Looking to deploy the Sparrow gateway (Notecarrier A + essentials board + Notecard LTE-M) in harsh environment for an agri type of prototype, looking for recommendations for suitable solar panel and lithium battery max capacity especially for those days without much sunshine (summer temperature of about 35c or around 100F and winters approaching -15C or 5F in the open fields)
if anyone has successfully deployed a similar solution in the wide range of cold and hot environments as mentioned above, that would be very helpful.
thx
Hi @therockster,
Hard to answer your questions without knowing the operational parameters, in particular how much current draw there is.
We use the Notecard with Notecarrier-F and ESP32 Feather with 4-20ma inputs and RS-485 comms for monitoring in oil and gas applications, our monitor is mounted on storage tanks and are exposed to the same temperature extremes you mentioned.
We use the 4400 maH Li Po battery (Lithium Ion Battery Pack - 3.7V 4400mAh : ID 354 : $19.95 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits) and a 2 watt 6 volt solar panel from Voltaic Systems (https://voltaicsystems.com/2-watt-6-volt-solar-panel-etfe/).
In our application, the electronics is in deep sleep mode most of the time. The electronics wakes up every hour, collects the data, syncs with Notehub and then goes back to sleep.
This setup has handled 2+ weeks of heavy cloud cover at temperatures between 30 - 40 F with discharging the battery. It has also performed when temperatures have been below freezing for several weeks at a time. Don’t have a lot of experience at below 0F.
Hope this helps,
Karl
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Hi @Karl_iWell
thx for this info.
I was going over the datasheet for the “F” carrier, the lithium battery suggested is a “single” cell but the Adafruit battery you are using is a “dual” cell although in parallel config within the battery. Was this a straight plug and play or did you have to change anything in charge electronics or configuration on the sw side?
thx
Hi,
It’s straight plug and play for me. I have 85 Notecarrier F’s in the field and not problems using the dual cell.
Since the cell’s are connected in parallel not serial, all it does is take longer to charge than a single cell.
On earlier generation equipment (before we moved to Blues), I have 700+ units in the field using a dual cell battery with a “single” cell rated solar charging circuit and have had no problems.
Karl
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