Heard across a street. Highly intelligent. A bike alarm like no other! $210 CAD. Direct from manufacturer: $120 CAD.
As already outlined, my only recourse for an affordable enclosure for the product has been an off-the-shelf metal can. Simply, custom manufacturing would result in a cost of hundreds of dollars per enclosure, unless if I order ten(s) thousand of it!
The product’s enclosure has to meet some basic requirements. It has to:
- be mountable, using off-the-shelf hardware, on many (if not most) bicycle frames;
- have dimensions sufficient for the components within;
- have dimensions suitable for mounting on a bicycle frame;
- prolong typical attacks on itself, hopefully by tens seconds;
- accommodate battery replacement;
- disallow casual access to battery-replacement;
- accommodate user interfaces such as a power button, a key pad and a charging port;
- allow sound propagation.
And whatever else I have in my engineering notes but which I forgot to add to the above!
Surprisingly, Requirements 2 (dimensions), 3 (dimensions) & 6 (battery theft), above, have been particularly difficult to meet. While one can find any old container that will fit the electronics etc. within, it will typically be too large, in one aspect or another, for a bicycle. It will stick out, either interfering with the operation of the bicycle, or giving an impression to the rider that it might!
And you’d want the enclosure to have some sort of, well, closure–a lid, a lock, or something! A thief, or a vandal, should not simply be able to take the batteries out, thereby defeating the system. (The power button is controlled by the system! 😉 )
For the initial release (of the product), the mounting position will take care of access to battery-replacement: The product will be installed in such a way that, to replace the batteries, a lengthy uninstallation will be needed. (In brief, the lid has to be against a part of the frame, such as the seat tube or the top bar.) For the user, this will be fine, since the battery should last well over a year; for the thief, a brute-force attack would be the better approach (than to attempt to take the batteries out).
Still, finding an enclosure that fits all of the above criteria has been more difficult than one could have imagined. I’ve short-listed a few, purchased samples, attached mounting-hardware, tried to mount them, packed them with the electronics etc., and checked them for fit and attacks. Each time, something fails or falls short. Thus, back to the drawing board, or back to looking for samples.
I’ve had to learn more about rivets and nuts than I’d ever thought was possible! Prices have really gone up, and stock is critically short. I’ve even thought of working with a local welder; but, as with the local CNC shops, and local sheet-metal shops, I’ve learnt that they are not interested in low-volume, low-capital people like me.
A metal can that used to be under $10 is now at least double that. And, in North America, you can’t find stock.
Yes, there still are lots of metal boxes/cans/etc you can find, but none are suitable to my application.
I’ve thought about learning to weld–just enough for the purpose at hand. But, that’d be foolish.
And renting a local space, or even house garage, for working on mechanicals, is out of the question in pricey Vancouver. None rent their garage for much less than $100/month, and they typically don’t want it for mechanical work–issues of insurance, power supply, noise and the like may be the objections.
The tentative plan (of the moment) is to make the shell out of sheet metal, and to do so myself. (The internal aspects of the enclosure design were always mine to make, anyway, and have been so since 2016!) I can make the main body, but the two end-discs are harder. … Meanwhile, I have to find a part-time job, to pay my rent with!