I would use a thermally insulated box and keep it running. Surprisingly, you may need to look at ways to keep it cool even in winter (small temp controlled fan) and stop damp from temperature changes (sudden drops being a real issue - gradual changes are normally OK).
Look to power off the GPS rather than keep it running to minimise power needs and maybe consider a Pico to just log the data to reduce the power need even more - the 'fast' processor and graphics are justluxury power drains... You could look at a small motorcycle battery that charges from the car when it's powered on just to power this but it is space and cost vs need question you need to ask yourself. Do you have an engine block heater circuit that you could pull power from for the cold days?
The coldest I've run ESP boards was -25C with a windchill of another -10C - these where in insulated containers and survived 24hrs in commercial freezers. The posh handheld RDT units never went below -20C except for a few minutes (maybe 10 - 15 at most) and condensation not the cold was the killer every time - screens just could not cope. Truck mounted RDTs had small heater circuits and silica gel pouches but duff keyboard connectors. Coldest I've seen a PC run at was about -30C with a wind chill of -15C on top - that was cold to the legs to say the least (more so than body / face oddly) but that was a specialist build and cost lots.
I did consider embedding MCUs in resin to give them some thermal mass - once had a set of temperature sensors that took an age to react as they where virtually blocks of resin with optical connectors for data transfer. Very expensive but water and fork truck proof (yes they got run over regularly). We could not break these even when put in the coldest area we could create (about -35C in still air).
No real ideas on the hot side - plenty of air movement is key and not relying on conduction is about the only advice I can give![:mrgreen:]( "Mr. Green")
Look to power off the GPS rather than keep it running to minimise power needs and maybe consider a Pico to just log the data to reduce the power need even more - the 'fast' processor and graphics are just
The coldest I've run ESP boards was -25C with a windchill of another -10C - these where in insulated containers and survived 24hrs in commercial freezers. The posh handheld RDT units never went below -20C except for a few minutes (maybe 10 - 15 at most) and condensation not the cold was the killer every time - screens just could not cope. Truck mounted RDTs had small heater circuits and silica gel pouches but duff keyboard connectors. Coldest I've seen a PC run at was about -30C with a wind chill of -15C on top - that was cold to the legs to say the least (more so than body / face oddly) but that was a specialist build and cost lots.
I did consider embedding MCUs in resin to give them some thermal mass - once had a set of temperature sensors that took an age to react as they where virtually blocks of resin with optical connectors for data transfer. Very expensive but water and fork truck proof (yes they got run over regularly). We could not break these even when put in the coldest area we could create (about -35C in still air).
No real ideas on the hot side - plenty of air movement is key and not relying on conduction is about the only advice I can give
Statistics: Posted by MiscBits — Thu Apr 18, 2024 10:39 pm