[engolling]

Hello guys,
since jarekh was so impressively fast and active with his housing for the RX unit I want to follow and show you our (t3g and me) prototype of a housing for a WD unit.

It will be made out of laser cutted 3mm plywood and have a aluminum faceplate for the display (it has to look nice that the girlfriend will accept it ).
In Attachement you can find a 3D PDF drawing (opens with adobe reader) how it will look like.

Here is a picture of the very first prototype made out of MDF, glued together with tape:



At the moment we are waiting to get the second prototype laser cutted.
I will keep you updated with new pictures, when it's ready.

Best regards,
engolling

[werk_ag]

Hello engolling,

Indeed Jarekh3 did a great job with the design of the enclosure for the WeatherDuino Pro2 PLUS receiver. I ever wished to see something like that.
I believe the Jarekh3 case, with minimal modification, can also be used for the WeatherDuino Pro2 Compact as also for the Wifi Wireless Display units (both are of the same size).

Regarding your case, don't you think that the front face is quite big for a so small device? Perhaps a rectangular shape will give a better aspect ratio in relation to screen size. This is just an opinion, please don't see it as a criticism.

Regards

[clubjoker]

A question for you experienced people:
will the presence of a metal faceplate in the enclosure affect the wireless reception quality or range?

I'm considering using a brass, aluminium or steel plate that is laser cut to mount the TFT screen of an RX+ neatly in a wooden box, but hesitating before I spend the cash getting it made. I suppose I could experiment by placing some metal plates (cake tin lid etc) nearby and seeing what happens to TX->RX+ reception statistics, but would be great if anyone has some prior experience.

[werk_ag]

Personally I avoid any metal on the box od the receivers, the major problem may not be with the 433Mhz radio signals, but with the WiFi module. Depending from the direction from were the RX is receiving the WiFi signal a metal plate can reduce reception.
Hope someone with a better knowledge of this matter can give a better opinion.

Why not use the excellent Jarekh3 box?

[engolling]

Hello engolling,

Indeed Jarekh3 did a great job with the design of the enclosure for the WeatherDuino Pro2 PLUS receiver. I ever wished to see something like that.
I believe the Jarekh3 case, with minimal modification, can also be used for the WeatherDuino Pro2 Compact as also for the Wifi Wireless Display units (both are of the same size).

Regarding your case, don't you think that the front face is quite big for a so small device? Perhaps a rectangular shape will give a better aspect ratio in relation to screen size. This is just an opinion, please don't see it as a criticism.

Regards

Hello Werk,
thank you for your feedback.

Even criticism is not a bad thing when it is factual and you only get better if there is someone who encourages you to think again over your ideas. But I think this mindset got a bit lost when communicating via internet nowadays because a lot of people take the feedback personally or even the feedback is nor written objective.

But BTT:
The reason why the housing is so big, was that I wanted it symmetrically (thought this is a good idea without any further knowledge) and I wanted it to contain a small 433MHz antenna. The first idea was born, when WiFi transmission was not possible.
So it may get smaller again with the next prototype version.

With the actual version I wanted a proof on concept of the display mounting and how to plug the micro usb.

Best Regards,
engolling

[engolling]

A question for you experienced people:
will the presence of a metal faceplate in the enclosure affect the wireless reception quality or range?

I'm considering using a brass, aluminium or steel plate that is laser cut to mount the TFT screen of an RX+ neatly in a wooden box, but hesitating before I spend the cash getting it made. I suppose I could experiment by placing some metal plates (cake tin lid etc) nearby and seeing what happens to TX->RX+ reception statistics, but would be great if anyone has some prior experience.

Unfortunately this question is non trivial. Because it depends boundary conditions how the signal will be. In principle everything can happen  …
This is the reason I made this housing out of wood and I want to put a little aluminium faceplate around the display.

As Werk said, the housing of Jarekh3 is very great and I think in sight of radio transmission it is the best solution, but I can understand why you want to use other materials, since I'm also fan of wood or metal.
Another possibility would be to use some plastics like this:
https://www.acrylglas-shop.com/acrylglas...hwarz.html

Regards

[jarekh3]

Another possibility would be to use some plastics like this:
https://www.acrylglas-shop.com/acrylglas...hwarz.html

Regards

Very good idea. 
If You have access to a CNC machine, think about a little "crazy" design, eg half-naked casing:

BTW.  Very good job. Congratulations!

[engolling]

Hello jarekh3,

thank you for your new design ideas  .

So I hope so far to get my second prototype soon, to test the display mounting. If that works I will think further to shrink the design or to make it more fancy.

It always takes some time to get the laser cutted plates, because a friend has to work on it at his free time. And it was him who had the idea with colored acrylic glass.

All thanks go to my brother who makes the CAD drawings for me, because I'm only into the electric stuff.

Regards,
engolling

[engolling]

News from my side. Next prototype is ready.

Front view without "Testframe":


Front view with tape as frame:


Side with USB connector:


Back view with drive in nuts and bolts holding the WD unit. My idea was to get screws with the right lengths and to the fine adjustment of the display mounting with those screws.


Despite of the interesting design of jarekh3, I would like to have a housing to put on the desk, so it is still necessary to make the frame much smaller. My new idea would be to house only the PCB and remove the ability to connect an 433MHz antenna inside the housing to make it as small as possible.

Regards,
engolling

[41south]

This is wonderful, I will watch with interest as I need a very similar housing