Wireless receiver in the attic?

[snakevargas]

It's time for me to install the wireless receiver. I have two obvious locations for it, one in the garage and the other in the attic. The receiver is an m1xrfeg.

The advantage of the attic install is that its out of sight, and possibly greater reception range by locating the antenna high up (the house is only 2500sqft so i dont foresee range problems regardless). I can think of two cons with locating it in the attic. The first is temperature variation. The second is that the LEDs will not be easily visible. Should I be concerned about either of these? Are the LEDs useful?

 

[wuench]

I have my caddx receiver in the attic, never had any issues.
 
My attic is uninsulated, gets to 120+ in the summer and below freezing in winter.

 

[Kevin L]

I have a 3700 sq ft concrete block home. My receiver has been in the attic for about four years and it works fine. I do have special insulation in the attic (Icynene) that keeps my attic no warmer than 10 degrees than the temperature in the house. That lets me put a lot of equipment in the attic - switches, routers, NASes, etc.
 
I've never had to look at the LEDs, so I don't miss not seeing them.
 
Kevin

 

[Mario23]

The only issue I had with putting stuff in the attic was it made servicing them a pita.
The heat never was an issue for me though.  I just like my equipment more accessible. 

 

[pete_c]

In Florida in the one story (elevated) home I have HAI wireless and an AP in the attic.  That said though its above the wiring closet and is easy to get to via the nearby attic access.  The AP has been there since around 2000.  The HAI stuff about 4 years now.  No issues so far with it.
 
I am today using an Ubiqiti AP in the midwest and its in the attic and most likely will put same in the Florida house.

 

[apostolakisl]

Why not do the super easy thing of test installing it right at the panel.  If the range is good, your done, and you hardly needed to do any work at all.

 

[Kevin L]

The only issue I had with putting stuff in the attic was it made servicing them a pita.
The heat never was an issue for me though.  I just like my equipment more accessible. 

 
Agreed. However, I have easy access to my attic, it never gets over 95 degrees, and I installed great flooring and lighting. Plus, I have an IP cam and the lighting is z-wave controlled, so I can check the equipment from anywhere. Here's an old shot when I was in the middle of setting things up. 
 

 

[apostolakisl]

Agreed. However, I have easy access to my attic, it never gets over 95 degrees, and I installed great flooring and lighting. Plus, I have an IP cam and the lighting is z-wave controlled, so I can check the equipment from anywhere. Here's an old shot when I was in the middle of setting things up. 
 

Attic Snapshot.jpg

 
 
I have done the same thing with the spray foam.  I have a second floor attic and a 3rd floor attic since the homes second floor doesn't cover the entire first floor.  I put all of my stuff in the second floor attic which is open to the 3rd floor attic.  The point here is that heat rises so the second floor attic never gets above 85, even when it is 105 outside and the sun is beating on the roof.  One summer day, I used my IR thermometer and measured the roof temp at 145 degrees and then the undersurface of the roof at that same spot was only 88 (the surface temp of the foam).  My Elk panel, my server, my routers, my whole house audio, etc etc are located kind of like you have with a rack and with a bunch of stuff secured to the wall.

 

[Kevin L]

I have done the same thing with the spray foam.  I have a second floor attic and a 3rd floor attic since the homes second floor doesn't cover the entire first floor.  I put all of my stuff in the second floor attic which is open to the 3rd floor attic.  The point here is that heat rises so the second floor attic never gets above 85, even when it is 105 outside and the sun is beating on the roof.  One summer day, I used my IR thermometer and measured the roof temp at 145 degrees and then the undersurface of the roof at that same spot was only 88 (the surface temp of the foam).  My Elk panel, my server, my routers, my whole house audio, etc etc are located kind of like you have with a rack and with a bunch of stuff secured to the wall.

 
This was the first house I've ever designed and built circa 2007. I hadn't thought about using the attic for some of the equipment until after I moved in. I do have an air-conditioned closet that has a six-foot Middle Atlantic rack that has a file server and all the A/V equipment (four DVRs, two HT receivers, two whole-home audio controllers, Blu-ray, Roku, Sonos, squeezebox, etc.) plus a couple of cans in the wall that have the Elk equipment (except for wireless receiver) and home automation equipment. It got a bit tight, and that's when I moved some of the equipment to the attic.
 
My attic is usually in the eighties. I said 95 because it never gets more than ten degrees warmer than the living area. If we're away, I set the stats to 84 or 85. You'll still sweat when working up there, but at least you can stay up there without killing yourself.
 
In about ten days, we're closing on another lot across the harbor from where we are now. So it's time to tackle my second home design. This gives me the opportunity to incorporate all the things I've learned in the last six years, and I will plan for way more equipment in the attic.
 
Kevin