Wifi powered by solar? advice please

Forums › Digital Imaging › Wifi powered by solar? advice please

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gnfb

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#1564652 2-Jun-2016 23:07

Interesting there is another round about way of solving the problem. There is a android app called IP Webcam

Because the camera requirement is during the day why not stick a mobile phone in the birdhouse run the ip webcam on the phone , to be viewed directly through a browser on the computer. Then bring the phone in of a night time and charge it. The only issue I see is will the phone have enough power to run the camera all day? I doubt it.

Something to ponder.

Hey listen guys I appreciate all your thoughts and ideas.

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blakamin

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#1564653 2-Jun-2016 23:08

A good source of 18650 batteries is vape shops.

mikespook

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#1564654 2-Jun-2016 23:12

gnfb:

Well that's a shame I thought there would be a solution. I guess I need to wait until someone thinks its a good idea. Starts building them and then the Chinese copy the idea and produce for $9.99.

As a Chinese maker, I don't think the companies need to copy the idea you figured out. They already have plenty of products base on that idea.

And as a Chinese maker who can read and write Chinese very well, I've never used Aliexpress but using 1688.com as well, another website holding by Alibaba Group.

Which means (exclude shipping fee):

One 18650 battery 2600mah costs less than NZ$1.5

One solar plate output 5v 0.2A costs almost NZ$2.0

While combo component (solar plate & batteries with indicated output, I believe they are using cheaper soft Li-Po) normally costs almost NZ$11, e.g.

https://detail.1688.com/offer/521878087296.html

That's why I don't think the design was the matter and give you the others finished design which is clear and simple.

Here is an other product which has solar plate, batteries and camera (plus lr) for NZ$50.

https://detail.1688.com/offer/44636442084.html?spm=0.0.0.0.MjCJip

The result may not as good as you think, but I wonder how hard it could be to change a better camera and biger solar plate.

All about money, right?

mikespook

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#1564657 2-Jun-2016 23:20

gnfb:

Close but still to expensive

Ugly but cheaper

https://detail.1688.com/offer/1285150649.html?spm=a261y.7663282.0.0.RR97CP

gnfb

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#1565070 3-Jun-2016 14:32

mikespook:

gnfb:

Well that's a shame I thought there would be a solution. I guess I need to wait until someone thinks its a good idea. Starts building them and then the Chinese copy the idea and produce for $9.99.

As a Chinese maker, I don't think the companies need to copy the idea you figured out. They already have plenty of products base on that idea.

And as a Chinese maker who can read and write Chinese very well, I've never used Aliexpress but using 1688.com as well, another website holding by Alibaba Group.

Which means (exclude shipping fee):

One 18650 battery 2600mah costs less than NZ$1.5

One solar plate output 5v 0.2A costs almost NZ$2.0

While combo component (solar plate & batteries with indicated output, I believe they are using cheaper soft Li-Po) normally costs almost NZ$11, e.g.

https://detail.1688.com/offer/521878087296.html

That's why I don't think the design was the matter and give you the others finished design which is clear and simple.

Here is an other product which has solar plate, batteries and camera (plus lr) for NZ$50.

https://detail.1688.com/offer/44636442084.html?spm=0.0.0.0.MjCJip

The result may not as good as you think, but I wonder how hard it could be to change a better camera and biger solar plate.

All about money, right?

This one looks good option

https://detail.1688.com/offer/44636442084.html?spm=0.0.0.0.MjCJip

if it is what I think unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a English version of that site? which is a bit strange....

I wonder if a similar thing is available on aliexpress any idea what i would search for ?

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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raytaylor

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#1565159 3-Jun-2016 16:33

5v 1a is 5 watts of power.

120wh over 24 hrs

=== Solar Panels ===

You need to capture 120wh in 8 hours of low sunlight on a cloudy day.
A solar panel will run at about 20% of its rated capacity on a cloudy day. Even in sunny hawkes bay, we can go two weeks in winter without any direct sun for more than an hour.
You therefore need a 75 watt panel or larger if you are using an MPPT controller. If you use a PWM controller then you would need something closer to a 100 watt panel.

=== Batteries ===

A sealed lead acid deep cycle battery discharged only to 75% will still be able to hold 60% of its rated capacity after 1200 cycles / nights.

So the less you discharge the battery each night, the longer it will last. 1200 cycles is 3 years.

Each overnight discharge is 80 watt hours. Batteries are typically 12v so that means the battery will be discharged by 7 amp hours.

We dont want 7 amp hours to be more than 30% of the total battery capacity so its state-of-charge stays above 70% at all times.

Thus the basic battery needs to be 12v 24ah.

Fast Charge Protection - the 24ah battery is generally too small and could be damaged by quickly charging it in the mornings on sunny days with the required panel size. So I would probably suggest going to a 50 amp hour battery or larger, though a 30 amp hour should be okay.

=== Solar Controller ===

I would suggest that getting a PWM controller and a larger panel to compensate will be cheaper than getting an MPPT controller. A PWM can be had for less than $100 while an MPPT is generally at least $250. The larger solar panel will be less than the $150 difference.

A PWM controller will drop the panel output voltage (17v) down to 13v to match the battery and you loose those extra watts. So a 75 watt panel at 17v 4.4amps becomes a 57 watt panel.

MPPT works differently where it can take those lost volts and convert them to amps which brings the performance of the panel back up. But the controller costs more.

A 90 watt panel should suffice as it will only come down to approx 65 watts which is pretty close to the 75 watts you need.

Then a PWM solar controller rated for 8 amps will do the job.

Converting down to 5v - jaycar sell voltage converters. The easiest way to do it is just with a 12v USB cigerette lighter adapter or 12v USB power source which jaycar sells. Then a USB to barrel cable for the camera.

5v 1 amp will not go very far and is not designed for power over ethernet applications. The cables in a cat5 cable are really rated for a maximum of 500ma and so a 1 amp current on the blue and brown pair is likely to damage the cable acting as a large fuse.

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blakamin

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#1565369 3-Jun-2016 19:47

mikespook:

One 18650 battery 2600mah costs less than NZ$1.5

I wouldn't touch a $1.50 18650 if you paid me.

If you go the 18650 route, ONLY use LG or Samsung batteries. For safety...

You know all those "OMG EXPLODING E-CIG" stories? They're mainly batteries venting... The cheaper they are, the more chance the ratings on them are complete BS, the more likely they'll vent.

ps, there are chinese clones of LG & samsung batteries out there too... Only buy from reputable sources, like the one I linked above.

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mikespook

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#1565378 3-Jun-2016 20:16

gnfb:

This one looks good option

https://detail.1688.com/offer/44636442084.html?spm=0.0.0.0.MjCJip

if it is what I think unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a English version of that site? which is a bit strange....

I wonder if a similar thing is available on aliexpress any idea what i would search for ?

No idea about how to search for.

I don't think this one can be adapted into any standard (may have CCC, but ...), thus, it can not be exported to any other country.

Aliexpress checks every product certification which would be a big money for some small but creative factories.

mikespook

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#1565384 3-Jun-2016 20:34

blakamin:

I wouldn't touch a $1.50 18650 if you paid me.

If you go the 18650 route, ONLY use LG or Samsung batteries. For safety...

You know all those "OMG EXPLODING E-CIG" stories? They're mainly batteries venting... The cheaper they are, the more chance the ratings on them are complete BS, the more likely they'll vent.

ps, there are chinese clones of LG & samsung batteries out there too... Only buy from reputable sources, like the one I linked above.

Well, I don't think you can buy such 18650 for $1.5 in NZ. As I said, the price has been already excluded the shipping fee.

And if you did a deeper research on 1688, you will find even the price of LG 18650 HG2 is only in the range between $2 to $5.

A friend who has a family holding factory told me that if you give LG, Samsung or other big brands a bunch of money, you will get the permission to produce such batteries using the brand. And It's actually no quality different between the big brand or their factory brand products (Yes, he did produce GP 18650 before).

Anyway, I'd agree with you DO NOT buy the cheapest batteries. Usually, they are coming from old or broken products. And you will find such batteries may cost you only 40 pennies/each on 1688.

richms

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#1565396 3-Jun-2016 21:04

The one case I know of personally of someone who had a ecig "blow up" used a non protected cell in one of them and obviously let it get way too low and then charged it up in a brain dead charger.

I have bought heaps of cheap 18650's, other than the capacity being an outright lie they have not once had any issues with capacity decrease over time or venting or anything else. Not got down to the $1.50 end, and I avoid anything with *fire in the name since those are targetted towards gullible flashlight owners.

Richard rich.ms

blakamin

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#1565642 4-Jun-2016 13:10

richms:

The one case I know of personally of someone who had a ecig "blow up" used a non protected cell in one of them and obviously let it get way too low and then charged it up in a brain dead charger.

I have bought heaps of cheap 18650's, other than the capacity being an outright lie they have not once had any issues with capacity decrease over time or venting or anything else. Not got down to the $1.50 end, and I avoid anything with *fire in the name since those are targetted towards gullible flashlight owners.

I was meaning that if you buy a "30A battery that's really a 10A" and you try and draw 30A from it, you're not going to be in a happy place.

sbiddle

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#1565649 4-Jun-2016 13:29

I was chatting to a guy in Aussie at CeBIT a few weeks ago about cheap Chinese stuff. They had imported some sort of special circuit breakers that failed at something like 1/2 the rated value when submitted for testing. The Chinese manufacturers then sent them "special test units" which passed and told them they didn't say they were for testing otherwise they would have sent them in the first place.. Dodgy!

KennyM

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#1565914 5-Jun-2016 00:51

If your after a birdhouse like what's in one of the first comments, consider giving me a message, I could laser one for you for the same cost, could also be more customised. :)

Now just a question, what exactly will the camera be recording at night? If it's not going to record much or have enough IR to actually be useful, id just get a smaller solar panel, smaller battery, and just let it go flat once it's dark, which would vary in time depending how sunny/cloudy the day was.
If it didn't have a good low voltage cutoff, it wouldn't take that long to stuff the battery, but it would be more for stable power on cloudy days (is consider a light diode to turn it off at night)
Also would depend if the camera is capable of losing power and turning back on and resuming without having to be re setup
Else all the other posts are correct, would take large battery, large solar panels to account for cloudy short winter days

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