this kind of optic fiber is probably only plastic so for a full DIY , you can use also fishing wire with a big power led or an old chistmass tree optic fiber lighted.....
@Samuel235 said:
Just one of many ideas, the possibilties are endless. I'de always go for RGB leds over just white, allows for more customisation while able to still give you the same white as the white leds.
... unless, as in my use case, colors are not needed.
I'm too stingy to pay for the unused dry powder!
Sorry, 1 more question. At what timeframe do you expect diy packages to be for sale? I have checked with steel manufactures before for other projects, but having a small batch of steel tubes means that they will be enormously expensive and the same goes for the PCB's. The milling I can do easily at a maker space (fablab013). I am planning on a rather long, 1 storey hive, so I plan to cut the metal tubes in half and mount an extension in between.
Nice project
manufacturers datasheets, RF appnotes etc all mention this, with results for different usecases (like gnd plane size etc). I mentioned it a few times on the forum:
nothing under or near antenna (keep out zone)
their matching circuit, and CE/FCC certif are based on their development boards+their antenna if external, often without enclosure.
there are a very few pcb antennas which are resilient to untuning. ceramic or meandered pcb are usually more compact but less resilient (like when you approach your hand and device suddently has better or worst communication)
once you change any of these parameters (board shape, gnd size, enclosure etc), it breaks FCC, and may need retuning, still you can get useable range.
"ideally" tuning should be done once enclosed for example. manufacturers can't cover all cases.
on my side, I try to follow these rules. and when interested in a design or a device, I check this. Mainly the routing+gnd, antenna choice, keepout zone, and orientation vs my usecase (long range needed or not for example)
