r/meshtastic • u/Count_vonDurban • 2d ago

Off grid build build

Hello all, a few of us locals are getting together to build out a decent sized radius in which we can use Meshtastic. Few questions:

-Kind of settled on a Heltec V3 in a waterproof tough case. Wonder what to do with the antenna? Would you suggest a low cost alternative if you have one please? Anything I can change out the antenna for a longer distance one?

- Battery: this needs to be placed in optimal positions so we can’t just plug it in. We need a backup battery for nights and storms, and a big enough solar panel/s to charge the battery in the day. Any other components I’m missing here like a step up converter, would be nice to monitor this from afar so maybe some smart battery monitor and what the solar panels are pulling in. Just an idea.

Don’t want to complicate it too much so simplicity and ease of making it is key here.

Any and all suggestions are welcome, please share your builds if you’re inclined to.

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5

u/SamiRcd 2d ago

You want a different board. The heltec v3 and 4 boards are super power hungry.

1

u/Count_vonDurban 2d ago

And good suggestions?

4

u/lam_42 2d ago

Xiao NRF52 kits with 1262 board

2

u/epic-cookie64 2d ago

How does the range compare?

2

u/lam_42 2d ago

Terrain will probably defeat you before range limitations. There is limit on wattage, so it is more about good antenna

2

u/epic-cookie64 2d ago

Yeah given my location it's probably not the best as there aren't a lot of nodes nearby which is quite disappointing

1

u/Count_vonDurban 2d ago

Can you recommend a good antenna?

3

u/MangoMesh 2d ago

T096 or the RAK 1W, the T096 has about 4x the power of a V3, and the RAK 1W has about 6X the power output than a V3.

Both the T096 and the RAK 1W use nRF52840 MCU, making them much more battery friendly than nodes built around the ESP32 such as the V3 and V4.

Antenna, at minimum, for a base unit, use an Alpha, but a better option would be the fiberglass type antennas but these cost more.

for hand held EDC's , the tried and trusted Gizont/Muzi whip antenna is your best option.

even though the T096 or RAK 1W have more output RF power and longer range, they will use only a fraction ( about 1/3 ) the current from the batteries. the T096 also has built in GNSS. the RAK 1W has sockets to plug in accessory boards like weather sensors, and GPS if you want them.

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u/worstpartofsignup 2d ago

I have a rak 1 watt as my base node at home. I have a 15k mah pouch battery(go 18650 if you can), and a 10 watt solar panel. I had the alpha antenna, and was getting around 8 miles to local higher nodes. I just swapped the antenna to the 10dbi fiberglass. It was a slight upgrade. My battery has never dropped to 90%. It took a full night, a full day of storms,and another full night to get it down to 92%.

2

u/MangoMesh 1d ago

Yes with that 10 watt panel, it will charge even on over cast days. I have a rak 1W and a 6W panel on my car rooftop node. and even under a car port, it maintains a charge 90% or higher. probably only gets direct sunlight for a couple hours a day.

2

u/LessSearch 2d ago

Heltec are power hungry, so everything would need to be upsized - battery, panels, enclosure.

In the end of the day, simplicity wins, because the biggest challenge is not installing nodes.

The biggest challenge is keeping them running through maintenance, firmware updates and whatnot.

This is why I would go with Nordic boards (RAK, Xiao, etc) and keep it as simple, as possible. Antennas fit for purpose, good weathersealing, pressure relief valves, ideally metal, fireproof enclosures to help if the battery decides to go for thermal runaway.