Most of the work would be adding a user pref to the proto and subsequently setting it from the python API. From the device perspective, it should just be a simple if statement. That is unless it’s determined it needs facilitate more functionality.
@garth have you gotten a range test done yet with your devices? interested to hear about it as I am trying to do some range testing here myself.
I have been testing out the range test plugin itself here at the local park by my house, but I think urban conditions are probably pretty different, I have still gotten 1000 meters through quite a bit of stuff (water towers, apartments, trees, cell towers). I am going to the mountains tonight for a couple of days and should be able to test with a relay a little more.
I like the unit I am carrying to be the receiver / saver since that makes it a little easier to tell what is going on since you have to be connected to get a message. If you want distance calculated and saved in the csv use two devices with GPS.
@garth nice, can you point to the range plugin I have not seen it.
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I’m wondering what’s does hook up to wifi do? Will it relay internet access to your phone?
Wifi mode only enables a management UI webserver either as a wifi AP on the device or as a client of an existing wireless network
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I did a little more testing up in the mountains this week, I was able to get 400-800 meters along a really dense forested trail, I am hoping a base station and two relays should be able to cover my 3 miles across a valley pretty easily.
The new 1.2.10 firmware in router mode seems like it is really low power, so that is looking good for the summer.
They extended ski season here by a month which is pretty great so I won’t make it out backpacking until after April now.
I also bought the solar board I saw in the project @thebentern posted above to play with in one of my 18650 solar lights.
Hi @garth - sounds good - still in lockdown in the UK and no snow naturally! But I am interested in your preference settings to balance battery life against usage. Currently I run 1.2.10 (which does look good) but add Broadcast Position sec 375 and LS sec 30. I used to add gps_update_interval 30 but lately have dropped that - maybe wrongly as I cannot test too well at present. I am trying to get to a system that gives good tracking data on mapbox for my mobile devices and good messaging at minimum battery use. Any thoughts much appreciated.
@garth, I like that little DFRobot solar board, but I’m prototyping / testing a new setup with a different solar board supports a larger input voltage range. The only bummer with this board is the cell holder is for 14500. It has a little JST connector though like the DFRobot.
I’m went overkill and put a big 26650 in there and zip-tied it to the top of the cell holder on the board. I also went with a 10w 6v panel, which should produce plenty of output, even on a cloudy day.
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This antenna on the unit I carry has made a big difference in getting faster GPS locks when walking so the range plugin has more distinct lat long points along the way.
Sim808 gprs module u.fl ipex ipx ceramic chip gps antenna for rc drone Sale - Banggood.com
Are you hoping for kind of a trail recording on the map or just current location? Really great route recordings like strava and alltrails collect a shocking amount of position data.
Hi - thanks for the info. I have bought a similar antenna from aliexpress - STOTON high gain SMA connector 28dB BEI DOU GPS Antenna. It does get a fix really well but I have never really tested because of lockdown!
I was just hoping to get gps position updates so that my mesh nodes were up to date in mapbox on my phone app and messages were exchanged within a few minutes. I have used gps_update_interval and device sleep time to try to improve gps and radio response times. However I wonder how much battery life I am losing and if there is a better compromise.
I am not trying to include trail recording as I carry a Garmin Oregon with me. I was just wondering if you had tried these adjustable preferences and if so what values you used. Thanks.
@thebentern I got the DFRobot board working pretty easy, definitely much better than the last time I messed with solar. I got the solar lights to make enclosures to power D1 Mini sensors, but put one of my Lora32 boards into one since the faster battery draw is easier to test with.
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That looks great. I love how neat and compact it is.
Here’s what my latest proof of concept T-post 10w solar w/ 26650 looks like. A few tweaks to clean things up, and I’m gonna deploy this thing on a local hill on some public land.
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That looks really great, get it out on the hill!
Got the day off tomorrow and the weather looks great, should be able to do a lot of testing the next three days!
I really fancy that bracket! Where did you find it?
Voltaic systems makes it. They make really neat solar products. Their panels are overpriced in my opinion but their brackets are pretty reasonable. I like the mounting options they give.
Cheers!
They’re out of stock, but luckily they published the drawings, so I will definitely roll my own version 