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Wireless enclosures can
vary in size from small weatherproof boxes that hold the
equipment, but only the equipment, to large huts where
the equipment is housed, but which have enough room for
a person to work inside. This activity shows you some
examples, so that you can decide which kind will best
meet your needs for cost, and weatherproofing. |
Pole Mounted Weather-proof boxes
This weather-proof
box is suitable for mounting on a pole or the side
of a structure, generally with easy access to power.
However, there isn't a lot of room for expansion,
and if it happens to malfunction during a rainstorm,
the technician will be working outside. However, this
is a great option for pole mount!
Ensure that pole mounted
boxes are equipped with a lightning protector, and
are adequately grounded!
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Semi-permanent Enclosure
Examples |
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This is a "semi-permanent"
installation - a mountain-top hut that is solar powered. This
hut is secure and waterproof, and it allows enough space for
the technician to work inside - this can be very important
for a remote location! This structure, like ANY mountain-top
structure, should be SECURELY fastened down with guy-lines.
Deadmen, like the one shown, can be used to attach the hut
to a mountaintop.
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This installation is also a "semi-permanent
installation.
Although there is a great deal of equipment at this
location, there is still enough room to have a workbench
for technicians.
Closer to towns, where huts
may be powered by hydro "off the grid," less space
is taken up with batteries, attenuators, and/or generators!
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Permanent
Structures |
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Hydro companies and
telephone companies typically have a bit more budget to spend
on their enclosures, and need to make this investment to protect
their expensive equipment. The structure shown at the left
is a "permanent" hut installation. It has an enormous
poured concrete base, and an excellent grounding structure,
as well as a very secure metal hut, complete with air conditioning.
Shown below: tower fastening bolts, and
groundline. A chainlink fence was being erected around this
structure for security, and a separate groundline was installed
to ground the fence. The groundlines used, as shown, were
nearly the thickness of a quarter.
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| Deadmen (shown below buried
- left, and unburied - right) are used to secure many structures,
including huts, towers, small temporary enclosures, solar arrays,
and generating equipment. |
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Other Enclosures: |
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In
some cases, an outdoor enclosure won't be needed. A
wiring closet may already be available, or, there may
even be room to create a 'networking area' in another
area of an existing structure, like the one shown at
the left. Be creative, and create the solution that
will work for the goal that the community is trying
to achieve.
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Whichever type of enclosure you choose,
it is very important to ensure that it be:
- Suitable for the type of environment
where it is mounted (snow-proof, rain-proof, sun-proof,
wind-proof, people-proof, animal-proof, bear-proof, temperature-controlled,
etc.)
- Able to fit all of the current equipment,
plus room for future equipment expansion or add-ons
- Adequately and appropriately powered,
depending on where it is mounted (solar power, wind power,
generator, "grid" power)
- Adequately GROUNDED
with the CORRECT lightning protectors (samples
shown below)!
 
Lastly, remember that creating
and working in enclosures involves working with dangerous
tools, often in dangerous environments, and around power
that can KILL. Always ensure
that everyone performing the work is properly qualified
and skilled, and ALWAYS follow regulations and safety instructions
when working!
For more information, review
the safety
section for this module, and for the Open
Network Craft Project.
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