New Weatherproof, Ruggedized, T-Beam Case/Antennas

[ConfidentRabbit]

Hi - I’ve just completed this case design that I’ve been working on for the last year.

I will be posting .stl files for anyone who wants to resin print these for themselves. If anyone wants to give me advice on how best to post the files that would be great. I’m not a github user so I won’t be posting there.

I was going for military/prepper functionality: ruggedized, weatherproof, easily serviceable. I will be continuing to improve on them. The goal is to strengthen them even further and also add more features.

Presently there is a single main body type with two optional backs. One is a low profile back and one houses a larger high performance antenna.

The latter is aimed at more permanent installations on towers etc. I have also designed a pole mounting bracket specifically for it.

Some features of the case include a waterproof USB port, illuminated buttons, and mounting flange.
There is no soldering required (unless the button illumination is implemented) and no special tooling required to install the T-Beam board.

I have also designed some related accessories. I have designed two new antennas. The ruggedized low profile antenna is tuned specifically for 915Mhz and made to replace and outperform the cheap antennas that come with the T-Beam kits.

The high performance antenna (Zombie Omni) is a larger 915Mhz, ruggedized antenna that is optimized specifically for Meshtastic type applications and forgoes size considerations.

For those who would choose to spend a bunch of money rather than a bunch of time printing and building their own cases, I have made everything available for purchase here:

Canada Quality Gear

They aren’t cheap (yet). For now I have to build them in volumes of one or two at a time and takes me at least a day of labor to complete one so I have to justify my time.

You will also find some other accessories there such as a weatherproof 100ft (30m) active, direct burial, usb power extension. It uses a boosting circuit so that you can power the T-Beam on a tower/tree from a regular USB charge cube despite voltage drop along the extension.

The web portal is brand new and I am working on it every day so please be patient if there is some incomplete information on it, and do let me know.

I hope you enjoy these designs!
I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions for further improvements.
Also, if anyone has a suggestion on how to have these cases added to the list of available cases at https://meshtastic.letstalkthis.com/ please let me know.

Cheers,
The Confident Rabbit

[Crichton]

Excellent work on these, they look great! Unfortunately, the site you linked to have them added is not an official Meshtastic site so you’d have to contact that site owner if you wanted added there. I know you said you’re not a GitHub user but if you wanted to have them added to the official Meshtastic site for T-Beam enclosures. There’s an edit button at the bottom of the page, you can add the info for your case and submit it as a PR request to be reviewed to be added to the site.

As for making the files available for the community, the majority of folks that do so usually use either Printables or Thingiverse to do so.

Again, really cool item you go there and thanks for sharing!

[ConfidentRabbit]

Thank Crichton, for the advice and the compliment! I’m brand new to the community and appreciate all the options you suggested. Definitely helpful!

[greenleaf]

Cool cases, do you have the STL files posted anywhere? I’d like to print a few up.

[ConfidentRabbit]

I should have STLs posted in the next few days. I still don’t have an account set up anywhere that I can post them. I also have to edit the STLs to separate the case components from other print jobs I do at the same time

Be aware that in order to assemble a Libre Node you will also require:
4 m2 brass inserts
16 m3 brass inserts
4 m2x4mm button head screws
16 m3x6mm button head screws
3 o-rings 4mm Inner Diameter, 6mm OD, 1mm Width, 70D or less
1 o-ring #155, 4" ID, 4-3/16" OD, 3/32" width, 70D or less
1 SMA Female Bulkhead Mount to SMA Male Right Angle RG316 Antenna Extension Cable 1.5-8 inches long. The shorter the better.
1 small piece of plastic window material up to 2mm thick. A printable template for the window is included in the STL files.
1 female micro USB cable connector
1 male micro USB cable connector
Some small gauge wire to construct an 8cm USB extension (four conductors)
silicone sealer
o-ring grease (for the button seals only)
1 small syringe with needle

[D4rk4]

Cool, but may you also produce a Low Profile version for TBeam with an internal antenna and any external waterproof connector (maybe 4 pin aviation connector)?

Upd: Also I can’t order it from myshopify to Montenegro, please also list your cases on Etsy.com

[ted]

Nice design; it’s bigger and bulkier than the cases that I use.

I’m curious how did you print the models in your original post? @ConfidentRabbit

[andyjmorris]

Were you able to post the .stl files anywhere?