Outdoor Door/Gate (Reed Switch) Enclosure

thingiverse

Outdoor enclosure for low-cost RF Reed Switch to be mounted on wooden gate. Aim was to find and install a wireless sensor to indicate when garden gate was both open and closed. After many iterations, including use of an ESP8266, LiPo batteries and solar recharging options, the best solution seemed the simplest - use a cheap 433Mhz chinese door/window sensor. These sensors are generally all for indoor use, and in white plastic housing as pictured. After testing and proving, the challenge was to create a weatherproof enclosure, that didn't make the sensor too large, and also allowed easy and convenient changing of batteries (1yr) without use of tools. I settled with a slide on/off cover mounting. the slide back covers is mounted to the wooden gate and post using suitable screws (and some glue/sealant for waterproofing any gaps). The front, containing the battery and circuitry can then be removed/replaced for maintenance with ease. The main PCB/battery transmitter unit could be easily removed from original plastic enclosure to be re-installed in the outdoor enclosure. Sadly, the magnet could not be removed from it's original white plastic as it had been sealed into place. As this wasn't particularly large, keeping it within its original enclosure added to weather protection. The PLA material used has been extremely reliable and high in quality for this and other prints. I checked enclosures for water ingress by submerging the front covers in water for a length of time. There were no signs of damp or water seeping through to the inside. This is not built as a robust security sensor - just for peace of mind notifications.