OUTDOORS

AB

CD

Fig. A: Popping the Linksys router apart. Fig. B: Our antenna connector, cut off from the router’s circuit board. Fig. C: Inside the case, at upper left, are electrical tape-wrapped Power over Ethernet (PoE) adapter hooks

up to router RJ- 45 and power ports; at lower right, the board’s antenna connector plugs into an N adapter and bulkhead connector which take the connect outside. Fig. D: The sealed case.

N connector in the 3" hole in the case. Connect end of your Ethernet cable into the router’s PoE the now-loose antenna cable from the Linksys adapter. Connect the other PoE adapter, the board to the RP-TNC Male to N Male adapter, and injector, into power and your network. Plug the plug it into the bulkhead connector from the inside. other end of your Ethernet cable into the injector. 11. Construct your 2 PoE adapters, if you’re making 14. If it all worked, screw the lid onto the case. your own (see Resources). I used a pair of RJ- 45 Crimp both ends of your Ethernet cable, if you to DB- 9 adapters and cut the plastic housings haven’t already. I had a 100-foot run of cable to in half. Then I crimped on some male RJ-45s, my access point, and I took a risk by not crimping soldered on the power connectors, and wrapped the injector end until after I’d already made the both pieces with some quality electrical tape. run. But I had already tested the box with another When you’re done, double- and triple-check the cable, so I trusted that it would work — which it did. wiring with a multimeter; you don’t want to fry If you’ve done everything right, you should have your router. Connect the adapter with the power a happily working WRT54GS access point inside a plug to your router’s RJ- 45 and power port. For nice, rugged enclosure. my home setup, I used a LAN port because my firewall is the actual gateway. 12. Run the Ethernet/Cat- 5 cable through the gland, which will seal against the hole in the case. (I had to take the gland apart and slide the rubber gasket down the cable, then strip and crimp the RJ- 45 end back onto the cable.) Assemble the gland about 6"- 8" from the end of the cable, threaded through the ½" hole in the case. 13. It’s time for testing. Hook up your antenna to the N jack on the outside of the box. Plug one

Resources dB to m W, and other wireless calculators:

wisp-router.com/calculators and makezine.com/go/calculator

NYCwireless PoE (Power over Ethernet) how-to: nycwireless.net/poe

 

Will O’Brien pulls espresso and modifies innocent kitchen appliances somewhere in middle Missouri.