MAC Jaeger Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Does anyone have any advice about putting a Pineapple Tetra into a weatherproof sealed NEMA box and mounting it on a pole? I was hoping to get a PoE injector to USB adapter to power it off PoE, mount the Tetra in a box and run the antennas outside? Can the stock antennas be used outside or do I need more weatherproofed omni antennas? Also, what about heat dissipation? Does the Tetra get hot? Also what are the specs needed if use panel antennas? Some of these questions may become obvious when my Tetra Pineapple arrives in the mail, but I wanted to get ahead of the curve. Another question, is there any webhook api that could be added on the Tetra to send a json packet to another server? Or would I have to send data by sql server to a remove mySQL server? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forkish Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I’ve thought about weather proofing as well. I’ve done short jobs with the tetra in an unpadded pelican case with a battery pack. Head wasn’t too big of an issue but there was a good amount of space, in a shaded area. A remote thermometer would help guage that though. I don’t know enough about PoE. What’s the power capacities of PoE? You asked about antennas and I would suggest encasing the entire tetra and antennas. Otherwise, seals around the antenna ports would become a point of failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0x3nB0x3n Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I agree with putting the whole thing in a box....a little bit of plastic for signals to pass through isn't going to have much impact and it's safer for the device. As for powering off PoE....there are adapters out there that do a 12V down conversion, the problem is finding one that puts out enough amperage to run the Tetra - from what I can tell it wants about 18W+ so you're going to need a minimum of 1.5 amps - probably closer to 2A to be safe (and prevent weird behaviour). If you are going to run cables into the box....be sure to use some cable glands to help keep the moisture out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Jaeger Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 To guarantee enough power, I'd more than likely use a PoE injector instead of PoE switch for the power and run it to a PoE to USB adapter. I've had other radios and big PTZ cameras require a separate injector rather than just basic voltage off the switch. Some outdoor devices I've used had sealed antenna that looked like test tubes hanging off the bottom. Also another important tip... make sure all connections come up through the bottom of the device and make sure every wire or cable running to the device has a drip loop under it so water running down the wire gets caught at the sagging drip loop below the box instead of running all the way to the connector. I've seen some PoE to USB adapters so I assume that would be where I'd start for power, maybe using an injector to guarantee power requirements. Was thinking about panel antennas eventually or going for outdoor rated antennas at the bottom of box. My main concern is heat build up. Since this is inside a box, maybe a heat sync or something? Is heat a problem with this appliance? They sell tactical bags to stuff these into so surely it can't be that bad but this would be baking in the sun everyday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0x3nB0x3n Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Ha....forgot about the drip loop, good idea! Wonder if you could deflect some of the solar heat by using foil tape on the outside of the box? I think the challenge with PoE to USB will still be finding enough amperage....guessing you'd need to be able to plug into both of the Tetra's USB ports in order to power it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Jaeger Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 Was thinking of a device I found that goes up to 24w for PoE to USB. - Power Delivery (PD) voltage range; 5V/2.39A, 9V/2.07A, 12V/1.51A, 15V/1.27A, 20.0V/1.11A. From what you mentioned earlier, this might barely be enough or barely not enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap_Sig Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 You can get much more power than 24 watts using PoE. Just have to make sure you are using the right standard of equipment. For example 802.3bt type 4 can run up to 100 watts but requires cat6 cable if I remember right. You may want to look at 802.3at type 2 that can handle up to 30 watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F0x3nB0x3n Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 On 8/20/2019 at 3:31 AM, trapman16 said: You can get much more power than 24 watts using PoE. Just have to make sure you are using the right standard of equipment. For example 802.3bt type 4 can run up to 100 watts but requires cat6 cable if I remember right. You may want to look at 802.3at type 2 that can handle up to 30 watts. You're right. The pain comes when it's time to find something that plugs into the end of that cable to power the device - a lot are lacking in the amps department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap_Sig Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 20 hours ago, F0x3nB0x3n said: The pain comes when it's time to find something that plugs into the end of that cable to power the device - a lot are lacking in the amps department. True. Something like this should work if all you need is power for the tetra: https://www.amazon.com/Gigabit-Splitter-Adapter-802-3at-compliant/dp/B00NH8QSOY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Jaeger Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Trapman, thanks. I'll check that out. Looks like what I was thinking about at first glance. Initially was thinking USB powered via PoE, but this looks much nicer. Thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap_Sig Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 18 hours ago, MAC Jaeger said: Trapman, thanks. I'll check that out. Looks like what I was thinking about at first glance. Initially was thinking USB powered via PoE, but this looks much nicer. Thanks for the tip. Make sure to post updates/pictures of the build. Always interesting to see mods for different uses 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.