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From the chart we can see that the worst month daily average solar panel DC output is
June with an output of 113Wh/day, and a best month of 172Wh/day in October.
Equipment Consumption measurement
The equipment power consumption was measured over 11 days in winter, using a Watts Up
meter temporarily wired to the Solar Controller 12v output leg. The timer is currently set to
on from 6.00am to midnight 7 days a week ie 18 hours/day of connectivity.
Watts Up results
old 4WD battery
Wh/day
27.3
Ah/day
2.18
Avg V
12.52
V min
12.32
The V min (12.32V) over the 11 days operation is lowish (see battery chart P13); but it is
pretty good, considering it is an old battery without sufficient capacity for vehicle use.
Solar panel fit and Battery Autonomy
The 40watt panel production of 113Wh/day for the worst month is ample for this
installation, as the equipment consumes on average 27.3Wh/day or 4 times that required.
Due to the low equipment power consumption of just 2.18Ah per day, a small 12Ah battery,
would support the relay with 3 days autonomy. In due course, I will install a 24Ah deep cycle
battery to replace the old 4WD battery. (see battery upgrade P13). There is an online
battery autonomy calculator here.
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The little 703n with the antenna mod packs a real punch. It is connected to a 19dBi grid pack.
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http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515632764.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515573297.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515626677.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515635833.png
Browsing is sweet and snappy
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The link syncs at 150Mbps, which is full speed for the 40Mhz bandwidth 150n channel.
Channel 11 lower is used.
A snap of the router wireless overview screens showing receive levels and sync rates.
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Perfect 40 MHz 150n should deliver around 11MB/s and 10/100 LAN, 12MB/s. Mine is
quicker than my 3G speeds and better than the internet speeds that most folk achieve.
3G Speedtests via the TL-WA741ND WIFI link
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515691069.png
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3515700866.png
These results were recorded using the Netbook at home. Nice consistent low ping and the
up speed are great for my service). The network ping to the 703n is 1mS.
Note: The speedtest times are incorrect as I had not set the speedtest location on the little
lappy. Testing was conducted in the afternoon around 3.00pm.
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3G Signal info
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Using the chosen WIFI working frequency and 19dBi antennas, it looks like this.
Path loss = 57.8dBm.
So how do we apply this result?
This tells us that assuming a 0dBm
transmitter, we'd see -57.8dBm at the
receiver 600m away.
With an actual router transmit setting of
+10dBm (703n and WA701ND) we see
-57.8 + 10 = -47.8dBm (at the receive site).
The ROOter/ Openwrt actual result is -52dBm, or 4.2dBm lower than the theory calculation,
however we have not yet provided for cable/ connector loss or the effects of terrain.
The extremities of the 1st Fresnel
zone (the terrain bit) are readily
calculated for any path and at any
frequency.
Here is a Fresnel zone calculator.
There are others.
This is the Fresnel zone result for a
600 m, 2462 MHz Link.
Let us allow 3.0dB for cable/
connector loss (that is the total for
both ends) and a bit of terrain, say
1.2dB.
Applying these cable/ connector and terrain losses we have:
-47.8 (theoretically calculated Rx signal) -3.0 (cable/ connectors) -1.2 (terrain) = -52dBm
Note: The 600m link outcome and performance would be identical if 9dB antennas and
router transmit level settings of +20dBm were configured.
The 3G path
See my Whirlpool post for details and complications of the 3G wireless path.
Construction materials and cost Using ingenuity, the cost is surprising low.
Miscellaneous A few mothballs in the equipment housing will keep insects at bay.
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A new battery cover and mount was engineered in the workshop, using odd bits of
galvanised steel and the bottom of a 20l chemical container.
See pictures of the new battery and method of mounting/ installation over leaf.
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