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  1. #1
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    Default Protection of electronics in the shed from dust

    Today we had the NBN installed. Translated, I had to pay several hundred dollars to retain a level of service that I already have...
    Anyway, the technician who installed the NBN modem thing in the shed saw nothing wrong with this installation -
    IMG_0585.JPG
    Yes, that's right. The modem is left sitting on top of the heatsink for the solar panel inverter. Cables just any old how. I'm glad that he is an approved technician, as I'd hate to think what one that had not been trained would do.
    I've tidied it up to this
    IMG_0586.JPG
    However, the box is ventilated (draws 2A at 12V = 24W) - probably meant to be in a clean indoors environment. The technician did not offer any warnings about it being in a dusty shed or anything so obviously dust and metal particles will not affect it. Me being the cautious type, I think it would be better with a cover. What is the opinion of those with some electronics knowledge? Is a cover for top and sides going to be adequate? For that amount of heat, could it be totally enclosed? Probably should have a window so that the lights can be seen?

    Michael

  2. #2
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    I’d fully enclose it with vents underneath and downward facing vents on the sides near the top. This will set up a natural ventilation/flow and should be enough to keep it clean and cool

  3. #3
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    Depends how much time you have. I wouldn't worry about it to much. They are cheap and are not hard to get hold of if it does fail.

    I''ve had computers, tv's in the shed before without any issues.

  4. #4
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    Hi Michael,
    I'd leave it just how you have it now, main thing is to prevent mechanical damage.
    These modems/routers rely on convection cooling and putting them in a box will just inhibit this.
    I wouldn't worry too much about dust unless it's going to get buried in it. Unless your device is developing serious heat or you have really high humidity, dust doesn't really bother consumer electronics, just have a look behind your TV
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  5. #5
    jatt's Avatar
    jatt is offline Always within 10 paces from nearest stubby holder
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    Shoot- if I did that bad a job with my wiring of anything back in the day, at best I would have been told to go back in my own time to fix it!!

    Did you ask this clown which box of Cornflakes he got his ticket from!! Mumbai school of Telecom……? Putting it on the solar unit... really.
    Frisky wife, happy life. ​Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.
    From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".

  6. #6
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    Geezzz. I currently run 4 VFDs in my shed and being a bit slack I never bothered protecting them from anything. Years on (8 years for the mill) and everything still works.

    I wouldn't worry about it Michael. The time you spend on it would be worth more than the unit costs.

    Simon

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    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    I wouldn't worry about it Michael. The time you spend on it would be worth more than the unit costs.
    This. My satellite modem was still working fine under its dust blanket up to when I swapped over to ADSL.

    OK it's not good for them but at least you can see yours to brush off the dust occasionally.

    PDW

  8. #8
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    Michael,

    Is that box is a wi-fi router as well as a modem? If it has a wi-fi antenna inside then performance would be effected by the metal shelf and backing.

    If it's just a modem, then ignore my comment above. Like the others, I wouldn't let the dust concern you. I've had an uncovered wi-fi router in my workshop for several years and no problems.

    Graham.

  9. #9
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    on another concern
    if left on top of the solar inverter, your electrician may not want to remove/fix inverter as NBN modem sitting on top... meaning you may have to hire at your expense another specialist tradesperson to remove it so the sparkie can fix inverter.

    I realise this would be rare as a lot of sparkies can do that sort of work or wouldnt careless anyways but what if they wouldnt?

    I hate it when a particular trade interferes with the work of other trades, making it more difficult/costly in the end for owner.

  10. #10
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    The "Techo" who installed that probably worked in the caravan construction industry before going to the NBN

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by bollie7 View Post
    The "Techo" who installed that probably worked in the caravan construction industry before going to the NBN
    Could have been one of those South Australian plumbers that have been connecting Mason Lakes and Paralowie homes to non-potable water sources.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by jatt View Post
    Shoot- if I did that bad a job with my wiring of anything back in the day, at best I would have been told to go back in my own time to fix it!!

    Did you ask this clown which box of Cornflakes he got his ticket from!! Mumbai school of Telecom……? Putting it on the solar unit... really.
    My cousin is a Telstra linesman.He has been one his whole working life and is near retirement. He says the technicians you speak of are pretty good on fiber but are RS on fiber to copper connections. He is hired out by Telstra to repair to stuff ups made by these NBN guys on a near permanent basis.

    He repairs NBN faults this almost full time of his working week.

    To make matters worse he told me that the organising and scheduling of work is handled from India and it is bedlam trying to get accurate information from the
    Mumbai (or wherever) based people who have no idea of Australian locations or distances of Australian towns to one another.

    They are notoriously difficult to talk to because of the accent and the calls are taken in a crowded office with the other operators talking making it almost impossible to hear.

    He said that often a local tech is sent to a job miles away and the tech local to the faults suffers the same thing so they pass each other going opposite ways.

    It might go a way to explain the problems connected to NBN.

    Grahame

  13. #13
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    The NBN dude that did our install turned out to be a student in one of my physics lab classes a few years before. I remembered him because he was a very pleasant chap that did not make the cut . He said he then switched to a degree in OHS but didn't like it and eventually went to TAFE and did some sort of cert. Based on how poorly he performed in my lab class (he didn't seem at all like a hands on bloke to me) I was worried and watched him pretty closely but I could not find any problems with his installation. He even vacuumed up after himself.

    A classic was the chap who a decade or so earlier came to do our telstra cable connect. I was one of his first clients and he was a bit of a RABB operator and had to to help sort out the cable run through the ceiling and down a cavity wall. He did thank me for teaching him a few tricks about running cable.

  14. #14
    jatt's Avatar
    jatt is offline Always within 10 paces from nearest stubby holder
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    Yes can emphasise with those getting Telco work done.

    Remember when we first got NBN here. We have an above ground lead in cable which had a with an obvious repair done to it between the pole and house. Was like that when we moved in and didn't seem to cause a prob for several years of use of POTS and ADSL. Then died in the and we decided to cancel our landline (both had mobiles & decent access to Net at work at time).

    Then NBN came to the area, and well didn't we have dramas getting though to some duesh that the line has issues, probably where the repair was done. Sitting there in some call centre telling us there is no problem.

    Well what do you know!! Finally got someone to replace then lead in, and voila, suddenly we have comms again. Touch wood NBN so far hasn't given us any real touble thus far.

    Another dealing with Telstra. At the time conn to block was an easy process. What I didn't find out till later was they pinched the line from the totem pole outside our neighboring block. Fort for us, we have since sold both blocks, so some other poor sod has to deal with this now. Yes we did fight Telstra at the time to fix said situation with no luck.

    Another exercise in wanting to reach through the fone and throttling someone. Gas conn to a recently subdivided block. Trying to tell us block doesn't exist. Some one better tell the Land Titles Office that.

    And they wonder why we get so damned angry with em!!!!!
    Frisky wife, happy life. ​Then I woke up. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.
    From an early age my father taught me to wear welding gloves . "Its not to protect your hands son, its to put out the fire when u set yourself alight".

  15. #15
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    I was talking an old friend who had NBN connected at the last minute . Came the text, yep you are all connected.
    Bob goes to use the phone and, nothing!

    NBN comes back and checks the line and announces we are not touching this connection, there is 240 volts in this connection and you must have been tampering with the line. Court action was mentioned.

    Old mate got a electrical engineer in and the engineer found the 240V came from a sub station fault.

    Old mate contacts contacts regional district manager in Townsville and faxes engineers report.
    The R/manager full of apologies and promises to expedite matters to get old mate a NBN phone hook up. NBN mobile phones him in a day or two to say NBN connection good to go.

    Again nothing. Mate gets back to R/manager and consequently not a happy camper.NBN man back again the next day and determines the phone is indeed connected but to a residence 5 doors up the road.

    Control the NBN from overseas and this is what you get.

    Thanks Mr Turnbull.

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