I was wondering if anyone had tried to waterproof a T Beam. I want to get as much range as possible, and I was thinking of sending one up in a weather balloon tied to fishing line. So obviously weight is a concern, meaning no otter or pelican type boxes.
Also wondering about semi permanent installations of T Beams as stationary repeater nodes on rooftops and such. Surely people are waterproofing them and putting them up in high places with solar panels, or?
My test repeater is a T-Beam inside a transparent plastic jar (the wide-mouth type that olives, etc. come in), hanging in a tree at the far end of our paddock.
Unhappy with the supplied antenna, I replaced it with a dipole made from thin teflon coax. A pair of parallel 18650 in the socket runs it for a few days.
That’s OK for range testing, or an unattended repeater with a small solar panel added, as long as the power doesn’t go so low it switches off (button press needed to restart!) but for personal, house or vehicle use, I’m trying PVC drainpipe with screw caps
Problem then is that we need a window to see the display, and access to the buttons. I’ve remoted the display on one, that helps, and can do the RST & IO38, but the PWR doesn’t seem to come out anywhere.
The machining needed to get physical button extensions working is not likely to be widely reproducible and 3D printing isn’t likely to be waterproof or durable enough.
Maybe there’s a code change can be made to default power on?
Maybe just stuff it all into a transparent flexible PVC tube and insert plugs to seal? See the display and push the buttons through the tube?
The TTGO & Heltec are easier in that they just switch on, but their flimsy little slide-switches will not last in real-world use. I’m considering repurposing a flashlight housing, but gotta wait for the new T-Beams with the uFL, instead of that ugly sideways SMA.
Here’s my first attempt at a weatherproof enclosure for a T-Beam. It’s pretty oversized, and you can’t get to the controls without opening it up, but I wanted to test the concept with materials I had on-hand before I ordered anything.
Now that I know it’s relatively weatherproof and the box doesn’t kill the bluetooth signal, I’m going to try building a more backpacking friendly option with a small SMA antenna and a smaller enclosure like this with some bungee cords in the mounting holes:
Regarding powering the unit on, supplying power to the USB port seems to turn it on. I can turn mine back on if I temporarily open the weatherproof cap and plug a USB power bank in, but I don’t have a good way to turn it back off without opening the case or just letting the battery run out.
That’s pretty cool. Beats my plan to put it in a freezer ziplock bag.
I’m looking to do the same thing. I want something super rugged that I can throw in my kids backpack when hiking. I’m thinking I will start with this https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-ttgo-t-beam-shock-resistant-enclosure-124281, I’m looking for a way to expose the USB port and buttons while still keeping it waterproof.
I havent check the usb to see if there is any voltage exposed with the A side isnt plugged in, but you might be able to seal up the case around the port using this.
As for the buttons, if you used a thin flexible 3D printed design or even installed some water proof buttons like these. This would allow you to possibly move the status LED out too.
My ruggedised T-Beam prototype has moved on a few steps:-
It fits inside a Pelican 1010 case with 30mm stand offs. I just got panel mount SMA cables and am building a power regulator that would plug straight into the board to allow for 5->24V DC power input. I should get it back from the PCB fab in a week or so.
With the stand offs, there’s space in the case for up to three batteries and when the lid is opened, you have easy access to the buttons.
If it works, the PCB will be posted at OshPark and will be $3 for three (shipping included) and I’ll provide the Bill of Materials that you can source parts yourself.
Pelican really dropped the ball on these cases by not providing an option for a semitransparent o-ring. All the ones i’ve used i always cut out the integrated seal but am still left with a yellow or black ring.
