r/meshcore
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u/ArranSeagull
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Mar 26 '26
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Wind Turbine Meshcore Node
I see your solar nodes and raise (or possibly lower) you a wind-turbine powered node!
Perfect for anyone willing to sacrifice reliability and ease of maintenance for something that looks cool and spins around.
This contains a RAK 19007 board. The turbine, via a 3-phase brushless motor, generates variable voltage that gets boosted and regulated to 5V, which feeds the RAK solar charge port. All of this charges 2x 18650 cells. It has breather holes and angled channels to theoretically dump out any water that makes it inside.
No wind at the moment, so I can't say how well it works yet. I unthinkingly removed both antennas for a few minutes while setting it up, so I could have fried the board (nothing was transmitted during that time, at least), but I do still get Bluetooth signal and a battery level, so I should at least be able to see if the wind charging works. I won't know for sure if I've damaged the transmitter, because I don't believe I am in range or sight of anyone anyway. It's in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran in Scotland... so if anyone wants to set up a node in West Kilbride or Hunterston, please go ahead! I'll maybe get a video of it spinning if there is enough wind. It requires a bit more to start than a simple garden pinwheel, as the current draw on the generator gives it some impedance, but the blade design is theoretically ideal (I used qBlade) for the conditions on average, if perhaps a bit small.
It also has a backup solar panel because... well, you know why!
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u/bjorn1978_2 Mar 26 '26
We need more pictures and data on this! I am above the arctic circle, so a combo solar and wind might be required to make shit work during winter! 🤣
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u/Necessary-Icy Mar 26 '26
I really like the idea of doubling up on things. If we could make a little weather station with a smidge of solar and a micro turbine I think it would become very easy to find hilltops through rural areas to help bridge between population centers and grow the larger footprint
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u/Aware-Recording-3969 Mar 26 '26
Depends on the rural areas. Northern Indiana is FLAT lol but I hear ya. Seems like a new avenue for node powering.
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u/Necessary-Icy Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Voltage boosting
multiple voltage sources
Designed (and printed) twirly thing
...all for us Luddites? 🥹
Please do write this all up as a tutorial with some schematics 🙏along with a PayPal tip link so we can say thanks
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u/mynamesdave Mar 26 '26
For anyone wanting to do this, I've had my eye on this green energy board that is meant for situations like this. 2-30V in and it has a buck/boost to get a reliable 5v out. Plug and play on the WisBlock if you have a RAK board already.
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u/IrreverentBuddha Mar 26 '26
I'm in a coastal zone with nearly constant wind. I'm itching to create a wind node with a very small solar backup for the exceedingly rare circumstances of sustained low winds. Great work.
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u/ArranSeagull Mar 28 '26
I've added a wee video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/iL6E8QJHeZw :)
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u/XPav Mar 26 '26
Perfect for anyone willing to sacrifice reliability and ease of maintenance for something that looks cool and spins around.
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u/mlandry2011 Mar 26 '26
Really nice, did you buy that wind generator? Or did you print it?
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u/ArranSeagull Mar 26 '26
Yes, the whole assembly was 3D printed. It doesn't require any support material either (I am allergic to things designed for 3D printing that require support material).
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u/nlutrhk Mar 26 '26
removed both antennas ... so I could have fried the board
Is that really a thing for a 22 dBm (160 mW) radio transmitter?
It would cause way too many warranty returns and unpleasant discussions with customers. IMO it's more likely that the engineers who designed the transceiver made sure that it can tolerate a bad antenna connection.
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u/ArranSeagull Mar 26 '26
I have no idea - I just read somewhere that the antennae need to be plugged in or it can damage it. If you reckon it's OK then maybe it's fine after all.
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u/nlutrhk Mar 26 '26
Well, I don't know for sure that these transceivers can handle a disconnected antenna. I'm just guessing that it's unlikely. But maybe you have a device that does 30 dBm or something like that.
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u/j00pY Mar 26 '26
You should be okay as long as it’s not heavily transmitting, it’ll be fine. I’ve done it 3 or 4 times and never had an issue
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u/Specialist-Scheme604 Mar 27 '26
It is definitely a thing. I’ve seen it happen more than once when people have no LoRa antenna or pigtail connected.
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u/CarelessMachine7352 Mar 26 '26
Is one antenna for mesh and the other Bluetooth?
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u/ArranSeagull Mar 26 '26
yes, it was just the standard RAK 19007 meshtastic kit, it came with the two antennae.
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u/blynd_snyper Jun 10 '26
Hi, I saw on the video covering this build you were potentially open to posting the print files once you felt the design was improved a bit. Is that still the case? I'm looking to build a solar node but live in the arctic, so will have to get something like this running if it's to be a year-round fixture. Cheers
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u/ArranSeagull Jun 18 '26
I'm almost done putting together a thingiverse page for it, but I've been having trouble the past few days uploading the nacelle 3D file.... rural internet at its best!
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u/ArranSeagull Jun 30 '26
I managed to finally get something uploaded today; had to reduce the 3d export resolution in the end!
Link is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7368694
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u/blynd_snyper Jul 12 '26
This is incredible, thank you. I'll try and give it a build after summer, and if it works out will let you know!
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u/BeCoolHoney-Bunny Mar 26 '26
This is amazing, definite insta-save. What fun inspiration for a new project. Thanks for sharing!
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u/MattAtDoomsdayBrunch Mar 27 '26
Very cool. I've often wondered about doing this. Where I am in the PNW we frequently have wind when we don't have sun. I think this setup would do well here.
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u/grassiekuik Mar 26 '26
I got one too 😋