Notecarrier A with Voltaic 0.3 Watt 3.3V Solar Power System

Hardware
1

I’ve managed to squeeze the Notecarrier A into the Voltaic 0.3 Watt 3.3V Solar Power System.

I don’t know yet if there will be enough power, I am testing now, without a MCU.

Can you work with Voltaic to develop a slightly larger case that the 0.3 Watt 3.3 V Solar Panel System so that I don’t have to modify the Notecarrier A, (i.e. I cut off the header and squeezed it into the case)?

And maybe if you can get them to build a similar case so that the Notecarrier A fits in easily, it would probably be nice to have a 2 Watt Solar Panel built into it, instead of the 0.3 Watt.

Thanks!

2

Thanks for the message @johnedstone. Another option is to use one of the smaller form factor Notecarriers like the Notecarrier B or Notecarrier X.

3

Yes, I’ve thought about that, using one of those two Notecarriers.

However, I have done a little testing and it seems to be that the best antennas are the ones that you are using in the Notecarrier A v2.0. Is that a safe assumption?

And, related to this, we’re hoping to deploy these in Haiti, so I know from one device I’ve sent there, with the NOTE-WBGLW Notecard, in the Notecarrier A, that it connected to the following tower:

    "tower_info": {
        "mcc": 372,
        "mnc": 3,
        "lac": 38004,
        "cell_id": 65977938
    },
    "tower_location": {
        "when": "2024-08-03T19:05:50Z",
        "name": "Commune Capotille Nord-Est Department",
        "country": "HT",
        "timezone": "America/Port-au-Prince",
        "latitude": 19.418588,
        "longitude": -71.731582
    },

After that I lost touch with it, and I’m not sure if it was a power issue or what. It’s a little hard to get communication right now out of Haiti.

At any rate, I’m guessing my best bet to stay connected, in general, is to stay with the antennas in the Notecarrier A. Please correct me if I am wrong :slight_smile:

Also, after a few days testing here in Indiana, with the Notecarrier A squeezed into the 0.3 Watt 3.3 Volt Solar Power System, I’ve seen that the 0.3Watt solar panel works great. Here is my configuration, if you’re interested. (Sorry it is a little rambling)

So, given the fact that this 0.3Watt panel is enough, I think I can live with this case and notecarrier. After I cut the header off, and sliced off two of the posts for the screws, I was able to squeeze it in.

My current issue, is that with the connected BME280 sensor from Adafruit, it gets so hot that the temperature reading is not accurate. So, I’m testing if it can get enough solar in the shade, not in direct sunlight. It appears that this is indeed possible, so that I don’t have it in direct sunlight. I’m also experimenting with reflective tape so see if I can keep it out in more direct sunlight.

I’ll add any notes, if I’ve learned anything else pertinent to this topic.

4

Hi @johnedstone,

However, I have done a little testing and it seems to be that the best antennas are the ones that you are using in the Notecarrier A v2.0. Is that a safe assumption?

With antennas, “best” is always relative! The onboard Ignion antennas on the Notecarrier A are fantastic, yes. But your mileage will vary depending on number of towers, distance from towers, and especially which LTE band(s) you’re trying to access. In a perfect world you know this information and can tune your antennas accordingly. But yeah for more location-agnostic deployments (like most of us are doing) Ignion is where I would go for embedded antennas and the Pulse and Molex flexible antennas we sell are pretty good as well.

Rob

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