Drop Boxes Print
Written by Jim Kinter, K5KTF   

We needed some relaying nodes for an event, to be set up on the roofs of buildings to help relay the signals back to Net Control.

An 8"x8"x4" deep outdoor PVC electrical junction box seemed to have enough room for a node and a 7AH battery.

I wanted more than the stock 3.5dBi rubber duckie, and I had a couple of the 7dBi duckies handy. To get the antenna out of the box, I drilled a hole that would fit a 3/4" PVC male connector, then measured the 3/4" PVC to be just a bit longer than the antenna would stick out, and put a cap on the top end.


Knowing that the roofs are peaked, but not knowing the pitch, we needed something that could form fit the peak and keep the box and antenna vertical. In my mind, I designed a sandbag of sorts, using material I already had.

An old pair of jeans, that were tore in other places but the legs were in good shape. I cut off the legs and sewed the cut-end shut. I then drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the box, centered and 1" in from the edge. I then matched those 2 holes up on the denim, marked and poked 2 holes through only one side of the leg. From inside the leg, I pushed 2 bolts (with a fender washer on each) through the holes and up into the holes in the bottom of the box, finishing it off with a proper sized nut on each.

I then inserted a kitchen-size trash bag into the open end of the leg, and filled it with about half of a 60-pound sack of all-purpose sand. I then tied off the end of the trash bag and sewed the end of the jeans leg shut. After it was sealed, I evened out the sand, to make it somewhat flat and even across the whole leg.


Inserted the hardware, screwed the lid on, and topped it off with a nice label that I printed out.

 



Last Updated on Friday, 09 December 2011 22:07