3D Printed goTenna Mesh Mounts and Enclosures

Yes. Also something that can be hoisted either up a flag pole or from a rope thrown up into a tree. Also one that can also hold a battery pack and have a mount for a solar panel?

Hey Meshers! Danielle here from HQ. I wanted to see if anyone is interested in designing a waterproof case for goTenna Mesh that allows the power cord to connect to a solar panel. Below is a link to a case we have in mind, but it wouldn’t allow for the cord to come out of the box.

The Mesh devices will be connected to this solar panel.

DM me or send me an email at naven@gotenna.com if you are interested in collaborating on this project!

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You should be able to:

  1. Drill a small hole in that case. Make it wide enough for the cable and connector to fit through.
  2. Install a small rubber grommet to make the whole secure and safe. This prevents the cable from fraying against sharp edges.
  3. Run the cable through the hole / rubber grommet.
  4. Seal the hole with silicone.

Wouldn’t that work?

Here’s what I did with a very similar case. If you do drill these, take it slow and if possible find a drill bit that is designed for plastic. These usually have a different angle at which the cutting tip is set at.

Problem with just drilling a hole is usually the connector on the end of the cable. In some cases, this could be applied after the cable snakes through the hole, but this usually won’t work with most forms of USB connectors.

Here’s what I did to solve these issues. Instead of drilling a hole, I carefully cut the two sides of the hole with a razor saw. Then I carefully grabbed the end of the cut plastic and snapped it off. Using a round file of the right size, I then deepened the cut to full depth while shaping the rounded bottom of the slot/hole.

Since in this case the opening is on the bottom side of the box once it’s hung, I did not apply silicone to form a seal. The lid of the box has a rubber seal that comes into contact and is close enough in contact that it seals well enough without the silicone. This is the box our home relay node resides in.

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While drilling the holes is certainly and option, I think we’re looking for a solution that would result in far less @Danielle_Naven or myself wielding power tools in our new beautiful office. But don’t tempt me with a good time.

images

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See the weather ready relay node discussion. I’m using the Pelican 1060 box which houses everything without drilling a hole. Including Mesh, Nexus 6 phone and a solar battery pack 24,000 mAh. Up and running for 3 days now in my test environment in the backyard. Have had rain for the past two days and no water in the box.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback, I’m going to look into some of these options.

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We are interested in the use of the go tenna mesh for emergency preparedness, and wold be interested in nay information on outdoor use of the devices. We are currently working on getting antenna height by using telescoping flag poles with automobile wheel mounts, and drone. this is a new area for us. You can see some our STEM/STEAM videos at youtube channel mecatx… We are teaching the 3, 3, 3, radio plan to our mentored students and boy scouts. Thanks for what you are doing to help society.

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Hi @dan, what area are you in? Your programs sound interesting.

I have a son and I’m thinking he might find radio operations interesting. I’m also hoping to building a mesh network for emergencies.

hi my name is marie I m from Peru I just bought gotenna mesh but I don t really know which are all his advantages maybe you can help me

We are in Central Texas and welcome young students interested in STEM subjects. We will probably be demonstrating some of this in Oct. for the Boy scouts JOTA and JOTI.

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Finally replaced my 3D printer that went up in smoke.

Anyway, here’s the completed rail mount and fin for the Gotenna Mesh.

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So here’s a thought… all of the above designs seem to focus on a ‘cradle’ for the goTenna, in its original casing. What I haven’t seen yet, is a design that uses the snaps on the goTenna casing to secure it in place, ala “twist-lock” style, or other attachments.

Using the snaps would not only create a good, secure connection, but would also allow the bulk of the housing to remain exposed. Less material == less interference to increase the gain and signal of the device.

Thoughts?

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I like the idea, having already done my share of hacks that seek to cradle and protect the device. However, particularly for automotive applications, the switch cover isn’t really watertight enough IMO to leave exposed. If you do that, might as well enclose it anyway, because getting a good seal above or below the jack to keep from leaving it exposed will be difficult.

And that brings up another point. You actually want the USB cord attached in some cases. I use mine to supply continuous power up to the node enclosure so I have a stationary relay in operation at all times. It’s just easier to enclose the whole thing to start, then figure out a running total seal later.

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This isn’t specifically related to 3D printed mounts but i came across a very interesting way of deploying the gotennas.

http://www.rolatube.com/

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This type of solution would allow you to field deploy a gotenna a few metres up in the air and have the pole roll up nicely for storage.

I’m not sure how easy it would be to get a hold of these as civilians (or how affordable they would be) but i’m thinking this is the ultimate way for a mobile deployment solution.

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This is so cool! And very interesting for our rooftop stationary nodes we are going to deploy to 100+ small businesses who are participating in a Superstorm Sandy program we have with the city.

Curious to see if anyone has used a particular type of pole to help mount their goTenna Mesh device? Trying to strategically think how we could get these devices up as high as possible on these roofs.

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This is a great, portable idea to get a higher mast for temporary better reception in lower-lying areas.

You probably won’t get 100 feet up before the wind and mass will cause the fabric to “kink” and fold over (like those air-fed blowing/waving characters in front of car dealerships), but you might get a good 20-30 feet up, which could just be enough to get your message out, or receive others in a pinch!

If there were strategic buckles or hook-and-loop fasteners every meter or so, it could keep the shape as you added length to the mast, which could add to some durability. Slightly corrugated might even hold the shape better at greater heights, as would overlapping the edges as you extend it.

Interesting idea!

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This just gave me another idea… if you had another stable pole already in place, telephone pole, flagpole or other object, you could affix your GTM to the end of the wrap, ‘snap’ it around the existing pole and slide it up the pole to give your GTM tx/rx height, instead of trying to make a freestanding pole with the wrap itself.

It would wrap partially around the pole enough to give it rigidity, and you could shimmey your GTM to the top, without fear of having your wrap fold over or fall.

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we are testing a 30 foot telescoping flag pole that is light weight. We have a mount that goes under the tire of an automobile.or a heavy umbrella mount can be used. ( for temporary use )

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I concede that I am more of a mechanical/electrical engineer than an RF one, so could one of you guys give me a hand. I am looking to design a 3d printed parabolic reflector with a similar attachment scheme as my previous designs for the goTenna mesh. I can calculate easily enough the correct focal point, I am just wondering what the ideal location/tolerance to place the gotenna. I am not willing to take apart my units so if someone could give me the exact location of the radiating element within the case, that would be great.:blush:

I will of course post this all on thingiverse when I am finished.

@danielagotenna

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