Hi George,

Your setup looks like a good approach to what you need for your requirements.

I was looking at the weatherproof enclosure for your antenna.  If I am correct, you have a total seal with regards to that container.  The fasteners that pass through the enclosure on the top, are they utilizing any method of seal around themselves?  I would be a little worried about the sealed container "breathing" with temperature changes and drawing moisture in around the fastener if they aren't sealed in any fashion.

Normally outdoor enclosures and antenna radomes contain some sort of small weep hole to drain any moisture that may enter the enclosure or vent to equalize pressure changes with temperature.  With the design of that container, a weep hole may not be practical given the deeper seal arrangement but a small pressure relief vent may help.  And if you continue to utilize this design, a dab of RTV over each screw head would also help immensely.

Greg

On Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:53:25 -0400, "George Race" george@mrrace.com wrote:

Hello to all the Time-Nuts:

I Have been acquiring parts for a few weeks and finally have a
Thunderbolt-Trimble system up and running.

Though I would share a few pictures of what I did and how it looks now that
it is all together and working.

Not sure it's a good idea to seal the antenna in a plastic box.
Must get hot in there. And mounting it under a big Yagi?

I considered using a puck antenna and protecting it with a
black plastic conical cap that is used to keep seagulls off
the top of dock pilings. Air could circulate under the cap.
Tested the cap in a microwave oven, stayed cool. Didn't use
it, though, got a HP conical outdoor antenna instead.

Why would you want to attenuate the precision of the time
signal by 6 db? The caption says, "Precision Attenuator." :-)

Bill Hawkins

Hi Greg, appreciate your concern and comments.

I did put a dab of jell super glue on each of the screw heads, after they
were tightened down,  I then wiped them clean.  Maybe a bit of RTV would be
appropriate as well.

I did not put any weep holes in the cover, which is now the bottom of the
assembly.  It would be quite easy to drill up through the whole assembly,
into the container, through the center of the push button which is about 2
inches in diameter.  A piece of fine mesh screen inside and out would keep
away the hornets and other intruders.

All good suggestion!  Looks like at least one more trip on to the roof!

Thanks,
George

-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Gregory Muir
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2012 11:58 AM
To: time-nuts@febo.com
Subject: [time-nuts] Up And Running

Hi George,

Your setup looks like a good approach to what you need for your
requirements.

I was looking at the weatherproof enclosure for your antenna.  If I am
correct, you have a total seal with regards to that container.  The
fasteners that pass through the enclosure on the top, are they utilizing any
method of seal around themselves?  I would be a little worried about the
sealed container "breathing" with temperature changes and drawing moisture
in around the fastener if they aren't sealed in any fashion.

Normally outdoor enclosures and antenna radomes contain some sort of small
weep hole to drain any moisture that may enter the enclosure or vent to
equalize pressure changes with temperature.  With the design of that
container, a weep hole may not be practical given the deeper seal
arrangement but a small pressure relief vent may help.  And if you continue
to utilize this design, a dab of RTV over each screw head would also help
immensely.

Greg

On Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:53:25 -0400, "George Race" george@mrrace.com wrote:

Hello to all the Time-Nuts:

I Have been acquiring parts for a few weeks and finally have a
Thunderbolt-Trimble system up and running.

Though I would share a few pictures of what I did and how it looks now that
it is all together and working.

time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

Hi Bill, see my comments below.

Not sure it's a good idea to seal the antenna in a plastic box.
Definitely will vent it from the bottom!
Must get hot in there. And mounting it under a big Yagi?
Uda would be pleasantly surprised to see what has evolved from his first
antenna!

I considered using a puck antenna and protecting it with a
black plastic conical cap that is used to keep seagulls off
the top of dock pilings. Air could circulate under the cap.
Tested the cap in a microwave oven, stayed cool. Didn't use
it, though, got a HP conical outdoor antenna instead.

Why would you want to attenuate the precision of the time
signal by 6 db? The caption says, "Precision Attenuator." :-)
Was worried the signal would come out as a 5MHz sine wave, but it did not!
:-;
But, it does turn the 5 volt P to P that comes out of the Trimble into 2.5
volt P to P.
It must be a Precision Broadband Amplitude Only Sine Wave Signal Attenuator
Thing-E!
Guess you could call it a PBAOSWSATE for short!

All the best,
George

Bill Hawkins

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and follow the instructions there.

The secret is to keep your equipment warm(er), then when the trapped humid
air condenses, it condenses on a colder surface, hopefully eventually
running down to the hole you left at the lowest point. The existence of such
a hole, that is a non fully sealed package, means there is less chance for
ingested hot humid air to be trapped and condense in the first place.
Sometimes you need to dissipate power in your system simply to create the
elevated temperature if otherwise your system is so efficient. Unless you
are going to start helium leak test, I seriously doubt the your airtight
package is. I have been known to add a always on light bulb, for example.

Lester B Veenstra  MØYCM K1YCM W8YCM
lester@veenstras.com

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-----Original Message------------
..............That said, I'd be worried about temperature/humidity cycling
as
mentioned by others, because you will never get a 100% hermetic seal
-- so some version of a weep hole and other moisture preventive
measures may be in order.

Best regards,

Charles