K7PEH Transmission Line Pass-thru Panel

Transmission Line Pass-thru Panel

I needed a way to get my transmission lines from the outside of the house to the inside of the house. So, I built this panel to handle any kind of line. It supports four separate coaxial connections, one balanced line (two top insulators), and ground access (bottom ground bolt).

It is a wooden box with thick aluminum plate on each side (inside and outside). You can see the inside plate as all the coax and insulator connections go through it. It is painted white.

Box Under Construction

The box is just a plywood box that is long enough so that when it passes through the wall, from inside to outside, it will extend a little bit beyond each side. This particular wall happens to be seven inches (2x6 framing).

Here you see the box partially constructed along with some of the important parts. You see the aluminum plates, the 11 inch long coaxial extenders, and two of the insulators. I had the aluminum cut per my measurements at a local metal shop. I drilled the required holes myself.

Box Under Construction (Continued)

Here is a more completed box. Notice that I cut a hole in the top so that I could access the inside without taking the box apart. The top piece screws into place to fill the opening.

The aluminum is just under 1/4 inch thick. No, it does not need to be that thick but I bought this aluminum as scrap at the Boeing Surplus Store many years ago. I have been holding on to it for just such a project as this. All I needed to do was have it cut to size.

Box Under Construction (Continued)

Here is a view showing the front (inside of the house) side with some of the insulators and coax extenders mounted.

Box Under Construction (Continued)

And a top view looking inside.

Box Under Construction (Continued)

The box is painted white on the inside to match the wood trim in my room. The rest of the box is painted black using a water-proof thick paint to keep the moisture out.

Box Under Construction (Continued)

And, the back side view of the painted box. Notice the white trim on the front side of the box. The box is designed to be pushed through the opening in the wall from the inside to the outside. Thus, as a result, the trim fits nicely over the opening resulting in a nice finished look and fit.

Cutting Through The Wall

Of course, I had to cut a hole in the wall. I started on the outside by taking the siding off and taking the insulation out and installing a little wooden stand that fit inside of the studs of the wall. This little wooden stand is what the box sits on.

Next, I was able to mark the inside of the wall-board where I wanted to cut. I did this so that the cut would be exactly in the right place.

Cutting Through The Wall (Continued)

I made the cut from the outside of the wall, not the inside. Cutting from the outside is a lot easier. Besides, as you can see, I did not need to move any of my furniture on the inside in order to get into position to make the cut.

Cutting Through The Wall (Continued)

The result was a perfectly placed and cut hole in the wall. Note: my wife was not watching while I did this, very important part of this work if you do this at home.

Cutting Through The Wall (Continued)

In this picture you see the box in place pushed through from the inside. As you can see, the box is designed to extend passed the siding a little bit. This is to allow the mounting you see with the brackets on the side and also to provide an edge for placing the external weather protection box pictured below.

This picture also shows the rather sloppy job I did with the silicone caulking around the edges of the aluminum plate.

Cutting Through The Wall (Continued)

It is complete.

The siding is back up and the weather protection box is in place. This box is open underneath on the bottom where the cables pass through. It has a hinged door that opens up and allows access to the coax and wire fittings.

I thought the can of Olympic stain I used to paint this was the correct color. Obviously it is not so I still have work to do. By the way, this part of the wall is protected from direct rain and other weather by being under the second floor overhang. Even in the worst storms, this area never gets wet. My main task in weather protection is to protect from the garden hose. You can spray the hose on this full blast and the inside connections will stay nice and dry.