(Photos below)
I’m waiting for the RAK Wisblock to arrive, but in the meantime I’m test building with a few items I already have and a Heltec board, my first non-stock antenna with a box I got from ali express a while ago. The Heltec is powered by a usb power bank, and I can’t charge that power bank with the solar panel as it is powering the unit, it’s either or. This solar panel is Anker 21W from the days of iPhone 6 and it still works.
I have a LP103454 2000mAh battery, but I keep reading that the 18650 is better and safer, especially for solar panel charging? I have this Lipo flat from amazon EEM3 or the maker something brand, and I’m using it on another Heltec, I soldered the wires from the battery to the battery connector wires that came with the heltec because the connector size is bigger on the battery.
Mounting and sealing holes:
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The plastic on this is a bit on the thinner side compared to a nice pelican case, so the antenna is slightly tilted but it’s fine for now as it’s not a permanent node and I’m testing out things.
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What do you use to seal the hole where the antenna mount is coming out of? Hot glue is a bit messy, I’ve seen clean setups here and I’m looking for some tips for that. Is it called a fusion tape or something like that?
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Same for the bottom hole where the charging cable is coming through, what would be the best way to seal that or should I make the hole better in a real deployment? I’m looking at some junction boxes for when I’m ready to setup a more permanent station node and maybe a more remote node somewhere. Also I think for a station node at home I’ll be using the RAK wisblock and not heltec, so I’ll probably connect the solar panel straight to the board? I wonder if I can modify this usb solar panel to be more useful than just USB charging. I’m not very experienced yet with battery stuff, but it would be better to connect the battery to the board then plug the Rak unit to USB, that way it’s charging the battery and the battery is powering the unit, correct?
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What is the plastic grid thing where I can put the components on instead of being loose in the box?
It’s my first time ever working on hardware and electronics, so lots to learn and any tips and feedback are welcome. I’m a software developer, but tinkering around with electronics and building physical things is kind of more fun.
