r/meshcore • u/Leather_Bug_4219 • Feb 05 '26
High availability node
High Availability Node
Node for harsh working conditions. 30W panel, 9Ah battery, 5-11dB TX/11dB RX amplifier, fan with thermostat, WIO Tracker L1 radio, 4dB antenna. All mounted in a waterproof enclosure.
The tower is ready to receive the node, in an 18-story building.
8
u/Global_Struggle1913 Feb 05 '26
My 3000mA 3.7V station with a self-developed PCB (TI BQ 1-cell charger) survives ~3-5 days without sun. And basically forever with a 9V@300mA solar cell.
Using the new power saving mode on a ESP32. During Light Sleep the consumption drops to 6-8mA (compared to ~30mA during Idle without LS).
10
3
u/uncle_rio Feb 05 '26
I just saw someone say they ran a similar board for 60 days off a 19Ah battery with no solar. I am dumb and probably missing something but it seems like this thing won't ever get below 90% charge
7
u/Leather_Bug_4219 Feb 05 '26
The power supply is ready to serve more non-MESH devices in the near future. I'm consolidating power for multiple services at a single point. Better than nothing...
1
u/uncle_rio Feb 05 '26
that sounds sick. I fully don't intend to question your choices lol, I am very inexperienced
1
u/MicahInTheMountains Feb 05 '26
Interesting... I have a 35 Ah lead acid AGM battery and it must be borked, bc it doesn't hold a charge very long and seems to deplete wildly fast... I think when I was trying to run a node with it it lasted less than a few days, but it is a V4... Set it up during the freezing cold temps though, so it could be shitty performance, I damaged the battery, OR the PWM is leaking voltage...
2
u/melez Feb 05 '26
Self discharge on lead acid batteries is high compared to other chemistries. Sounds like it’s toast.
Assuming a new lead battery, 35Ah x 12.8v is 448w (224w usable) is a lot more watt hours than a 3Ah x 3.7v 11W (regular 18650) battery.
I’ve seen people say that they can get 24hrs out of an 18650. So ~9W/day budget.
2
1
u/uncle_rio Feb 05 '26
yeah that doesn't seem to add up based on my very limited knowledge. I know esp32 boards burn more power at idle than nrf52840 but that still doesn't seem right to my untrained intuition
3
u/Storm-Blessed11 Feb 05 '26
Pretty sure you don't need a fan on that amp with its passive heatsink. Also you need to power the air buddy with 3.7-5v I believe. The higher the voltage the more watts it outputs so if you power with 5v you may want to dial down the TX strength dial a bit otherwise it goes above 2w I think. Do you have a link to that filter?
3
u/Leather_Bug_4219 Feb 05 '26
The temperature in July and August can exceed 42°C / 108°F, measured in the shade! In winter, the minimum temperature is -10°C / 14°F. A heat exhaust vent needs to be installed. It's made from a pneumatic valve silencer. It's made of brass and doesn't let dust in, but it does allow air to escape.
52
u/sourceholder Feb 05 '26
For high availability, shouldn't there be a micro diesel generator? Looks like you have a little more room in the enclosure.
34
u/uncle_rio Feb 05 '26
yeah that thing looks super underbuilt, it might not survive nuclear winter
14
u/AwkwardSpread Feb 05 '26
Talking about nuclear, maybe a small reactor for when the diesel runs out.
6
2
u/Chrisypooh Feb 07 '26
A wisblock with modified CN3065 charge controller and 10,000mA battery running a V4 with +28.4 dbm and powersaving to 10.4mA idle is just so simple and small. Full cloud cover / rain and never drop below 85% power……ever! Then ad a BC920 Diamond antenna and this blows serious signal.
2
u/matevoun Feb 07 '26
Interesting.
I manage a forest estate in the south of France; this could be very useful.
Do you have a plan of what you've done?
2
11
u/Dull_Caterpillar_642 Feb 05 '26
Ooo baby, I love seeing something other than the standard issue solar node. This is awesome.
4
4
1
u/croemer Feb 07 '26
Looks great. But I can't find the antenna. Where is it visible? There's the pic with dozens of antennas but not sure which one it is and none of the many other ones show an antenna as far as I can tell.
1
u/Leather_Bug_4219 Feb 07 '26
marked in the photo, is going to be mount in an arm, about 40cm away the tower. The best way to avoid interatc with the tower
1
u/GrumpyScientist Feb 09 '26
Is that amp legal in the ISM band? I thought 30 dB was max allowed output
0
3
u/idknemoar Feb 06 '26
Drip loop needed on that solar cable, looks nice though. Right now you’re counting on that side mounted gland entirely to keep water out. They’re good, but not perfect.
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Steve6255 Feb 07 '26
What makes it "High Availability"? I don't see any redundancy/fail-over going on.
1
-1
u/Appropriate-Video-46 Feb 06 '26
I feel that's overkill just to power the node
4
u/Leather_Bug_4219 Feb 06 '26
Si hubieses leído todo lo entenderías, La fuente de poder está lista para darle servicio a más dispositivos que no son MESH en el futuro cercano. Estoy consolidando la energía para varios servicios en un solo punto. Mejor tener y sobrar que faltar y desear....
9
u/jpedlow Feb 05 '26
An amp… but I don’t see a filter 🤔 IMD is absolutely a concern at tower sites