MESHTASTIC SOLAR POWERED NODE FOR 10 BUCKS?

[@askthebuilder]

Kudos from the USA. I want to put one of these up on a mountain above my house. Great job and a great video.

[@Liberty4Ever]

Brilliant. All of the parts are here for my three node FamilyNet. I need to design and 3D print the custom enclosures. I'm using 6W solar panels and four 18650 lithium cells per node. The WisBlock uses a lot less power than the ESP32 processor in the HelTec transceiver and it has an on board solar charge controller so it would have made your very clever solar LED light conversion considerably easier. Great job! Thanks for the video!

[@KH07734]

I have been using the 3000 mah flat batteries and a solar panel designed to charge usb devices. The heltec v3 has its own charging circuit built in and works great.

[@diodematrix3738]

What a brilliant idea, well done..

[@kayna-funkt]

I love the overall idea so much! Great thinking.

[@beanproductions3052]

Brilliant! I’d love a follow up video in 1/3/6 months!!!

[@-MrDontCare-]

Very nice. Thanks for the video. I have 3 solar lamps almost like the one you use, and I have an esp32 and a tp4056 to monitor the battery. Now I am going to do the same you did.

[@RobCanada]

Hi, someone posted a link to your video in one of the Meshtastic groups down here in Kent. I was looking at how to deploy a node without drawing attention to it and I think you have found the answer. One thought is to 3D print a right angles antenna mount so the SMA is vertical into the antenna so there's less chance of water ingress. This could have a flange and thread so it can held tight with a nut on the inside of the case. You've definitely inspired me to buy some solar lights :) I've used very similar ones at a remote cottage for 6 years and they are still working well. I would add breathing hole to allow any moisture to escape (search Vent Plugs) which is what we use in commercial outdoor cabinet to stop moisture building up. 🙏

[@benjaminpugh53]

Thanks for the fantastic inspiration. I had a couple V3s, a few of these lights, and a pile of 18650s in my shop, and I never thought of doing it this way. I tried two different configurations, and it led me to the right solution for my use case.

[@LU1VJK]

Gracias por compartir la idea. Saludos desde Bariloche, Patagonia Argentina.

[@wehshortfilms6470]

Dang beat me to it... I have one tore apart on my desk right now. Great minds...

[@Rednecklesson]

lol me too

[@xenostim]

garden lamp powered meshtastic nodes have officially entered the collective consciousness

[@Simon-qn5wm]

Certainly inspired me to make one to add to my mesh, thanks for the schematic at the end.

[@tinynhhouse5467]

Great idea and great video. I have been using one of those solar motion activated lights at my house for 5 years and it still works great. I am just getting started with Meshtastic Lora. Thank you - Dave KB1YRF

[@RobCanada]

Hi @knoxieman (Sorry I don't know your name). I bought the same light as yourself and used the RAK board. The RAK has a direct solar input so I connected that to the solar and 1 x 18650 to the battery port and on a cloudy day it managed to take a 37% battery to 47%. I also bought a right angled whip which mounts with a thread on the bottom so it can screw directly into the case and is held in place with a nut part no. ANT-868-PML-UFL-ND if anyone is interest. You need to waterproof the hole in the base of the antenna which I did with some hot glue. Thanks for the inspiration. Rob

[@robmillle]

This makes me really excited to get started with meshtastic

[@ChristopherJohnston-ml6pc]

I have doing some research. I was thingking about doing the RAK devices and rhe 15 dollor solar light from Lowes home improvement store. The hack is on the Meshtastic web page. Also I was looking at 5 watt solar panels for usb c security cams and using the internal charge control built in the RAK borads. And getting bulk USB -C charging port off of Amazon. And 3d print a enclosure.

[@joe4849]

How did it go?

[@AllenStoner]

Just implemented almost this exact thing, except I did mine on LED light on the top of a flag pole. Literally just ran it up, hope it give me some nice range.

[@ehvway]

That's a real great idea sir! Thank you for sharing! Love and respect from the Netherlands 😎

[@S7EVE_P]

I'll be interested to see the results. Just built one using a solar light, just waiting on a few components to get it live. Great idea! edit: output from my solar light panel ~6.88v @ 300ma

[@skysurferuk]

2:30 I think you're missing a point, here.. That solar panel doesn't supply enough power in "our dark winters", or even an average muggy day to fully charge even one 18650 unfortunately. Adding more would not do much imo. A good covert idea, though, I'm just dipping my toe into Meshtastic, too. I always try to add a protection circuit to my cells where they are stand alone, as totally draining the cells kills them. Adds around 3mm to the length, so I'll have to make a longer holder for them. 👍 Edit: While flashing my Heltec board, it seems to have battery protection onboard! Awesome!

[@knoxieman]

When the heltec shuts down it drains about 19ma and will slowly kill your battery if left like that

[@Samogonshik]

Did I hear right, the Solar Light ran for 4 Years, not the Node? I can't imagine the Node running with such a small 2Watt Solar Panel, not to mention the cloudy days... After One Month now, do you have any Data? Did You daisy chained more Units?

[@joshhardin666]

This is certainly an interesting idea, but I would really like to know if such a small panel would be self-sustaining in a setup like this... I've got a feeling that it just doesn't have enough power... I wonder if that board might be suitable taking a few of those solar panels in parallel though in order to double the amperage...

[@knoxieman]

Yup it's lasting ok but I think another lamp next to it running as a normal lamp might be required, testing it out this week

[@SpookieNZL]

Hi great Educational Video. Do you have the STL File for the Heltec? And for the Switch etc?Thanks

[@thegobstopper323]

Wouldn't the onboard charging circuit have a low voltage and high voltage protection already?

[@britishtechguru]

Interesting. I'm still not quite sure of the benefits of lorawan. I have some lora modules and an antenna. I have a ton of stuff i have yet to get to.

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

Thanks for doing this video. I was thinking of doing similar. QUESTION .When I look at the node list on my phone I see padlocks open or closed against the nodes. When I have watched videos like yours I don't see any icons on padlocks. Why is mine showing padlock icons. Cheers from old George

[@joe4849]

New meshtastic updates click on the symbol and It will explain it. Basically new app updates and radio updates has different encryption keys.

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

​@@joe4849thanks for replying. All the Nodes I have . Have got latest firmware and show padlock open. Are you saying the locked ones ate using 2.5 and below. ? George

[@brianpacchetti5028]

Very clever. I love it.

[@Farming-Technology]

10/10 for the hacksmithery. -5 for the mounting. 😮

[@M6JKW]

That is really cool thanks for posting 👍

[@ragheadand420roll]

U could go crazy and put a beam or vertical on it too. Thanks

[@RonnieTucker1]

Great idea. I have three of those solar units. Would it be possible to just attach the Heltec to the solar units battery and leave it at that? Or is there not enough juice in the battery to power the Heltec? Definitely an interesting idea!

[@knoxieman]

Yes, absolutely, you could also daisy chain two lights if you don't get enough charge in the day, you will need to balance them first

[@spueli118]

Nice idea, but for an esp32 device like the Heltec, the solar panel (maybe 2-3W) won't provide enough power to keep the whole thing alive. With a RAK wisblock, it could work over the summer, but they also need 5-6W solar energy over the winter

[@Liberty4Ever]

I'm putting together a three node Meshtastic network for family off grid texting. I'm using WisBlocks, each with a 6W solar panel and four 18650 lithium batteries.

[@knoxieman]

Yup just using what I have around the place ATM and it's a little experiment for fun tbh

[@seymourpro6097]

Using a low consumption RAK board should let you have enough power to run the unit off grid without support, maybe even run the light as well.

[@civisprotocol]

Hello, do you know if it is possible to connect a solar panel directly to the heltec v3?

[@PhG1961]

Great ingenuity!

[@GaryStango]

Just so you know, the loss on those antennas is horrendous when you run them at a full 90 degrees like that. would be much better if you could orient it straight up. Solid project though.

[@andy_warb]

Damn that torch with batteries is an awesome deal!

[@mr_spoons]

I'm already using those. My versions of that lamp have extendable solar panels too. It works well with WizBlocks. It's pointless with Heltecs. The panels cannot cope with the power drain. It will still die.

[@knoxieman]

It's hanging in there tbh, I've another light I can use if needed, this is an experiment after all

[@mr_spoons]

@@knoxieman Yes, that is true. 👌 Get a WizBlock. They run for over two weeks on a single 18650 (2300 mAh). It's then easy for that panel to cope with a busy node, especially in the UK.

[@125f8]

I have a question, you didn’t mention anything about the PIR, light sensor and disabling that… Because surely that’s what turns the light on at night, so that’s what makes the power drain is there way of disabling it?

[@knoxieman]

Yes take it off the board as I did in the video

[@andyruhl7739]

I have a few of these security lights in my garage that I haven't put up yet. I have a low draw Meshtastic device on the way. Do you know if it's possible to leave the light functioning and just piggyback the Meshtastic device off of the battery? I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll try to report back if I can.

[@joe4849]

Did the piggybacking work?

[@TheKetsa]

So, how did it end up : working good ?

[@kevinroberts781]

I'm doing something similar. But the stuff I have won't charge while it's powering something.

[@Mike-H_UK]

Great video, but I suspect that you will struggle to get enough power from that solar cell in anything but bright light conditions. The Heltec board takes over 100mA. I guess that time will tell :-)

[@bigmouthstrikesagain4056]

Add a wind turbine to it, a rain t.e.n.g generator and moisture energy generator(yes that's a real thing, and yes it's awsome). Also you can make solar panels from old free lcd tv screens of you take em apart... Robert murray smith has an excellent video on how to disassemble them. And others on how to make solar cells from old lead acid batteries bit they're for members only

[@bigmouthstrikesagain4056]

Also I've thought of using a 2dof beam head circuit to create an automatic tracking solar panel system for a lora node.

[@Fightosaurus]

Without charge balancing, even if the initial charge is similar, won't it begin to vary over time and either overcharge or overdrain?

[@JontyCtheKing]

No because the two cells are in parallel, not series.

[@Fightosaurus]

@@JontyCtheKing But due to unique physical differences of each cell they will gather charge at different rates and discharge probably also at slightly different rates. Over time this drift will lead to some differences, right?

[@originalgnomesta8272]

Nice, it tbh should be cheap bc the more it costs the less land you can cover.

[@g7waw]

Hi grate channel can i ask what CAD software are you using for your designs. David G7WAW

[@knoxieman]

Cheers, I use design spark

[@Robotron-zg6mf]

bird box with a solar roof ?

[@ruicosta3396]

I'm new to Meshtastic and that was exactly how I thought. I'm building these boxes with my laser cutter/engraver. For context: I live in a small town inside a valley surrounded by some bigger cities. I don't expect anyone from my town to be using Meshtastic, so I was thinking of a way to hide some nodes in plain sight placing them on the hills so I could "bridge" signals to the valley. My main difficulty currently is finding a way to hide the antenna but still have a good signal. Also, I want to build these dirt cheap because I could lose them at any time if they are placed on public property. I have two properties right in the middle of the valley. Any thoughts on how I can accomplish this?

[@dougle03]

I'd be concerned about cooking those cells and the heltec board in the height of summer. A black plastic enclosure is not ideal for temperature control. Perhaps a temperature micro fan to help evacuate the hot air on a warm day might help, but then the power budget will really take a hit... I plan to mains wire mine from my existing garden DC lighting circuit.

[@knoxieman]

The original lights have the same chemistry of cells in, i don't see it being a problem, the heltec will be just fine.

[@davidm1635]

nicely done, subscribed

[@r188ops8]

Great vid and idea, unfortunately all gobbledygook to my brain, and i dont have the gear. I'd certainly buy 2 or 3 if you ever thought of making extras 🤣🤣👍

[@MrMaikeul]

Oh dude. This is so smart. :)

[@thegobstopper323]

Really good idea m8!

[@j_r_-]

Bloody genius idea

[@zslemp]

use the photocell to make a covert unit that only comes on at night

[@pyramidsinegypt]

2 18650's in the 3000mA range will last roughly one day so with that tiny solar panel in overcast weather.. there's a reason people typically build bulkier contraptions for their 'drop and forget' repeaters.

[@dotcomdudee]

all that great work and then you mounted it on the wonk 😅

[@knoxieman]

No lol the beam isn't level the garden slopes up the lights level

[@HotChicken-Adventures]

So not a $10 solar powered node but rather a $10 repurposed solar panel...

[@northseacowboy]

Top tip. Don't set your adjustable antenna to 90 degrees. Keep it straight and vertical. Otherwise you lower the signal strength. This can be seen in real time using a spectrum analyser on a nano VNA.

[@Farming-Technology]

Counter tip. A 915 antenna tunes down to 868 when bent 90 degrees.

[@sNEAKYnIGHTmUPPET]

When can we expect the two week update you mentioned in the video several times?

[@ragheadand420roll]

The first thing u wanna do. Is remove the battery ).

[@vevenaneathna]

smart

[@gally7890]

Waste of time with a heltec. Power consumption too high. Lookup the wisblock to increase your chances of success

[@sethspangler221]

It's not difficult to keep a heltec powered 😂

[@LeGravier01]

Not too hard but still way too power hungry. An nrf52 consumes around 10 times less, so yeah they're way better for that use. Still can't really get em when the shipping price is the same as the board's price...

[@livingadventure2988]

Heltec makes it possible for the mass market

[@olmstead25]

Its not a waiste of time when that's all that's available.

[@saxpert]

True Heltech needs a hell of amps compared to a Rak...4 times more afaik.

[@BravoKiloZulu]

£53.42 without postage. £104.55 with postage. US$67.60 without postage. US$132.30 with postage. AU$67.71 without postage. AU$132.30 with postage. Not ten bucks.

[@joe4849]

I got mine off Amazon got 12 for $20

[@jamess1787]

Your noise floor is unreal. Like -40dB noise floor 😬

[@Robotron-zg6mf]

can you point your yagi south to MR2 > PR1 mpowered247 , love to connect with my Yagi PR1 thanks

[@kernowgym]

Knoxieman are you on discord? Or somewhere i csn pick your brains, ive never made anything like this but trting to.piece together my first solar node