I’ve been bringing my coax in through the window, and wanted something more permanent. There was already an old cable internet coax (no longer in use) so I started by removing that and then reused the location.

The previous install had just drilled a 1’ hole in the wall, so I expanded the opening with my vibratory saw (lots of plaster dust and terrible noise). I overshot slightly but not too bad, and used a low-voltage work box.

I got some BNC bulkhead female-female connectors and a banana connector (?) at a flea market, and drilled holes in a blank wall plate. I would have liked to use a metal plate but didn’t find one at the local hardware store. A piece of bare copper wire leftover from romex is prepared for a ground connection.

I mocked up the enclosure in cardboard. The position of the stud and existing hole meant it would be right up next to the line-hide for our mini split. My main goal is water protection, but also looking nice.

I cut the pieces from a scrap of solid wood from a table and bits of 1/4" plywood from an old shelf. Band saw, chop saw, and then dadoes with two offset passes on the table saw. Waterproof wood glue to assemble and house paint to finish.

I enlarged the original hole to 1-1/2" with a hole saw. The first bit I got was too short (siding + sheathing is thick), but I found a longer one to complete the cut. I snipped a corner off some leftover rock wool from the basement to fill the hole. I made a small cleat to screw to the wall into the stud, which would then attach the enclosure to.

I didn’t account for how cramped it would be working behind the ladder. I also didn’t account for the space required to get to the top screws, especially with the metal flashing roof; I ended up giving up on those and just using one screw on the side.

Looks much cleaner inside. I got short male-male cables and adapters from ShowMeCables, which seem to work fine. Up next is a NanoVNA to check losses and tuning.

Future improvements are a ground rod connection and potentially lightning arrestores.