttery now because it's old? or maybe my memory is bad. ok, how about the keyboards from the old ibm terminals w/ the built-in solenoid clunker you could turn on and off?

the old XT keyboard was ok...the AT keyboard began the downward trend for us touch typists ... f*ked up the layout and messed up the feel.

i just got a new natural keyboard pro and it feels like jello compared to the other one i have that's 2 yrs old

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TIntruder

Hey Linc,

I too have had success with the NMEA boxes. I even used them in the corrosive environment of a Nitric Acid plant and the darn things are running now, 4 years after install. (Original Cabletron RoamAbouts)

I did use some very expensive low-loss cable to extend the antennas to better mounting points...the cables were black and thick as a garden hose and about as flexible as a frozen hose!

lincomatic

so you can just make them airtight? do they get direct sunlight?
p.s. i think you meant "NEMA"

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TIntruder

Yep, NEMA.

I made mine airtight using grommets and black silicone goop because I didn't want any external connections to corrode. The fumes alone in a Nitric Acid plant eat just about everything but stainless.

Even the 110vac connections had to use explosion-safe hooded connections.

Inside the plant is consistently 90 degrees and up.

Of course, outdoors, I'd also use a sunshade.

You might also use 2 boxes, one for the power supply transformer which has a lot of mass and gets pretty warm, and the other box for the AP itself.

In this particular case, I had to mount a 24dB parabolic about 75ft up on a condenser tower to be able to aim at another plant facility about a mile away. I used a 100ft low-loss antenna cable and mounted the AP as close as possible to the antenna where power was available. Then I had to backhaul to the LAN with about 200ft of Cat-5. This install was the original 2mbps 802.11 DSSS, not 802.11b, but I always had full throughput bandwidth despite the long antenna run. (parabolics at both ends work quite well)

This was done in Southeastern Washington state in an area where summer temperatures are often above 100 degrees and winters frequently go well below zero. Winds gusting over 75kts are also common. (used inline lightning arrestors too) No problems with heat, wind, cold or ice...

Second implementation with shorter antenna cable runs went 2.5 miles with same performance and reliability.

By the way, the Cabletron/Enterasys APs are encased in steel boxes. The pictures you see of the products show the stylized plastic bezel used for indoor installations. Being steel, you could effectively mount a heat sink on the AP case and another on the exterior of the NEMA box, connecting them with big diameter bolts and retain the weatherproof seal while transferring some of the heat.

It may also be a good idea to add a container of dessicant in the box to guard against condensing moisture if you are in a particularly humid geographical area.

lincomatic

thanks for all the info, guys.

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mattw

Metrix Communication has some really nice outdoor kits that come with everything you need for this, including the dessicant

http://metrix.net/

peekitty

Another thread awakened from the dead... I'm just waiting for somebody to respond to Citrus' questions.