I should start with an apology to the group. Although I stand by what I said in a previous post, I feel that the way I expressed myself was in violation of decorum standards for this group. I am sorry for that.
After letting my BP come down and thinking about it a bit, I realized that I have useful experience doing the very same thing that the gentleman was asking about. I stored and operated equipment in an unheated, uncooled outdoor environment for over 20 years. To wit, I operated four microwave bands with transverters and amplifiers mounted remotely in a "weatherproof" box mounted at 185 feet on my 200 foot rotating tower. Here is what happened: The equipment was mounted in an enclosure commonly referred to as the "white box project" among microwave folks. It is of very high quality design and construction, having sealed gaskets around the hinged cover and screened vents. The equipment inside consisted of DEMI transverters, which I built from a kit and amplifiers that were originally built for commercial microwave links. The point being, it was all very good quality. I have the test gear to verify that it was all operating with good sensitivity, etc.... Over the course of the time I used it, I had to bring it down every two to four years for repair. Corrosion from condensation was a big problem. On the circuit boards, chip components would crack and solder connections opened, probably from expansion and contraction due to heat and cold. I don't recall any electrolytic capacitor failures, but those would certainly be vulnerable under those conditions. It was first degree abuse of electronics equipment, no doubt. My defense for this is that it was unavoidable because the equipment has to be mounted close to the antennas to minimize transmission line losses. I believe the majority of us that operate microwaves mount our equipment like this and there are many stories similar to mine. Some folks mounted fans and light bulbs in the remote enclosures. The fans removed some of the heat in Summer and the lightbulbs maintained some heat in Winter and kept some of condensation from forming. Short of elaborate measures, I don't know how the operating conditions could be matched to those in a heated and air-conditioned shack. So here is my attempt at constructive suggestion. I still cringe at the thought of putting any equipment in an unheated and uncooled space outside. 73, Dave, K4TO ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
