Tutorial for the Easy Meshtastic Solar Enclosure
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- Today's video will show you the process of putting together the new solar enclosure from RAK Wireless for use with Meshtastic including flashing the Meshtastic firmware to the WisBlock and setting up the Meshtastic app to get communicating!
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Enclosure: (Sold out due to popularity! Be sure to reserve one in the next shipment using the link below!)
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WisBlock Meshtastic Starter Kit:
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Battery Option 1 (3000mAh):
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Battery Option 2 (2000mAh):
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Antenna:
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Antenna Cable:
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Pole mount (if mounting to pole)
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Wall mount (if mounting to a wall)
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The only comment I would like to offer is don't have any connections, holes, etc on the top of the box to prevent water ingress. Do it all underneath, which will allow for a drip loop in the feedline. Pro's and hams do installs this way.
Also, use a drip when going into the side of a box, structure, building, etc.
Even though there isn't any activity near me, I truly enjoy this project, and I am really looking forward to a solid version since it seems to be really buggy right now. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the folks with the vision and their time put into getting this far along!
The challenge with this one is the M8 connector is on the opposite side so I opted to just keep the antenna connector on top and keep less stress on the antenna connector with the stiff LMR-400.
Like this video..One comment: I was not aware: The external antenna connector is RP-SMA and will only connect with a RP-SMA antenna! You will need this barrel connector to use an SMA male antenna with the solar case. A .2 db loss!
In summer, doesn't it get too hot inside the case for a lithium battery? These usually operate up to 60ºC (140ºF).
Thanks for all your videos, awesome info!
Great little setup, and fabulous video! Question - have you or anyone here configured an external (waterproof) on/off switch? That would make it easier to shut it off an disconnect the antenna for wisblock maintenance without worrying about burning out the radio circuitry.
This product is 99% perfect, and your videos are amazing.
I need to find a mount the allows for aiming the solar panel/enclosure up to face the sun.
Where are you located? Check my previous video. It worked quite well, even slightly tilted down.
They sell a horizontal mount, too, so you can mount the enclosure on a horizontal pipe.
Great enclosure and great info. Thanks man!
Sure thing! Glad the video was helpful!
Very expensive and hard to get in Europe 😢
With a black solar panel south facing and directly connected to a sealed enclosure how does that not get way too hot for a lithium battery inside?
That panel should really be angled up towards the sun to get the best input for that solar panel
Ideally, yes. WisBlock just sips power though so it works well still.
Mine is already deployed on a hilltop neighbor's roof. l swapped in a SMA connector as god intended, plugged in a 18650 holder, and the solar and slapped a amazon whip antenna on top. no reason to run a coax as at this freq the loss in stupid high on coax.
You can absolutely run quality coax at this frequency. It's 3' of LMR400 which is only 0.2db of loss at this frequency.
how is the solar panel performing and keeping that 18650 topped up? Does it delivery enough power? Have you had 3-4 cloudy days in a row already?
It does well. Check out my previous video.
@@makanimike I live in San Diego. we have 3-4 cloudy days a year. ive only had it depolyed for a couple days now though. AFAIK its doing well.
One thing that seems to be left out is that for the solar panel to be successful, the battery needs to be fully charged before installation. A 3000mah cell takes a loooong time to charge hooked to the board.
This is true lol
Just recieved mine, but I have an antenna dilemma. I’d like to use this as a portable base station/ relay. I want to be able to put it on a rooftop, solar side up, for a few days or even a weeks then redeploy it to another location. I want maximum range but an attached antenna. Any recommendations?
You didn’t address the heat issue
In temperatures above 90° the inside of that box can easily hit 120* or maybe 140° which would basically cook that lithium battery
Use your discretion based on the area you live
In my neighborhood we have about 20 of these between us. We all have trouble with them shutting off when in repeater or router mode. Seems like they only stay alive long term in client mode
There's currently a bug if you disable Bluetooth in router or repeater mode. If you put them in those modes, be sure to keep Bluetooth on.
@@The_Comms_Channel oh! We did not know that, thanks
@@The_Comms_Channel and of course we all disabled bluetooth to try to extend battery life. Our strategy is to not run with solar, just have swappable battery packs. The rak is so efficient using two 18650s gets it thru 30 days easy so we aren't bothering with solar things
@@holdfastjoe8841 Sure thing! I didn't know either for quite some time. On the plus side, it put me in the best shape of my life with all of the times this bug made me hike to our remote node 😂
@@The_Comms_Channel I took all of my repeaters down until I ran them in client mode for a few months to see if they would stay on. Once they made it through 60 days I put them back up.
Next time I swap batteries I'll take the laptop with me and switch them back to router mode. Repeater mode hides itself so we can't monitor battery levels so we were planning to use router mode until this happened
GREAT VIDEO....thanks....One Question: How did you attached the antenna to the pole?
Ignore question,,,,,mounting hard ware included!
Can you give a build list for this as I would like to put one up but use it in the UK .
Can you do a guide or talk about how to get the gps module to work with the wisblock? I am having the worst time getting it to work.
Hey! Love the vids. I was wondering, what would the M8 connector be used for?
Thanks! Anything you need to access inside really. USB connection for example
What kind of pole are you mounting this to? How high is it? And what kind of distance do you get?
How could I fix bug error code 36 from iOS (MacBook)? After downloading to my local file, I attempted to install the flasher firmware to the Wisblock (copy and paste/drag and drop), however, it was not transferred and I got error code 36. Could you help me to solve this issue, please? I use iOS (Mac and iPhone) only. Thanks
Is it a good idea to put LiPo battery in a closed box high in the sun ? I assume it can get to 60 degrees inside on hot days...
Use your discretion based on the climate of your location.
Does the long RP SMA connector/cable add any loss? Why not mount the box closer to the antenna?
Cable is LMR-400 so the loss is minimal
I have my node on the roof using solar and although I have a 5v 6watt panel, The 3000 mah battery doesn’t seem to hold the charge. I have swapped several batteries so it must be the charger circuit board or the batteries are not right.
if it won't charge it higher than 85%, that's normal. it's better for battery health.
one of mine will charge to 90% but most are like lokivision said, 80-85% standard
I wonder if anyone has made stl files for 3d printing either of the mounting kits? Both are sold out with no option to preorder
I'll check with them, but I imagine they'll have some more on the way with the next shipment.
Anyone have the pin out for the environment chip connections on v3?
Is it possible to add the rj45 module to replicate your "home build"?
I've explored that, but it's a tight fit. I'll see what is possible though.
I put that same antenna on a mast and my baofeng ar152 picks up more nodes than the mast.
So are you saying that antenna is bad? Sorry I'm not a ham guy I'm not sure what you mean
@holdfastjoe8841
One would think a frequency specific antenna on a mast would work better than a uhf-vhf indoors. I didn't find it to be the case.
Not bad, just not that good.
what enclosure is this the there is only 1 on rak website i want to make sure i get the correct one
store.rokland.com/products/rak-wireless-solar-unify-enclosure-ip67-150x100x45mm-pre-mounted-m8-5-pin-rp-sma-connector-pid-910421?ref=tc2
@@The_Comms_Channel thank you my vpn was blocking ads.
No advanced tutorial yet?
Don’t you need a ground plane for your antenna?
Dipole antennas don't require ground planes.
@@The_Comms_ChannelI didn’t see a dipole antenna.
The antenna you saw is a dipole
Your video is a dipole antenna, it attracts dipoles like this fella
@@The_Comms_Channel how do you know what antenna he was looking at while watching your video? 😂😂😂
First. also cool
I second how cool you are being first
😎
Don't configure to repeater unless you want to keep it that way.
I have 5 and didn't have any trouble changing them from repeater back to router or client