HSMM-MESH™ Outdoor enclosure

Here in the Midwest, we are subjected to the entire gamut of weather conditions that mother nature can throw at us.  Extreme cold (-20°F), extreme hot (>100°F), snow, ice, rain, straight-line winds in excess of 100 MPH, etc.  Especially for the nodes that are to be permanently installed outside, I want to house them in an enclosure to ensure that the electronics inside have the best chance of surviving.

In order to find a suitable enclosure to mount a HSMM-MESH™ node outside, I first started by defining some requirements:

• Shall be weatherproof
• Shall be shielded
• Shall be large enough to mount at least one WRT54G series router and any required accessories
• Should be economical
• Should be easy to install/replace entire unit
• Should have bulkhead N-connector mounts
• Should have waterproof Ethernet feed-through

Next was looking at what others have used for outdoor enclosures.

• Sprinkler box - 
• http://hsmm-mesh.org/component/content/article/51-mesh-node-examples.html
• http://www.w5adc.com/HSMM%20Enclosure%20Implementation.htm
• PVC electrical box - 
• http://hsmm-mesh.org/documentation/121-drop-boxes.html
• Surplus NEMA box - 
• http://hsmm-mesh.org/hsmm-mesh-forums/view-postlist/forum-7-austin/topic-237-south-austin-k5amd-oak-hill.html

I like that the sprinkler box is easily found at local hardware stores but it's lack of shielding and appropriate mounting is a problem.  It might still be useful for temporary nodes that you need easy access and semi-weatherproof, however.

The PVC box is another nice temporary node enclosure but I don't know how it will survive long-term in the sun and again, is not shielded.

Surplus NEMA boxes will work, however I don't have a good source for one.  eBay shows enclosures for $100 on up, which wouldn't satisfy the economical constraint.


I'm not sure if I found the die-cast enclosure by searching on my own or found others using them but I found an enclosure that seemed to satisfy all of my constraints and easy on the pocket book too.

What I found was a  Tycon TPENC-DC-10x8x3 Outdoor Die Cast Enclosure

• 10" x 8" x 3"
• IP67 waterproof
• 3 cutouts for N-connectors
• 2 cutouts for Ethernet glands (one gland included)
• Aluminum construction (shielded)
• Painted off-white
• Only $35 (depending on source)*

* As far as I can tell, these are mass-produced overseas and sold under various names and configurations at multiple vendors.

I was impressed enough that I went ahead and bought one to evaluate.

Temperature testing:

After mounting a WRT54GL in the case, I put it in my deep freeze to simulate extreme cold conditions.  I did a 24-hour cold soak with the freezer set to 0°F, the temperature inside the WRT case never got below 21°F, which is still within the specified operating range of the WRT54 routers.  A spray of conformal coating prior to installation should mitigate any issues there.

Sitting in the box downstairs, ambient temperature 68°F, inside the case got to 81°F

I haven't put it in an oven yet with the router running to see how it reacts to heat.

All tests did not have a fan circulating air within the box (I did put a heatsink on the processor) and the router was still mounted inside it's blue/black plastic case.

Sources:

Willigear WOE-001

http://www.wiligear.com/?q=products/accessories/outdoor-enclosure

Titan Wireless:

http://www.titanwirelessonline.com/Die-Cast-Outdoor-Enclosure-2-N-Hole-p/en-tw2n.htm

Amazon (non-Prime):

http://www.amazon.com/Die-Cast-Hinged-Outdoor-Enclosure/dp/B004EI0KKE

Search for "Die Cast Hinged Outdoor Enclosure" and you should see plenty of hits.

Look for a post on how I mounted a router in one of these boxes soon.