Just wondering if they are necissary. I have never seen holes in boxes before used for outdoor Ap’s etc. I worry about insects entering and also eventual corrosion of internal parts? is it long term tested or is there a reason?
I would like to say something, but I can’t cause I also produce boxes 
It wouldn’t be fair.
Well I wish you would say something!
it’s for condensation. if there is no hole, water will start to appear inside the box after temperature changes. even hdd enclosures have small holes for breathing
You could alway poke a bit of mesh into it if you’re worried about insects.
Don’t worry about insects, I found dead spiders and some unknown organisms inside MT last year, they are still there cause I didn’t want to touch it
That MT still works without problem 
Cheers…
… ask MT to send you a bug-fix 
Yeah
I’ll think about that. I think those bugs are bringing me luck.
I kinda started to like them
Cheers..
Insects bring eternal life … (anybody ever watched Cronos, or am I the only movie geek in here?).
I don’t know if this is related, but I found water after heavy rain inside one of the RB/532 boards I installed.
The whole box was perfectly sealed, but since it was installed only about 10cm off a concrete ground, I assumed the rain had splashed off the ground high enough to enter through these ‘breather holes’.
We found out about the problem because the link (PtP) was losing a lot of packets. We found th Ethernet port completely rusted and the RJ45 a dark shade of black … but the board still kept on working.
Spiders are dudes .
I’ve got problem with them only once. Due to the common way of building ISPs in my country (huge switch LANs sometimes with more than 15 switch deeps) I often have devices in hi places (posts, houses, under roofs and etc.). And I branch of the network gone down couple of month ago. When I reach the bad switch, I found that one Spider made an “hive” in the 5th ethernet port of the switch and the eggs shorts the port . I’ve remove the switch with the happy family and throw it away . Spiders love electronics they like warm places for their hives, soo it is understandable their behaviour . I’m happy to help nature growing stronger hohoho .
About the holes. The main strategie of the cases is not to prevent water coming inside but to make easier swelling. Soo few holes in the bottom of the case aren’t unduly.
At one tower site, the ants LOVED the fiber tranceiver that feeds internet to the house our shed gets power from. Hundreds of ants mobbing the little thing. Must be the 850nm glow or something. I sprayed it with ant spray and it still functions fine.
At another tower site, there is a hole in the floor (50 year old building) where snakes come and go. Snakes love my Alvarion radios laying on the rack shelves. The warm metal cases must be nice to curl up with, since the radios have a good coating of dried snake sh** on them. This site also gets wasps in the roof once in a while. We are getting rid of that shack next summer and have a new prefab wooden shed for everything.
Throw up a webcam and start a virtual zoo… maybe even start a TV series
WOW! What anoverwhelming response. It certailny looks like insects and reptiles are the true guardians of the WISP. If only I knew how important those little holes were
I don’t know how I manged to opperate effectivly without insects doing their business inside the AP’s.
Looks like the holes must stay
lol
Hi,
I have just bought the RB/OM19 hotspot and it also has 3 holes near the bottom.
I’m a bit worried about rain because this panel is pointing downwards (it is on a tall building and the backhaul is down to groundlevel on a building next door). Here (Africa) we have serious rain and I can only imagine rain getting in through these holes.
Is MT not thinking about these issues? I am also dissapointed with the overall quality of the casing (on one unit the metalplate is slightly seperated from the plastic casing allowing water to get in easilly around the edges (especually if pointing downwards).
So I’m finding myself having to put silicone everywhere. Not impressed, it seems to be made for allmost indoor use and not for serious environments with lots of rain and sun. 
regards,
Tobias
if you think that you can seal the box 100% then you are wrong !!!
the box is breathing - the air expands when it is warmer and and collapses when it gets colder - so if there is no hole then the air comes through maybee the antenna or the powercabel - but it for sure comes in somewhere
as averybody should know that warm air can hold more water then cold then you can see this water condensing when the whole thing gets colder …
as long as the box is full of it !!!
long ago we used 14dbi falt panel “high end” antennas from hyperlink - after half a year they startetd to die - they work until they are about 1/3 full of water )…
there is no hole where tha water could come out …
Hi,
Holes are fine, except they should be put in a location or designed in such a way that water does not enter the unit when the antenna is pointing downwards…
regards,
tobias
yes, just like the normal Routerboard outdoor cases do. The hole is on the bottom
Throw some silica bags inside of the box…
Best
Is this working ? How much kilos of silica we should use ?