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Check out the attached list of cable and install suggestions. -Glenn KD5MFW
For outdoor installations consider using the following modules / types of equipment:
Antenna, with in line lightning protection. Example PolyPhaser LSXL-ME in -Line EM surge filter. If you use two antennas two feed lines, you could use two of these filters. A reality check is that the filters will cost more than the router used to make the mesh node. You may decide to simply keep a spare mesh node on hand.
The CAT-5 type cable from the radio box at the top of the tower should have an outdoor “UV” rated sheath. You will probably benefit from having this cable be shielded as well. Normal CAT-5 type cable is not intended for outdoor use and the Ultraviolet rays of the sun will decay the plastic sheath quickly if it is not designed for outdoor use. Often this cable is “gel” filled to keep water out. This is good once installed, but is a mess to terminate with connectors as the gel gets on everything.
Seal everything up with some sort of “coax sealer tape”. Check fab-corp.com and titanwireless.com
for weatherproofing products. They also stock special feed through connectors for CAT-5 type cables to get them out of your weatherproof box.
Consider having a second “quick connect” box below your main mesh node box. There are many ways to do this but the idea is to have things set up where a tower climber can open the quick cable disconnect box and easily get the mesh node weatherproof enclosure free to swap out. Without such an interface box, a tower climber will spend hours reworking the weatherproof cable entries into the mesh node weatherproof enclosure. Do it! Save your tower climbers time! Less time on the tower is safer!
Now you are down to were you come into the building. At this point you will want to put in line with the CAT-5 type cables, a module to try to shunt over voltage (lightning) to ground before you enter the building. Example device: PolyPhaser NX2-05. This is uses a RJ-45 female for in and out and has a ground strap to go to a good ground. The PolyPhaser devices are good. The Austin developers use them. Note there are similar looking devices that claim to be some sort of surge blocker and are near useless. Use the good stuff. Do not be “the guys that brought lightning into the radio room” via your cables.
Titanwireless.com and fab-corp.com have may useful modules and supplies for doing outdoor installs. When looking through catalogs, look at the Wireless Internet Service Supplier (WISP) type supplies. These folks do outdoor Wi-Fi type stuff so this is where the outdoor supplies are to be found in catalogs and in Internet searches.
-Glenn
KD5MFW |
