[Freedombox-discuss] Environmental limit how can we use this hardware?

[Elena ``of Valhalla'']

On 2012-03-30 at 19:10:39 -0700, Jack Wilborn wrote:
> I know most of you out there are software people but considering the
> temperature limits of the Dream Plug 2 I don't understand how we can
> support such a piece of hardware.  The US distributor advised me the range
> is 0 to 40 Centigrade, which is 32 to 104 Fahrenheit.  As for putting this
> in a box without control over the temperature you are asking for failure.

In my experience that's the standard, *officially supported* range for 
most consumer hardware; industrial (and of course militay) grade 
hardware may have wider supported range, but they also have 
significant higher prices. 

> Even those in NYC see temps below freezing and certainly close to or above
> 100 during summer.  Here we usually don't freeze but it gets VERY hot here,
> I've experienced 122 degrees.  I can't see how we can use a hardware
> component, with what we want it to do, that has such a limited temperature
> range. Maybe the people who make the Dream Plug need to know this, but I'm
> not investing in hardware I can't use.

Well, freezing temperatures should not be a problem because such 
hardware should usually be kept indoors anyway, and you don't 
want your home to really freeze for other more pressing reasons 
(burst pipes etc.); the real problem is heat in the areas 
of the world that get > 40 C and don't have widespread AC for 
the homes (which is probably also an area were there would 
be problems affording industrial grade hardware)

> I have experience in both hardware and software and know you would be
> sticking your neck out on something that won't tolerate the local temps
> without some kind of heat or cooling, which of course increases the price
> of the installation.  It seems that whomever thought this out didn't look
> very far.

In my opinion a more cost-effective solution would be to continue 
using consumer grade hardware, but work (maybe with the help 
of the free hardware community) on custom, low cost, optional 
cooling system(s) for the choosen hardware. 
In some cases this could be just as simple as opening/changing the 
case, or possibly adding a wider passive cooling surface,
except for the more extreme *indoor* temperatures where 
some active component will be needed.

-- 
Elena ``of Valhalla''
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