Weatherproofing

From Fab Lab wiki

The title of this page should really be "It's amazing what you can do with plastic bags and gaff tape", but since it's not here are some pics of our weatherproofing to make the point:

The plastic bag setup above was supposed to be "temporary" but it's been running this way through some pretty crappy weather for more than a month, illustrating the principle that weatherproofing doesn't have to be pretty, it just needs to adhere to accomplish a few things:

• Keep the electronics dry (don't forget that water can drip down cables into your enclosure)
• Keep the router antenna pointed vertically
• Keep everything from shifting/blowing away

If you want your "temporary" weatherproofing to last, remember to:

• Reinforce corners and contact points with something durable (like gaff tape)
• Protect failure points (ex: put seams on the underside so even if they open up, the rain won't get in)
• Don't forget about the wind. Especially for plastic bag-like material, flapping around will cause damage very fast
• Add a big margin of safety (extra layers, extra tape, extra TLC)

Site choice is also a big part of weatherproofing. If you can put your reflector up against a big wall that shields the wind and sun, it will last a lot longer than if it's exposed, for instance.

For more permanent installations, a hard case enclosure with venting would be desirable. Plastic bags are easy and cheap, but they don't breathe, making the electronics more likely to overheat.

Wtgphoben 17:31, 24 March 2009 (UTC)