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- juwi_uk - 02-01-2009
Ok, for all those ââ¬Åprojecteersââ¬Â out there who fancy fiddling!!
Chiu sold me just the PCB from an SCS so I could mock up an outdoor temperature sensor for Comfort. I wanted it to report as a sensor in Comfort as Chiu had suggested.
I purchased a bunch of bits from Maplin (UK); IP55 rated waterproof box (YM90X) some IP68 waterproof cable glands (N72GA) and a tamper switch (NF21X). I also purchased a length of 20mm wide aluminium strip from a local DIY store (B & Q). I also had some plastic edge protector (the stuff you put round newly cut holes in metal to protect cables from chafing) that was the same thickness as the PCB and which I purchased from http://www.conrad-direct.co.uk/ a while earlier for another project.
Bent the aluminium strip into a U shape so that it would fit the SCS PCB. This is not square incidentally so I did this to fit the dimensions with micro switches at the sides (you\'d know what I mean if you saw the PCB). Next I super glued two small 20mm strips of the edge protector onto the aluminium that would act as guide channels for the SCS card. There are some small surface mount components near to the edge so I needed to file a mm or so off the plastic fingers to give me a snug fit that cleared the components. I had considered PCB edge connector strip to by the way (from Maplin) but this strip it softer material so thought less likely to snag the surface mount components as the card is slid in.
Next I cut an L-Shape piece of aluminium and super glued it at right-angles to the U-shaped piece. The idea being that the SCS card slides in and hits this as a stop and is located centrally. I put a piece of foam on this too (that I had lying around) just to cushion it a bit further (but only as I had it to hand).
Next I super glued the bracket to the bottom of the case such that it stuck to the bottom of the U-shape and the back of the L-shape stuck fully to the side of the enclosure which would be at the bottom. Mounting it this way meant I could remove the SCS PCB by just sliding it upwards and outwards from the guides.
Now the SCS card mounting was secure, I mounted the tamper switch on the side of the case and added a small block of plastic to the enclosure cover that would enable it as the waterproof seal engaged.
I finally fitted the cable glands to the bottom of the enclosure. I used 3 of these as I also used the enclosure as the watertight feed for a Kemo rain sensor (http://www.kemo-electronic.com/en/module/m152/index.htm) that I connected up next to it (though thatââ¬â¢s another project).
Finally I made a hole in the bottom and fitted a rubber cable gland/sleeve to act as an air pipe into the enclosure. I put a small hole at the back top of the case too to let out any hotter air (you can do this as the ribbed design on the box I chose allowed this without possibility of water ingress).
Finally put a few electrical connection blocks in there for the tamper and mainly onward rain sensor and connected it back to Comfort via CAT5e cable. I used 2 cat5 cables; one for the SCS and one for my rain sensor. Connected the SCS to one of my UCMs and the rain sensor to a spare zone.
Oh and I supplied the rain sensor via seperate Cat5 cable and external 12v supply (Maplin VN10L) as the contact surface is heated (when it rains) so didn\'t want to put a drain on the internal comfort power supply.
Works a treat.
J.
p.s Iââ¬â¢ll post some pictures if people are interested.
- admin - 02-02-2009
Pictures would be useful, thanks
- juwi_uk - 02-10-2009
Here are some pictures of the solution I crafted around an SCS PCB.