I have a project that I’m working on that may require some serious weatherproofing as well as robustness in terms of mechanical shock. Has anyone had experience with encasing either bluetooth or WiFi modules in epoxy? I’m wondering if I will need to stick the antenna out of the encasement or if I can get away with encasing the whole thing. Fully encased is ideal since I image it would be the most tamper/weather proof.
The application is a travelling gizmo that would be barraged by who knows what environmental conditions.
There was a similar thread awhile ago about a guy who encased a GPS in epoxy. It no longer worked. The upshot was that the addition of the epoxy changes the RF nature of the electronics. Now it might be ok if you encased the GPS in an airpocket inside an block of resin. But if my memory serves me, you still need to leave the antenna in free air.
I have successfully done this to make waterproof modules using Smooth-Cast 300. The RP-SMA antenna is completely encased and works fine. I haven’t tried trace/chip antennas yet.