Waterproof Enclosures

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One of the biggest challenges in the whole WiFi game is making weatherproof enclosures for access points at a reasonable price. Most manufacturers of waterproof casings charge a lot of money for them and they are difficult to work with and mount on a mast. We have been spending a lot of money on enclosures, and most of them aren't all that good when all is said and done. It is with some embarrassment that after a couple of years of playing with WiFi and setting up access points that we have finally come across the ultimate in budget priced weather proof cases as it was staring us in the face all along.

A simple weatherproof casing for WiFi access points is PVC water pipe.

To make a PVC water pipe enclosure, simply go to your local hardware store, and buy from them a length of pipe that is big enough to fit your AP in. Also buy push on end caps (cheaper than screw on fittings), a hacksaw if you don't have one, and some silicone adhesive to seal the bottom end cap on with. This whole lot will cost less than $40.00 which is less than the cost of a single waterproof enclosure, but you will be able to make a large number of enclosures from it. Using water pipe your enclosures will end up costing less than $10.00 each. Better still, they are simple to make and mount, and VERY waterproof.

1.   Cut the pipe to a length just longer than you access point so that you have some working room

2.   Glue ONE end cap only on to the pipe

3.   Drill a drain hole or two in the bottom of the pipe

4.   Drill a hole for the ethernet cable to go through just up from the bottom of the pipe

5.   Drill another hole at the top of the pipe for the antenna coax to go through

5.   Put the AP in the pipe and plug it all in

6.   Put the other end cap on the top of the pipe but don't glue it on.

7.  Seal around the cables with silicone

Mounting is easy - you can either glue your access point in a pipe to the roof, or if mounting to a mast, use cable ties that have been drilled and sealed on the side of the pipe like this.

Here is a variation of a water pipe enclosure with it's own mast attached making an all-in-one access point and dish antenna unit. This unit was simply glued to a flat rooftop using silicone on the bottom of the pipe and is stable enough to withstand the amazing winds that come off Botany Bay eight storeys up. This setup worked particularly well because the centre of gravity of the antenna is at about the centre of the pipe, so even without glue it stands up by it's self.