So in the racing off-season I've been collecting some electronic doodads and building a thing. Starting with basically a small computer with offgrid power. My original idea was to build a remote sensor/radio system. Have weather and seismic sensors, a camera, maybe an SDR for general screwing around.
So far I've got:
- 1.5W amorphous silicon solar panel
- 10W monocrystalline silicon solar panel
- Small 12v lead-acid battery (usually used in UPSes or electric wheelchairs)
- RasPi Zero W
- High-efficiency 5~24v to 5v USB power adapter
- An old USB webcam
- A 12v 18650-based battery pack
For the past few weeks I've been testing the solar panels with the lead-acid battery and using the power to charge my phone (it actually produces way more than my phone needs). Yesterday I finally got the high-efficiency DC-DC converter (previously I was using a cig adapter that was cheap and crappy enough to not flinch at input voltage variations) providing stable enough voltage to run the RasPi which is now undergoing stability testing. It's been running in the back yard since this morning, so far so good.
Now I've been thinking that I could turn this thing into an autonomous boat or drifting buoy for a greater variety of scenery, maybe collecting underwater pics and ocean temps instead of seismic data down below. Any other ideas?
GameboyRMH said:
So in the racing off-season I've been collecting some electronic doodads and building a thing. Starting with basically a small computer with offgrid power. My original idea was to build a remote sensor/radio system. Have weather and seismic sensors, a camera, maybe an SDR for general screwing around.
So far I've got:
- 1.5W amorphous silicon solar panel
- 10W monocrystalline silicon solar panel
- Small 12v lead-acid battery (usually used in UPSes or electric wheelchairs)
- RasPi Zero W
- High-efficiency 5~24v to 5v USB power adapter
- An old USB webcam
- A 12v 18650-based battery pack
For the past few weeks I've been testing the solar panels with the lead-acid battery and using the power to charge my phone (it actually produces way more than my phone needs). Yesterday I finally got the high-efficiency DC-DC converter (previously I was using a cig adapter that was cheap and crappy enough to not flinch at input voltage variations) providing stable enough voltage to run the RasPi which is now undergoing stability testing. It's been running in the back yard since this morning, so far so good.
Now I've been thinking that I could turn this thing into an autonomous boat or drifting buoy for a greater variety of scenery, maybe collecting underwater pics and ocean temps instead of seismic data down below. Any other ideas?
Sounds like a lens pointed in the water would be about as useful as my fish tank glass.. About two weeks before you only see green :)
Sounds like a fun project.. Can you control a sun shade on your windows or something with it? Ya know, if it's above X°, then raise up a canopy kinda thing?
I thought about using the panels for a Nissan Leaf-style solar-powered always-on cabin ventilation system for the Corolla, but these panels are way more than you'd need for something like that, it'd be a waste. The house has generous roof eaves and tinted windows so no need there - in fact I tried testing the system by putting a panel up to a window and found that there's almost no direct sunlight coming in through any windows.
Ah, to be bored again, get the projets done while you can, the time may come when you no longer have the time to do them.
It souds like you are getting ready for the next Carrington event. Don't forget the Faraday cage.
I am hoping I get my flame speaker done before I die.
Heh I wasn't getting ready for a Carrington event but I did consider adding a space radiation detection system (which can be as simple as a blacked-out webcam).
So far it doesn't look like there'll be enough excess energy to make running a propulsion system practical, but it doesn't take much energy to control sails, so something like this might be doable:
https://hackaday.com/2017/06/23/autonomous-transatlantic-seafaring/
I know people who might have trashed surfboards I could start with. I think the first things I should add are a voltage/amperage measurement board, an RTL-SDR, and a software-switchable USB hub.
It sounds like you are getting ready for the next Carrington event. Don't forget the Faraday cage.
There was a Faraday cage years ago at the Deutsches museum in Munich , amazing seeing lighting travel across a room !
Are there any museums in the USA that had one ?
That sail boat is nuts. Sealing the electronics would be the hard part.
An older car is a type of Faraday cage. All you need is screening and a good ground.
Got the webcam running!
Right now it's just looking at the dark inside of the project box, I think the blotch to the left of center is the glow from the raspi's activity LED. It's also a really crappy webcam, less than VGA resolution, this one might be better off modded into a space radiation detector after all. Later I'll find a jar or something to make an enclosure for the webcam and have it look outside just for fun.
I had another wacky idea, maybe I should put this thing on a kite? The 18650 battery pack is very light and so is the moncrystalline solar panel (which is capturing the bulk of the energy). I could even add a little wind turbine to the kite for more power. I'd want something really simple and tough enough to stand up to hurricanes. It's less risky than the buoy or sailboat ideas I figure...
View of the industrial park from the back yard and under a glass jar. It might be possible to focus the camera better...or there could be something optically wrong with it. Too hot to work on outdoors right now.
Update: Something's going wrong with the camera, could be heat or sunlight:
Nothing I can do about it now, I'm in a waiting room...
Update2: It was the sunlight, a bit of sunglass lens fixed it:
You could convert it to an inferred camera. Remove the crystal and use a negative black ( if you can find it)
Also thought about that, may be worth doing.
But having this thing in one place is just too boring, I tried to resist making some kind of gussied-up RC car but I can't. This should help it get a move on:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Shock-Absorber-RC-Metal-Robot-Tank-Car-Chassis-Crawler-Caterpillar-Tractor-Tracked-Vehicle-Teaching-eduational-kit/32864645900.html
In reply to GameboyRMH :
That looks like a great platform to build on.
