Topband: Waterproofing a tupperware - drainage & advice

[Gary Smith]

Folks,

Hopefully I replied to everyone who sent 
me such great ideas about waterproofing 
the Tupperware box. Many expressed 
concerns about UV damage to the plastic 
over time and many suggested drain holes 
that were covered in different ways to 
protect from insects getting in.

I've got an old stainless steel sieve that 
has a tear around the top. This is a 
perfect time to cut that into a patch that 
I will glue onto 1/2" holes in each corner 
to allow for ventilation and keep the bugs 
out. I've got some pieces of 3M pad that 
I'm going to use to plug the holes where 
the coax enters and leaves the box. 
Between those holes at the bottom and the 
air the can get past the 3M pad material, 
condensation should not occur and bugs 
should be kept at bay.

It's a little different topic but the one 
thing I can offer to the group on this has 
to do with the PVC covers that I have over 
the amplifiers at the base of each one of 
the antennas. I want to keep mice out of 
there because I know that they'll just 
chew right into the wiring so a good hint 
to keep mice out of anything you want to 
protect is to use bounce sheets, the 
fabric softener stuff. Mice hate the smell 
of that and some friends with antique 
vehicles put bounce strips under the seats 
of their vehicles and feel safe that there 
are no mouse nests to be found along the 
way. So I stuffed a sheet up inside of 
each one of those PVC containers. Don't 
think it repels bugs though.

Thank you all for the help I appreciate 
it.

73,

Gary
KA1J


> Rather than invent a poorly designed 
> wheel, maybe someone here has already 
> successfully worked out a better solution 
> to waterproofing.
> 
> I am using a Sterilite 25" x 18" x 8" 
> container with secure snap on fasteners on 
> each side of the lid to house the outdoor 
> electronics for the 8 circle array. The 
> lid fits wonderfully and there is a 1" rim 
> that comes down from the lid to secure the 
> contents from exposure to rain.
> 
> I have drilled the holes for each coax (9 
> in all) and cut a slot for the control 
> wire. I'm planning on wrapping each coax & 
> the control cable with plastic from a 
> plastic bag to make the coax snug to the 
> hole and then gorilla taping that to the 
> side of the container on each side.
> 
> Any ideas to improve this?
> 
> Another option I've thought of to seal the 
> openings is to use expansion foam to seal 
> the holes. My concern is that is that I've 
> never used this foam before and don't know 
> how easy it is to remove it from the coax 
> should I ever need to. Seems like it would 
> make a great seal.
> 
> Any caveats using the foam instead of the 
> plastic bag & gorilla tape?
> 
> Another consideration is drainage; the 
> container will be placed on a large 
> boulder to keep it above rising salt 
> water, should there be any from a 
> storm/hurricane. 
> 
> I don't want to make access holes for 
> insects but I need to keep it dry inside.
> Once the holes are sealed there isn't much 
> access for water getting in. Murphy being 
> a McGuiver, should I drill a couple small 
> holes in the bottom for drainage or should 
> I leave it as is and not provide for 
> drainage?
> 
> 73,
> 
> Gary
> KA1J