Several people have asked about dc/dc converters in the past - well in between jeff's wonderfull dialoge today I've found time to post pics of the enclosures. This was actually the very first prototype box that went out and has now (3 years later) come back when a 350 upgrade was put into service to replace it.
The URL for the pic is http://www2.uwave.com/wgb340a.jpg Most of the stuff is commented in red on the photo - the cover is obviously removed - it's a weathertight seal - this was installed with the holes pointing down so no water could run "up" into the box. It got more bird droppings than anything else. After one box developed a literal hornets nest a few years back, we opted for total seals on the box instead of just rainproof seals (this is truly serial number 1 your're looking at!) The hanging electrolytic was added late in the game with a hot glue gun to keep the 12VDC supply up when xmit packets were turned on. The first cap proved too small for the long run of wire we had. The amps are internally regulated, so if the 12V line moves around, it's no big deal. During removal, we knocked the electrolytic loose - shows how temporary hot glue can be! The most interesting part is the DC/DC converter - it taps the 12V line and provides 5V regulated to the WGB 340 PCB (case is gone here) - These are no longer made - but a company called power trends made dc/dc converters in the same package styles as linear regulators - a drop in replacement with better efficiency. The WGB 340 loved the 5V line - very quiet. You'll no doubt recognize the '05 pinout on the dc/dc with ground in the center. You can also see the very short cable from the PCMCIA card to the amp - this was made out of the originall "captive" antenna that cisco provided - the antenna was cut off, and a BNC male crimped in its place. Perfect length for the box. All "sealed" up - it ran for 3 years without a hitch. Later changes included 48VDC supplies instead of 12 (then inside the box there is a 48 to +5 and +12 converter to run the WGB and amp). We also got some nice RF feedthrus with gaskets now and even cat-5 weatherproof jacks to use, so the whole box seals up pretty much air tight and bolts wherever you want it. One CAT-5 in, one antenna out. On the air. Everett -- general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
