Enclosure for WAR

[n2000]

What enclosure are you using for the WAR system?

[lonnie]

We have a custom made aluminum case but we are also looking at using a plastic Antenna and case combination. We have not yet evaluated them but they look good for specs.

[Skaught]

I buy the WRAP mini-boxes and had a back plate fabricated to hold the wars. But I have not tried it in actual use yet.

[runet]

Has any one actually tried the WAR boards in the mini-box enclosure yet? Are there any other enclosures that people have used successfully?

[Bossman]

We have our own Enclosure/antenna combination in the 900 Mhz, 2.4 Ghz and 5.7/8 GHz freqencies.

[David L. Vrablic]

Has any one actually tried the WAR boards in the mini-box enclosure yet? Are there any other enclosures that people have used successfully?
It is a snug fit, but it can be done.
I think I would want something with a little more room for air flow with all those radios.
I put dual hard drive fans on top of WRAP boxes to make some rack mount units.

The single sided board used in the WARtennas fits a whole lot better but must be powered via POE module.
I just might try one of these with the Compex card soon to replace a PRISM AP.

[cdavis]

Is there any outdoor enclosure for the WAR boards that is not an antenna enclosure?

[go.fast]

Pac Wireless has a nice cast metal box enclosure for boards.
George

[butchkemper]

We use the old Teletronics CPE box that has the side mounted latch. We add a sheet metal mounting plate and the box is already predirlled with a hold for the N-Female bulkhead connector.

Works great and the price is right.


Butch

[tim]

Has any one actually tried the WAR boards in the mini-box enclosure yet? Are there any other enclosures that people have used successfully?

The war boards are about 0.5 mm too wide to fit in a wrap minibox, so it very nearly fits, but not quite. Worse though the war connectors (rj45 & rs232) are on a long edge & the mini wrap has its connectors on the end edge. So basically no way does it work.

The 2 war board does however fit inside the wrap 1E-1 enclosures. You'd need standoffs The 4 war is too high.

[aunixguru]

I have both war boards in a 2 mini-box enclosures.

They come with standoff's.

I take a 6-32 hex nut and screw the standoff into it.

Then i attach the standoff to the war board.

Then I apply SUPER GLUE. Loctite Epoxy Gel 6 minute glue.

I put 1/4 inch of the glue mixture into the bottom of the minibox where the standoffs will end up.

I then drop in the war with the standoff's attached and 7 minutes later.
I have a very solid war board mounted.

I will post pics shortly.

Rich Hatherill
Cnywireless

[kbldawg]

I second the pacwireless boxes. I hate the mini-box cases, everyone I have ever used leaked water into them, I'm pulling all of them out of production. I tried everything possible to water proof those cases, nothing worked.

The pacwireless cases will fit fully loaded 4-Port WAR, Demarc Tech POE surge protector, and Ethernet Punch Down block with room to spare. They come with a back mounting plate so you can drill and tap your stand-off holes and they are painted white which helps reduce heat. The gasket on the cover plate could be better, but I have never had a leak so I'm happy. The mounting hardware is sturdy and much easier to mount than the mini-boxes, bigger u-bolts, better over-all design.

I'll try and get some pics to post.

[David L. Vrablic]

Which mini box cases have you had the problems with?

I hope you are not talking about the cast mesh boxes with the H shaped gasket?

Pictures would help.

[David L. Vrablic]

Thanks for the thought Butch,
I have about a half dozen of those boxes kicking around here.
Might as well put them to good use.

[kbldawg]

David,

This is the box we've had so much trouble keeping dry...

http://forums.star-os.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20&stc=1&d=1153526389

They almost always (I would guestimate 70%) leak where the N-Connector goes through the top of the case...

http://forums.star-os.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=21&stc=1&d=1153526954

My last attempt to keep these cases dry involved.

Siliconing the N-Connectors on both the inside and outside of the case while installing them. After that we apply a large bead of silicon on the outside of the case around the bottom part of n-connector. When we mount the case on the tower, we use 2 half-lapped layers of mastic tape followed by 2 half-lapped layers of vinyl tape. Lastly, we apply a liberal coat of 3M Scotchkote Sealer over the vinyl tape.

The last case I took down was two weeks ago (upgrading to WAR), it had been up for about 13months. The brass stand-offs that come with the case were corroded. The pins on the RJ45 were corroded. The inside of the case had a white chalky residue all over it from the dessicant bag getting wet. You could see where the water entered through the N-Connector location and had ran down the inside of the case and settled where the ethernet connector is located.

As a matter-of-fact when we swapped that WRAP out, the poe blew after plugging the PS back up for the new WAR box. We didn't know it at the time, but mostly likely the RJ45 pins being corroded probably contributed to the poe burning up.

Through my quest to water-proof these boxes, I haven't ruled out operator error. :rolleyes:


Which mini box cases have you had the problems with?

I hope you are not talking about the cast mesh boxes with the H shaped gasket?

Pictures would help.

[David L. Vrablic]

Yep, that is the ones I was talking about.
They cam with the pigtail to N f connectors installed using some Blue Silicone sealer.
Now that I know you have had problems I had better pay attention to the rim seal.
Maybe silicone the one side to the back half and use silicone grease on the other side .
As a last resort maybe some weep holes on the bottom so if water does get in (or condensation) it can find it's way out??

Thank you for the reply I will be very carefull now.

[rbolduc]

FWIW... I allways thought that was a poor design to have the n connectors on the top. Even the side would have been better. Hmmm Mount the box sideways ?


Reed

[kbldawg]

Can you get these cases without the holes knocked out?

If so, they would be excellent cases if you only used the bottom holes, but everyone of them that I have order always came with the top holes knocked out, so you have to use them.

Oh well, they may work perfectly for you, if so, I'd love to know where I went wrong.

Good Luck!!

[kbldawg]

I agree 100%

That's what I have been doing with the pac wireless cases. They are just big enough to drill your holes on the side of the case for a 4 port WAR, plus it leaves you extra room on the bottom for the two ethernet ports.

I looked at mounting them sideways, and even bought some wall mount brackets but I never went through with it.

Anybody need some wall mount bracketts for the mini-boxes? It's inventory time, so I'd be glad to sale em. :D

FWIW... I allways thought that was a poor design to have the n connectors on the top. Even the side would have been better. Hmmm Mount the box sideways ?


Reed

[Stratolinks]

Anyone who designs an outdoor tower mount enclosure with connectors on the top hasn't worked in the field long enough. You cannot seal a top mounted connector well enough.

ALL our installs have ALL connectors through the bottom of the cases, and evey case has a 7/64" diameter weep hole. In the 4 years that any of our wireless network equipment has been up, I have never had any water in the cabinets. Correction, once we had water entering through a bad antenna coming down the LMR400 up through the lightning suppressor, out through the N connector of the pigtail and then dripping out the weep hole. No damage other than the LMR400, lightning suppressor and pigtail,and the bad antenna of course.

I am still using the hammond EJ1084. 10" H x 8" W x 4" D grey metal with a latch that can be turned with a penny (or a screwdriver).

[go.fast]

Anyone who designs an outdoor tower mount enclosure with connectors on the top hasn't worked in the field long enough. You cannot seal a top mounted connector well enough.

Glad you said it. I wanted to say it but didn't want to insult anyones invention. But ain't it the truth :)

Here's one I built:

http://www.oregonfast.net/gofast/DualWrapAP/DUAL%20WRAP%20AP%20004.jpg

or

http://www.oregonfast.net/gofast/DualWrapAP/

[David L. Vrablic]

These boxes are designed for MESH systems with up to 4 antennas mounted on the cases. 2 up and 2 down.
You really need the physical separation for the antennas.
I am sure I can seal anything if I have the right materials and methods.

These new sealers are unreal and it is really tough to get some things apart once they are set.
I am actually going so far as to design a special nut to use on any top mounted type N bulkhead fitting.
It has an O ring on the mating surface and a ribbed area at the top where the adhesive type heat shrink will have a place to seal and grip on the top.
Mesh boxes kind of have to use this configuration so I will have to find a solution.
I am sure it can be done.

[Ick]

Glad you said it. I wanted to say it but didn't want to insult anyones invention. But ain't it the truth :)

Here's one I built:

http://www.oregonfast.net/gofast/DualWrapAP/DUAL%20WRAP%20AP%20004.jpg

or

http://www.oregonfast.net/gofast/DualWrapAP/

Where are you getting these enclosures? They look pretty nice.

[go.fast]

I buy them at electrical supply houses. The good point is they are not very expensive, the bad is they do rust.

Can't remember the price but I think that one is probably like 60.00 or so plus the backplate.

George

[mrmike]

Those are Hammond 8x10x4 electrical boxes.

[DrLove73]

Pac Wireless has a nice cast metal box enclosure for boards.
George

Are you talking about NEMA6 right?
Just want to be sure.

[HoeDing]

Are you talking about NEMA6 right?
Just want to be sure.
Part No: DCE-7x6x2
Item Description: NEMA6 Weatherproof Die Cast Aluminum Enclosure with 6 engineered knockouts. 7x6x2" interior space
Price: $29.95

http://pacwireless.com/products/DCE.shtml

[mario]

I buy the WRAP mini-boxes and had a back plate fabricated to hold the wars. But I have not tried it in actual use yet.
New to StarOs:
where do you buy the mini boxes? and what does your back plate look like? have any pictures?
Thanks. Mario

[titan_wireless]

You can buy thye minibox direct from www.mini-box.com

[mario]

Pac Wireless has a nice cast metal box enclosure for boards.
George

do you mean this one? http://www.pacwireless.com/products/DCE.shtml

[Skaught]

We have started using it and we seem to be getting water into our boxes either via the front or the ethernet gland.

I am seekign alternatives for both.

The mini-box has never ever let us down and I have dozens out there.

[Stratolinks]

We have started using it and we seem to be getting water into our boxes either via the front or the ethernet gland.

I assume you are referring to PACwireless box. I assume there is no weep hole in the bottom corner of the box, right. I always mount the enclosures a little off level and a slight tilt to the back, and drill a 7/64" hole in that corner. It allows enough venting to prevent any buildup of condensation that WILL happen on the inside walls of the box, especially in the changeable fall and spring weather. Before I started that the stainless steel boxes we use would end up with water in the bottom of them. Since doing this with all our boxes, we have never had water in them again.

[therealboss]

I too drill a small hole in the bottom of any of the boxes I use, this has stopped any water problems I had.

[runet]

Does any one know if the WAR boards will fit in the WRAP BOX 2A1E?

[mrmike]

I throw away the gland that comes with the pacwireless box, and replace it with a gland I get from Digi-key. It costs about $1.50, and tightens down on any cable from 5 to 12 mm. No more water.

[Skaught]

Yes, I have had issues with PAC boxes leaking. The Mini-box has only leaked if the gasket is on the wrong way around. It is a bit if a flaw as they could hav designed it better. But if the mini-box is installed right they are airtight.

We are using wars in mini-boxes with a plate of sheet metal. I have an autocad drawing for the adapter plate. I gave the file to a local sheet metal shop and they make then for $9 each. Makes the WAR fit into the mini box perfectly.

The other key with the mini-box are to use both gaskets on the gland.

I never considered putting the connectors on top. I assumed that was if you are using the mini-box indoors for APs inside a school or something where you need a solid box to protect it. Those top mount rubber duck antennas are not any good outdoor anyway.

I think it is a given that the pac gland is total crap. I just replaced one this week that got wet then caused a short and started an actual fire. There is flame and smoke damage inside and the x-tal is mostly missing, what is left is charcoal.

The best gland I have ever used is about $4 at home depot. But it is not a quick connect.

[mrmike]

Digi-key part number 288-1179-ND Through gland $1.56 CAD each for 50, plus $8.00 shipping. Delivered in 2 days.

[Beebe]

Just to add to this thread, I found that the pronghorn metro boards do not fit in the Pac Wireless enclosures. Well, they do, but there's no room for the ethernet Jack. So I purchased an enclosure from Demarc Tech. It was about $50. It's hinged and it's metal. Looks like it will fit the bill nicely.

Now to find some plastic stand-offs :)

Cheers,
Roger

[handyman]

We use the Pac Wireless die-cast aluminum enclosures for WAR boards smaller than the Metro.

For the Metro, we use the Hammond watertight 10x8x4 model # 1414N4PHI. It has a mounting plate. We get them for around $60 from adproductsco.com. The Hammond case is heavy steel. Will withstand probably an artillery shelling, but it takes a while to get six holes drilled in it. We use one of those hole drilling things instead of a drill bit.

[mrmike]

Hole drilling thing??? You related to Tim Allen, maybe?

[soulmata]

You can also get RJ45 field units to put in place of a wire cap, making it easier to prevent moisture from getting inside a unit.

[David L. Vrablic]

Oh ya mean hole saw, carbide tipped hole cutter, or step drill thingy? ;-)
And a big drill or press I'll bet.
Don't forget your safety goggles !
I mean it!!!

[handyman]

OK, very funny...:rolleyes: ...I've looked it up and it's called a step-drill bit. The ones we use are Irwin Unibits.

[David L. Vrablic]

Boy you do have "Deep Pockets" !
Just funnen ya!

[butchkemper]

The step drill thingy is also known as a "uni-bit".

Oh -- now that I look again I see that is what handyman called them :(

Butch

[handyman]

Boy you do have "Deep Pockets" !
Just funnen ya!

Yes, for a while I resisted buying a step-drill because I am a cheapskate. I think that's why I can survive in this business. But after untold hours trying to make a big hole in metal with a normal bit, I decided the uni-bit was worth the investment. The guy at the hardware store said if I didn't think it was worth it, I should just ask any plumber.

[gunther_01]

I will second or third, whatever the Uni-bit. If you have real deep pockets, electricians use a hydrolic system that has hole puch cutters. Drill small hole and insert threaded clamp with cutters attached, start pumping, click, there is a hole of about any size you want. Pretty neet tool for the professional hole maker :).. Of course it's over kill for a 5/8" or whatever a N connector is (forget)

[Stratolinks]

Just did a WRAP to WAR4 Metro upgrade on Monday Evening, 156ft up a grain elevator. Site now has 2 5GHz links to other sites, 2.4G local access, and a soon to be upgraded 2x cloaked 2.4GHz feed (the antenna order got messed up the 3ft dishes for 5GHz should have been here a month ago).

This used to have a 12V Omron PSU, a single battery, and a WRAP board with 2 antenna connections. Now it has a 24V Omron PSU, 2 batteries (in series), and the WAR4metro with 4 antenna connections.

This case was originally put up about 4.5 years ago, before I started drilling a weep hole in the lower right corner of the cabinet. One time when I went up to this site the box literally ran water out when I opened the cover. When I go back up to put the 5GHz feed to this unit I will replace the first two lighning suppressors (and clean up the corrosion around them from the water, before I drilled the 7/64" drain hole in the case) and get rid of the jury rigged adapters that were put in place a long time ago.

Click the picture for a full size image.
http://stratolinks.com/forums/WRAP-WAR4Metro_TN.jpg (http://stratolinks.com/forums/WRAP-WAR4Metro.jpg)

Very few of our sites actually have an ethernet cable attached at all.

[butchkemper]

I will second or third, whatever the Uni-bit. If you have real deep pockets, electricians use a hydrolic system that has hole puch cutters. Drill small hole and insert threaded clamp with cutters attached, start pumping, click, there is a hole of about any size you want. Pretty neet tool for the professional hole maker :).. Of course it's over kill for a 5/8" or whatever a N connector is (forget)

There is a hole punch that uses a wrench on a bolt to squeeze two metal dies together to make the hole. A unit that makes hole for a N connector is $35-$50. You can get it at an electrical supply house.

Butch

[Magician]

You mean a greenlee slug buster. You can buy a 1/2 to 2 1/2" for a $75 at most supply houses

[go.fast]

A unit that makes hole for a N connector is $35-$50. You can get it at an electrical supply house.

Butch

Butch,
If you could find me that Double D punch for $35 to $50.00 I'd appreciate it.

Have a url by chance?
George

[butchkemper]

The price on all of the D or Double D punches was out of sight so we elected to go with a normal hole punch.

We purchased a set that makes a 5/8" hole and this is the information from the invoice from the local electrical supplier:

$16.23 Greenlee #00042 Draw Stud
$19.71 Greenlee #31969 Slug Buster and Punch
$ 7.88 Greenlee #32002 Die
$ 7.78 Shipping and Handling
$51.60 Total


Butch

[go.fast]

Yeah, I've got the regular ko punches from my electrician days, I'm just looking for a DD or even single D..

I noticed the catalog from Greenlee does not have the size we need for a double dd punch. Others I've seen tended to be a couple hundred each or so...

Kinda spendy, but I need one.

[Beebe]

Just did a WRAP to WAR4 Metro upgrade on Monday Evening, 156ft up a grain elevator.

Very few of our sites actually have an ethernet cable attached at all.

That's one of the most useful images I've seen since I started in this business. Brilliant. I have a few questions.

1. Why don't you put the transformer down on the ground and run 24v up the 156 ft to the enclosure? I'm guessing because of lightning being inducted into the cable? it

2. The wire on the negative terminal of the barrel connector disappears under the WAR board. I assume this goes to the negative earth of the enclosure?

3. Will any 24v supply charge any pair of 12v batteries wired in series? Does it matter what ampage you have? Like, would a 24v 1A be ok? or a 24v 12A?

Thanks,
Roger

[Stratolinks]

That's one of the most useful images I've seen since I started in this business. Brilliant. I have a few questions.

Well, thanks. I actually though this one was a bit of a mess. I have a picture of another install of a WAR4Metro 48V that was posted before. Here is a link (http://stratolinks.com/forums/War4Metro-inbox.jpg) to it.

1. Why don't you put the transformer down on the ground and run 24v up the 156 ft to the enclosure? I'm guessing because of lightning being inducted into the cable?

That would be one reason, the other reason is that there was already a 120V circuit at the top of the leg to tap into. However on every site that we ran AC power (tek cable, aluminum armoured and rubber jacketed) we have never had any reboot issues on teh WRAPs, but on 2 sites that have a run of Cat5 with POE from the battery/charger do have occasional reset problems. One that is on 150ft of cat5 reboots almost every day.

2. The wire on the negative terminal of the barrel connector disappears under the WAR board. I assume this goes to the negative earth of the enclosure?

That is correct, the screw is just under the edge of the board, and the board is on 1" long metal standoffs.

3. Will any 24v supply charge any pair of 12v batteries wired in series? Does it matter what ampage you have? Like, would a 24v 1A be ok? or a 24v 12A?

The 24V power supply has a voltage adjustment on it and has been set to provide 27 Volts (13.5V x 2 for charging properly). You should always use 2 new identical batteries when placing them in series. You will want a supply capable of something close to double the actual current draw by the WAR board so that the batteries can be recharged in a reasonable amount of time after a power failure. Ideally there should be a low voltage disconnect to prevent the complete draining of the batteries during an extended power failure. I wish I would have hooked up the trusty fluke meter and determined the power draw when I put this thing in place.

The PolyPhaser lightning suppresors I now use have an N Femlae connection on them, the old ones were N Male. The pigtails plug right into the newer ones, but I had to use adapters to hook up the old ones way back when the WRAP board was first put in here. My next trip up will have new Polyphasers along with the new 3ft 5.8GHz dish to feed this site in place of the 4ft 2.4GHz grid that is there now. This site first went into service in August 2004.

[Stratolinks]

WAR 1 Indoor case...

I couldn't get any decent numbers that wanted a small case for the WAR 1 to replace other equipment, so I ordered a small batch of Hammond 1455P1601 cases. Extruded aluminum case with end plates, internal card edge grooves. I aligned the board in it, then marked the two mounting holes, put a spacer on the bottom plate and fastened the board in. Then the base plate slides into the cover and I made the appropriate holes int he end plate to fit. It needs a few minor adjustments, but it wasn't too bad.

I primarily want these to be able to replace old customer equipment that already have good signal levels with existing antennas already installed. We can just plug this in to replace the old Realtek clients, WET11, CB3, or anything else that has a RPSMA connector on it.

Pics are sampled down to 1024x768.
http://stratolinks.com/forums/Front_Angle_View.jpg
http://stratolinks.com/forums/Rear_Angle_View.jpg
http://stratolinks.com/forums/Back_without_cover.jpg
http://stratolinks.com/forums/Bottom_View.jpg

No I am not willing to make these for anybody else. All you need is the case, a nibbler tool for the square holes, a variety of drillbits, and some short threaded standoffs to hold the board up. I just used an extra standoff to clamp the top side of the board since I didn't have any small diameter nuts to fit the standoffs.

[Beebe]

I think I am slowly figuring this out, although I'm sure i still don't have everything right...

I just was working with a friend who fixes TVs the other day. We noticed that there was a ground on our regulated 24v supply. There was no continuity between the ground and the negative terminal of the supply.

We also noticed that on the WAR4 boards, there is no continuity between the ground pin, and the negative power in the barrel connector.

So we figured the best way to wire it up is to isolate the negative from the ground. Connect the negative of the power supply to the negative of the WAR4. Ground the ground connector on the WAR4 and the ground terminal on the power supply.

Does this make sense? Would this not be the best way to set it up?

Thanks,
Roger

[Skaught]

The war boards are about 0.5 mm too wide to fit in a wrap minibox, so it very nearly fits, but not quite. Worse though the war connectors (rj45 & rs232) are on a long edge & the mini wrap has its connectors on the end edge. So basically no way does it work.

The 2 war board does however fit inside the wrap 1E-1 enclosures. You'd need standoffs The 4 war is too high.

We use dozens of WAR boards in Mini-Box enclosures. They work great for us.

[lonnie]

The MESHCASE on our store is designed for the WAR2 and WAR4. It is priced right as well.

[hatster]

Hey Stratolinks,

we are considering setting up some of our cells like this (power wise), we have just been worried about overcharging batteries, or causing fires, etc.

From the picture it looks like your batteries are just connected straight to the 24v power supply ? wont this overcharge them ?

We thought about using a solar charge controller, and just connecting a 24v psu instead of solar panels, would this work do you think ?

Cheers,

Kev.

[Stratolinks]

Hey Stratolinks,

we are considering setting up some of our cells like this (power wise), we have just been worried about overcharging batteries, or causing fires, etc.

From the picture it looks like your batteries are just connected straight to the 24v power supply ? wont this overcharge them ?

We thought about using a solar charge controller, and just connecting a 24v psu instead of solar panels, would this work do you think ?

Cheers,

Kev.


Yes the batteries are connected to the power supply via a blocking diode. The power supply voltage is then adjusted to provide 27.00 volts (13.5 volts per battery). This is enough to fully charge the sealed lead acid battery, but not damage it by keeping the voltage constant at the battery terminals.

A solar panel (24V setup) can produce approximately 36 volts in bright sunlight. For obvious reasons you must use a charge controller to do this. The advantage of a charge controller is that most of them also have a low voltage cutoff to prevent damaging the battery if the voltage drops too low from an extended power failure.

Either way you have to have a high enough voltage available to fully charge the battery. A fixed, regulated 24V power supply will not charge a pair of batteries to any usable level.

You want a power supply that can deliver its full rated power with a 100% duty cycle since it may need it for quite some time after a power failure to recharge the batteries back up, especially if you have a few extra batteries.

[DrLove73]

You can use "drop-by-drop"? chargers that realize when battery is full and then they stop charging, keeping batteries fully charged (they should last much longer that way?)

[hatster]

Hey,

Thanks for the info,

I couldn't see a diode in the picture, what type did you use, and how is it connected ? How long have you been running this type of setup successfully ?

Do you think it would be safer to use a solar charge controller ?
Im paranoid about safety as most of our AP's are on residential property.

Thanks,

Kev.

[Stratolinks]

Hey,

Thanks for the info,

I couldn't see a diode in the picture, what type did you use, and how is it connected ? How long have you been running this type of setup successfully ?

Do you think it would be safer to use a solar charge controller ?
Im paranoid about safety as most of our AP's are on residential property.

Thanks,

Kev.

Any diode with a current rating sufficiently high enough to handle the peak draw from the power supply will do. I us a small 9Amp diode in the smaller sites, but the main backhaul sites have a 30Amp diode in them. Lets the 23A PSU charge at full rate without any problems.

I have been using these in service now for 5 years. Our main backhaul systems are similar with a 12V system and a much bigger battery and power supply. Currently there are 33 sites set up very much like this.


The only addition I am working on right now is a means of monitoring battery voltage, incoming voltage (from PSU or solar), and temperature remotely. With a few digital outputs that could be used to turn other things on and off. (a work in progress for now, just don't have the time to spend on it).

[hatster]

Has anyone fitted the war4 Metro into a Pac Wireless DCE-7x6x2 case ? if so, is it a comfortable fit ? if not any other suggestions ?
Im struggling to find a suitable outdoor pole mountable enclosure for this here in Spain. Its got to go on a high point so needs to be pretty water tight as the clouds come down over.

Thanks and best regards,

Kev.

[therealboss]

Has anyone fitted the war4 Metro into a Pac Wireless DCE-7x6x2 case ? if so, is it a comfortable fit ? if not any other suggestions ?
Im struggling to find a suitable outdoor pole mountable enclosure for this here in Spain. Its got to go on a high point so needs to be pretty water tight as the clouds come down over.

Thanks and best regards,

Kev.


Yes the Gateworks WAR4 will fit but only just, you will not get a Metro in there.

[tog]

Any other suggestions for a decent metal enclosure that will fit the WAR4-METRO?

The ADI official chassis looks plastic and I really need some ESD shielding.

[go.fast]

Not the best choice, but one that does work, the rootenna.
Even the big rootenna . I have a few, it was fast and easy. You just have to accept if you use a rootenna and you need to replace it, you might as well just build an identicle one preprogrammed and then just swap it out.

I usually buy nema enclosures. I think the one that fits that one would be a 8x 8 or however much room you need. I usually get the bigger ones and install the 110 volt plug inside of it.

The last one I installed was one of those old aluminum custom ones Lonnie sold with via boards 4 years back.

[Beebe]

These work quite nicely for the metro:

http://www.demarctech.com/products/reliawave-ode/reliawave-rw-ode-8585.html

A bit pricey compared to the pac wireless enclosure, but there's more space and a nice hinged door. We have a couple with WAR4 boards in, there's plenty of room.

Thanks,
Roger

[soulmata]

Has anyone fitted the war4 Metro into a Pac Wireless DCE-7x6x2 case ? if so, is it a comfortable fit ? if not any other suggestions ?
Im struggling to find a suitable outdoor pole mountable enclosure for this here in Spain. Its got to go on a high point so needs to be pretty water tight as the clouds come down over.

Thanks and best regards,

Kev.


We put our metros in these enclosures all the time

It requires you to modify the case

You have to shave the center out of one of the screw mounts on either the left or right side, enough to make a notch for the metro to fit in. If you do it low enough, you won't affect the screw itself.

[tog]

Yay, that's good to know. I'm going to buy a couple of those Pac Wireless metal cases and give them a try. We have no trouble doing small modifications as necessary.

[gunther_01]

titan-wifi.com sells a metal hinged case with backplate and pole mounts that fits the metro with room to spare. predrilled for two N's and has an ethernet pass through pigtail job (better then pac's in my opinion)

worked well for us lately. got pics if you would like

[therealboss]

Yay, that's good to know. I'm going to buy a couple of those Pac Wireless metal cases and give them a try. We have no trouble doing small modifications as necessary.

Tog
One good thing about the Pac Wireless case is that you can fit a door with built in 2.4 or 5.8 panel, very handy if you have to pay for space on the tower (2 for the price of one).

[tog]

titan-wifi.com sells a metal hinged case with backplate and pole mounts that fits the metro with room to spare. predrilled for two N's and has an ethernet pass through pigtail job (better then pac's in my opinion)

worked well for us lately. got pics if you would like

The "nice" one doesn't seem to have enough holes (2 for N-type, one for ethernet) and the other more basic one has 6 knockouts but looks like the same size as the Pac Wireless (7x6x2).

I assume you're using the nice one but you're only using 2 antenna ports?

[gunther_01]

You would be correct on both parts...

If I need to use more holes for my application I may just uni-bit through the side or make a plate to relocate the box 90 degrees so the lid hinges on the top. drill new holes on bottom and fill the others. But you almost might as well go the Hammond box route then. Depends on your application/situation and such I suppose. It doesn't matter any really, but Deliberant/Lingowave are using these for their system as well. So they are in mass use you could say.

I like the box myself, and seems very sturdy. I also use the pac boxes for some WRAP and WAR AP's. Like those too, especially after adding the newer hinged lid they offer. Those 8 little screws are a B$%ch in the winter up high in the cold.

[tog]

Hm nice looking box, so long as I don't mind drilling more holes. Which I don't.