RF transparent can?

I'm not asking what'd fit in the can, as much as I'm just asking if anyone's seen or used one yet (or one of equivalent size).

Given the dimensions mentioned in their PDF for it, just about anything that would fit in a typical 28" can would likely fit in this one also.

I'd most likely be putting three RadioRA2 gizmos (2 repeaters and a VCRX) and a WiFi router/access point. The Lutron gear I'd probably put in a ChannelVision wide clamp at one end and the router at the other.
 
A concern worth considering is the size of the face flange on it.  19.5" wide by 34.1" tall takes a good bit more than the 15.62" wide by 29.32" tall required by the cover on a metal can.  The literature doesn't mention the size of the rough opening.  But the CAD drawing (DWG) measures it out to have the same width as a regular can (but taller than a 28").
 
How about 2 smaller cans, next to each other, near the ceiling?  I would expect most flange designs to accommodate adjacent stud bays, but DEL prob has personal experience with that.
 
You'll need to check stud spacing; might be unconventional above a door (anywhere, actually).
 
You'll need to run power, or extend it.
 
I haven't decided if I'll hardwire my Aux Repeater; uses 4-conductor (one pair twisted and shielded for control, the other pair for power).  I don't know if people have used category cable for Lutron's RS485 bus, but prob feasible if doubling up power.  Can a VCRX be hardwired? 
 
Sure, that's going to be required for anything you might want to put in a wall.  No wall cavity can be guaranteed to be any particular size, hell, not always even plumb!  When we had the place built I went around and took a ton of pictures.  So I've got 'xrays of the bones'.  Those are quite helpful in planning around what might be lurking behind...
 
As an aside, they'll come in handy when I have them move the compressor lines for the 2nd floor HVAC unit.  Damn things tick, tick, tick inside the spray foamed insulation of the master bedroom wall.  Wakes me up.  It will be no small adventure moving them, but sleep is more important.  Some investigation with the pictures will help "minimize" the drywall destruction necessary.  Thankfully it'll likely be just a basement ceiling bulkhead and the inside of a closet.  
 
Initial inquiry from Paul pegs the box at $101, plus shipping.  Ouch, but not outside reasonable for what it'd provide for my interests.
 
Sorry - thought you were looking for options - not info on that specific box. 
 
Makes sense that someone would start making those - people everywhere put their all-in-one routers in their wiring closets and wonder why wifi range sucks... would be useful for any RF technology; wifi, Z-Wave, etc.
 
I remember now moving compressor lines in a replacement thing in the house previous to current for the 2nd floor AC/Furnace in standard two story home.  I did this after living there almost 30 years and getting ready to sell the home.  I did utilize the chase for the LV cabling from the basement to the attic.  The home was built in the 70's.
 
The furnace was in a closet in the second floor bathroom with the duct work going to the attic and split to all of the bedrooms.  Such that it was one bedroom / bathroom away from the master bedroom.   I didn't really like the return arrangement for the air flow but it did function fine for heating and cooling.
 
The "chase" was over sized a bit being some over 3 feet square behind the furnace.  On the other side of the chase was a closet and I recall cutting an access panel in the closet to allow cable running from the basement to the attic for some LV cabling.   It was located in the center of the home some 12 feet from one side of one wall.  The furnace in the basement was almost in the same position in a utility closet two floors down into the basement.
 
That said I had a friend that owned an HVAC company and asked her to replace the 2nd floor furnace / AC stuff and move the compressor lines.  It was a one day endeavor.  Basically the tech just drained the AC lines; cut and moved them in less than about a couple of hours using the access panel to the back of the furnace that I had cut out.
 
Curious if you are looking to move the compressor lines to a new chase in your two story home?
 
Curious if you have another chase from the basement to the attic or methodologies to build a new chase for the compressor lines? 
 
This would allow the use of the current one for just LV cabling and would noise shield the compressor lines maybe moving them to another room over?
 
Personally not sure about putting RF stuff adjacent to the copper compressor lines and what it will do to the RF.
 
Relating to AP installation in the closet in the house in Florida.  The ceilings / rooms are all 9 feet there.  The two cans in the closet / closet set up are mounted high with the AP mounted near the ceiling above the highest can. (I have switched it from the attic to the closet and back a couple of times now).  The house is an "elevated" ranch and the attic is over 10 feet in the same area of the closet.  I have not had any issues with the wireless access using this methodology for over 5 years now (closer to 10 maybe).  That and went to using a router and a separate switch inside of the Leviton which has not caused any heat problems and not failed me to date. The can is very tight with all of the LV cabllng running to it (including the speaker / audio and RG-6 antennas stuff).  During construction though I was sort of picky and would press on the contractor when he messed up; increasing the pitch of my pressing when he didn't do what I asked; worked for me.
 
The AP is a DD-WRT box and the radio in that box went dead this year and I replaced it.  I did have it adjusted to some 50mW in DD-WRT.  I do recall reading somewhere that the off the shelf combo router/firewall AP radio is tuned way down to some maybe 10-25Mw for the 802.11X stuff...such that it would be an issue to utilize something like this in a closet.
 
The existing lines run up along an outside wall and are embedded in spray foam. So that stretch of them can't be re-used for another purpose as it'd be horrendously problematic to extract them from the foam.
 
The compressor lines would go along an existing bulkhead in the basement, where another one already runs to a different air handler.  To make the turn up to the attic they'd go inside a the wall of an entry closet that already has a bump-out in the back into another closet (so there's room in there for the tubing).  At which point above they'd go through another closet on the 2nd floor up to the attic.  It'd be about the same length of tubing as currently used.  The cavities are all there to make it happen, it'll just require cutting stretches of drywall to gain access.  Which is fine as the route needed has edges that would lend themselves to being patched and not leave signs of the work.  I'm waiting until Spring to have it done.
 
All LV wiring runs separately from any AC or other lines, I did that deliberately and intend to keep it that way.  I have entirely separate conduits (two 2" PVC) for additional LV down from the attic, along with separate ones for possible addition of solar electric panels at some later date.  That and I've got pictures of all interior framing, so I know where *EVERYTHING* is situated.
 
Yup; in the above mentioned endeavor just shifted the compressor lines.  That said the two sets of lines met adjacent to the furnace in the basement and went out together to two AC compressors adjacent to each other which were newly installed.  Sort of neated up the installation; then sold the house.
 
it'll just require cutting stretches of drywall to gain access
Click to expand...
 
That piece is really the easiest to do....
 
Current home the LV runs are separate single large chase in the middle of the home.
 
I do have another couple of chases from the basement to the attic; one being for plumbing which is really kind of large and another one for an over sized laundry shoot from the 2nd floor to the basement.  That noted did entertain the installation of a central vac system which would currently work with the chases in place.
 
I looked into the vacuum systems and their cost really didn't justify the desire.  That and the infrastructure for running them takes up more room in the framing than you might guess.  Planning around where it'll all going to run became more headache than it seemed to be worth.  
 
That said, we don't have issues that'd make having the vacuum as useful (no pets, not in a sandy locale, etc).  That and the cleaning lady does just fine lugging the Sebo around on her own...   ^_^
 
We put the laundry on the second floor and for the most part it's great.  Other than the stray bits of kids clothes left lying around on the 1st floor, it's much easier not to lug everything up/down.
 
The laundry room's wired for networking.  It's where I may well put my RF gear.  Haven't done the run-around with the gear to measure effectiveness yet.  That and the repositioning of the HVAC line might go right through where I'd put the stuff on the 1st floor. 
 
The laundry room's wired for networking.
Click to expand...
 
Yup here in the midwest and florida set up the LCD TV connections with both RG6 and network.  I have a little buried antenna in the laundry room wall cavity.  I used the chase for the TV stuff there. (well and audio).  I also used the same chase for a CCTV camera going outside through brick. 
 
This was a redo after maybe a year; wife wasn't happy; so I gutted it and redid; major stuff though; and it was a DIY and not done in a day; very low on the WAF; but good WAF afterwards.
 
I have a central vac in FL and use it to vacuum the cars (its mounted in the garage).  Wife likes the discrete plug n play connections all over the place.
 
In the midwest I have more than once told the cleaning folks not to bang stuff (furniture) dragging the vacumn cleaner around. 
 
I actually have two sections wired.  Two CAT5E behind the washer/dryer and then a combo 2-RG6, and one each CAT5E & CAT6.  I've done that in just about all rooms, in at least two locations.  A vast majority of it will never get used. But putting it in there during construction was a cheap guarantee against not knowing exactly how each room would get used, right now and then over time.
 
I'm interested in putting a couple gizmos upstairs somewhere, in order to get a bit better wireless coverage. The main wiring panels are down in the basement and that's not terribly conducive to extending coverage for stuff like a Lutron car visor remote. But before I just nail 'em up on a wall, a box like that might look better.
Click to expand...
 
Yup I used the old Rainbird sprinkler box that was mounted in the garage; its been a few years now.  Thinking today this is the only RF box that you can see in the (well the garage) today. The box does have the Rainbird logo on it.
 
rainbird.jpg
 
Gutted it and replaced it with wireless stuff, Rain8nets, little computer, et al.  No antennas stick out though.
 
I did add a tiny WLAN AP next to it.  It doesn't look like much as its one of those in the wall box combo AP/Firewalls which is POE connected and provides a network port for whatever.  (kind they use in Hotels).
Thinking now I saw it a EHExpo years ago and bought it at the display of the vendor.
 
wlan.jpg
 
WAF was OK with the speakers everywhere...but I did start using Cisco POE connected AP's on two floors. Played with Lucent APs around a bit before...
 
Orinoco.jpg
 
Those were up maybe 1 week then taken down.  They looked OK to me...but sort of low on the WAF.
 
cisco.jpg
 
 
 
I have a few of those orinocos in a box here... tossing them as I find them! 
 
For wifi, I'm all for ceiling mount these days - best looking and no coverage obstructions.  Since wifi first came out ~2001 timeframe (at least when I first got it) I've always kept wifi separate from the router because I've never had the router in a place that was optimal for an access point.  I still stand by that practice to this day.
 
For wifi, I'm all for ceiling mount these days - best looking and no coverage obstructions.  Since wifi first came out ~2001 timeframe (at least when I first got it) I've always kept wifi separate from the router because I've never had the router in a place that was optimal for an access point.  I still stand by that practice to this day.
Click to expand...
 
I've done the same.  Early on and due to WAF and in earlier home; no antennas in boxes put on any walls in living spaces. 
 
Used the Orinoco AP's / Cards in a temporary office space for a few hundred shifted folks before cabling was done in the early 2000's (it was a bulk purchase) and a "work" thing.
 
I just played with them at home at the time.
 
That said back then did install many speakers in the home; non inwall but rather externally mounted (80-90's) which really was only OK but not really high up there with WAF at the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
SMC & Audio
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
drvnbysound
D
S
Leviton Door Station
Replies
4
Views
1K
OMNIuser
O
electron
[Article] Leviton Launches Universal Z-Wave Dimming Switch
Replies
2
Views
684
drvnbysound
D
C
Choosing a coax F connector
Replies
4
Views
4K
CharlieGulf
C
Back
Top