Wireless bridge and cold weather

[delonm]

I recently installed an Engenius ENH202 wireless bridge to provide connectivity for an IP cam installed in my barn. The actual distance between my house and the barn is not great, around 150'. I installed the bridge about 30 days ago and the setup worked great (using a Hikvision cam - great bang for the buck!).

Fast forward to this week with daily highs of 0F and lows down to -10F and suddently the ENH is nowhere to be found on the network! I think it decided that outside duty in Minnesota in December constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

I am speculating at this point. I have not been overly motivated to crawl up a ladder and remove the AP for troubleshooting in below zero weather.

Anyone else experience issues with outside APs in cold weather? I did check the specs on the ENH2002 and it is rated to -20C so I am at the limit...I just did not expect it to completely give up the ghost at a certain temp.

I will provide an update once I get a chance to troubleshoot the AP. I also have a spare ENH202 that I can swap out.

David

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I have a cisco Wireless bridge doing a long distance wireless connection and havent had any issues, but that being said I ran antenna outside and kept the AP inside. I would guess that you have in fact hit a temperature barrier and will either need to do like I did and run antenna outside with the AP kept inside or find an AP that is designed for use in such harsh temps.

 

[Mushkins]

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head. Cheapo consumer grade network equipment is absolutely not certified to work in those kinds of weather conditions. Your best bet is getting an all-weather external antenna and moving the AP itself to somewhere warmer and cozier in the barn.

 

[delonm]

I suspect both of you are correct. Although Engenius does classify the ENH202 as a "business class" device. :$

The problem I have is there is no "warmer and cozier" place in the barn. It is not heated at all. I guess I could install the AP in the goat bedding area and have the first caprine powered wireless device.

I think I will send Engenius and email and ask for their opinion on this situation. I really like the AP. It was easy to set up and performed great when the weather was warmer.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

David

 

[alkemyst]

If their is trees/shrubbery in the way the RF changes when they get frozen.

 

[JackMDS]

Almost all computer related Devices have inside connectors (plug, socket,etc.) that containe metal.

Metal parts shrink dramatically in extreme cold.

1. Some of these parts do not make a connection any more.

2. In many of them the gaps that occurs due to the shrinkage fill up with moisture/condensation, and might short the system.

At times taking out the Device and put it indoor without any attempt to plug it in, and let sit for a day might save the device for regular use.

As for the outdoor you need to Install devices that was designed to withstand the condition in your neck of the woods.

 

[delonm]

Thanks for the post Jack. While I understand the physics behind it, I was a bit surprised to see the device fail before it actual reached the minimum stated operating specification. Similarly, I would have expected some margin of error with regard to the limits.

I think I will leaving in place and see if it magically starts working again. The cam it supports is more of a convenience for us than something that is critical. It will also be interesting to see if my other Hikvision cam fails when it hits it's operating limit of -30C.

Ah well, the NSA was probably getting tired of watching my goats eat and sleep anyway...

David

 

[Mushkins]

You could always make your own warm and cozy place for it to be. Get a decent sized box and line it with some extra fiberglass insulation. Make a hole for cable management and a few small ones for ventilation. Make sure everythings properly taped up and immobilized to avoid any potential fire hazards, and you should easily be able to keep the AP itself in sustainable operating temperatures. Then its just a matter of getting that all weather antenna and running it up to the roof/side of the barn.

Probably considerably cheaper than getting an AP rated for extreme weather conditions

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Not sure if this applies to you, but I know cisco sometimes has different temperature cutoffs depending on elevation.