Running a Flex Radio in the garage

Jeff Scaparra

I am finding it difficult to run coax outside of my shack now that I had to relocate to the second floor of my home. One option I am considering is a remote radio in the garage that I can run from my office on the second floor. I can't find the operating temperatures for a Flex radio anywhere. Has anyone done this or know if the radio could handle the summer heat we have in Texas if it were in the garage?

Jim Gilliam

Mike-VA3MW

Hi Jeff

I run my radio in an unheated building the year round from -30C to about +32C without issue.   (Welcome to the great white north)

The radio bottom temp is about 0C (32F).  If you keep it running and not turn it off, you'll be fine.  The upper limit will require some cooling fans I think.  What temperatures do you think it will see?    If it is really hot, you could put the radio in a small **** fridge. LOL

If it was me, I would just try it and see how it goes.  I would use FRStack to monitor the PA temp which is easy to do.  

I know others that have had great success doing exactly what you want to do.

Mike va3mw

K1DLM

If you care about the longevity of your radio, I would encourage you to install it inside.  Heat is the enemy of electronics, and all the dirt and dust certainly won't help matters.  Not to say it won't work, but I wouldn't do it!

K1UO Larry

Mike-VA3MW

I'm like  Larry.  . I ran a TS480 for 9 years without issue.  Next came the Flex 6300 for about 3 years and now I have the 6600.  

I do agree, dust is an issue, so keep it blown out.  This will affect the overall cooling.

Mike 

Jim KJ7S

Dave, KY0L

Mike-VA3MW

If I remember correctly, the FGPA generates about 7 watts of heat.  The rest of the radio, not much  unless you are transmitting and we only transmit about 5% of the time or less (unless in a contest).

If I was in Jeff's position, I would still test it and add a tracking thermometer (or even use FRStack) to see just how hot the radio gets and if it goes above 122F, which is the designed operating range.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of 'try it' and see if it works.  Monitor your results.  Yes, if the temperature hit 150F or more, I would be worried.  But, for a well ventilated location you are likely going to be ok.  You can, of course, remotely turn it off it is really hot.

I know people say that heat will  **** it or shorten the range, but what I don't know is just how much heat it takes and how  long before it affects operations. 

We do have a lot of customers who run their radios in out buildings of some sort all over the world. 

Mike  

WX7Y

John KB4DU

Jeff Scaparra

Thanks all for the replies. I will likely start with it in the garage but I am looking at how to get an entrance panel set up now because well none of my other radios can really be run remote very well.

Dave, KY0L

I think you could build a small room, maybe on a perimeter corner of your garage, inside the garage. You could make it big enough, so you could sit in there in a comfortable office chair and operate the radios. The door could be a standard entry door. You might need to use type X drywall and a fire resistant door, to meet building code. Then you could put lighting in the ceiling and electrical outlets in there. If you need to go cheap, you could use a cheap window AC unit. But the cheap window AC units are inefficient, and the operating costs might too high in the long run. The mini split AC units are more expensive, more efficient, and very quiet, which would be s big plus if you’re sitting in that small room for hours. You can build the small room keeping in mind how you can reverse the build, and remove the small room when it comes to the time when you would want to sell the property. That’s where the mini split AC unit in the garage would look better than the room AC unit. The small window AC unit makes your perimeter more vulnerable to break in than the mini split AC unit. I’ve seen houses that have a mini split AC unit or even a standard central AC unit in their garage, but those cost more money. People put AC in their garage because they use the garage as an extra room and keep their cars outside. But you auto insurance might cost more if you keep your cars outside. Of course, you’d have to insulate the small room too, to reduce the cooling costs. A mini split AC unit might be able to heat too. Otherwise, a small electric space heater could be used. You could put in a 220 volt circuit too, in case you have an amplifier, or buy one in the future. Maybe a mini fridge could be put in the small room and a coffee maker if you’re a coffee drinker. You might also check out the Rig Pi to see if that’s a remote control solution for some of your radios.