[Commotion-discuss] Consideration for solar-powered urban mesh offering Commotion, Tidepools, Internet access

Sat Jun 1 18:53:03 UTC 2013

This presumes that smartphones, tablets etc have power. 

That is the main issue. I've not seen any good projects for community charging stations. Though I guess they can be thrown together very easily.

Ben West <ben at gowasabi.net> wrote:

>I am considering submitting a paper on this topic to the Int'l Summit
>for
>Community Wireless
>Networks<http://2013.wirelesssummit.org/content/deadline-extended%E2%80%9430-days-left-submit-proposals>conference,
>being held this October in Berlin.  Feel free to respond with
>comments, criticisms, and witticisms!
>
>Short TL;DR version: low-cost solar/battery powered wifi mesh to let
>folks
>with smartphones and laptops map out / organize / access resources in
>their
>neighborhood, for semi-casual use during disaster recovery.
>
>Longer version ...
>
>Recent discussion with another St. Louisian pointed toward using the
>Tidepools <http://tidepools.co/> application to enable users (accessing
>Tidepools via smartphone wifi) to announce and locate resources and
>exchange messaging within a neighborhood-wide wifi mesh, say something
>on
>the order of 5 square miles for an initial deployment.
>
>In particular, we were curious whether a *10 or 20-node rooftop mesh
>powered entirely by solar/battery*, and with a local Tidepools server
>running in that mesh, might make itself handy to folks recently
>deprived of
>electrical power, phone, and other utilities.  Using the mesh could be
>further incentivized by also providing limited (~1Mbit/s) Internet
>access,
>to the extent feasible, such that disaster victims could keep up
>correspondence via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Furthermore, some of
>the
>roof nodes could have additional hardware to provide *5Volt cell phone
>charging ports* at ground level, powered by excess capacity in the
>node's
>solar/battery package.  Also, we assume this mesh would operate 24/7
>anyway, i.e. also during non-emergenies, to better familiarize
>neighborhood
>residents with its presence and let them pre-populate the Tidepools
>map, if
>desired.
>
>What I'm curious about is the feasibility of constructing combined
>antenna
>mast + solar panel assemblies that rest on rooftops, anchored by
>cinderblocks, with sufficient rigidity/balast to withstand ~60mph wind
>w/o
>damage or significant misalignment.  And for less than 500$US in
>materials
>per rooftop node.  The wifi hotspots themselves create very little wind
>loading, so I think a key detail is doing cheap/secure mounting of the
>solar panel.  Likewise, I would expect to site rooftop nodes such that
>a
>20-node mesh could continue to operate if even 30% to 40% of the nodes
>were
>knocked offline (e.g. from localized tornado/microburst damage).
>
>This proposal would leverage heavily off the development recently put
>into
>the Commotion Wireless <https://commotionwireless.net/> firmware and
>Tidepools <http://tidepools.co/> software developed by the conference
>organizer Open Technology Institute <http://oti.newamerica.net/>, along
>with the extreme low-cost outdoor mounting techniques I've been
>developing
>via WasabiNet <http://gowasabi.net/content/your-rooftop>.
>
>Your thoughts?
>
>Finally, below is a quick breakdown I made for building a
>solar/battery-powered roof node with less than 500$US of materials.
>Considering that the wifi hotspot itself draws less than 20W, further
>costing-down is possible.  Specifically, a smaller solar panel and
>smaller
>12VDC/24VDC converter should be doable.
>
>   - Ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M2 (runs on 24VDC) - $50
>
>http://shop.bizsyscon.com/ubiquiti-nanostation-loco-m2-outdoor-mimo-2x2-802-11g-n/
>
>   - 60W 12V Solar Panel - $120
>
>http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Panel-Crystalline-Energy-Controller/dp/B005HXFWM6
>
>   - 12VDC/6Amp solar charge controller - $50
>
>http://www.amazon.com/SunSaver-Charge-Controller-12V-6A/dp/B002MQL6L2/ref=sr_1_11
>
>   - OR Cheaper 12VDC/7Amp solar change controller - $20
>
>http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-7-Amp-Charge-Controller/dp/B0006JO0XI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_5
>
>   - 9-12VDC to 24VDC step-up converter - $120
>   http://www.dxengineering.com/parts/sxa-06760
>
>   - 12V Golf Cart battery - $20
>   http://www.ecomelectronics.com/prodinfo.phtml?id=2102397
>
>- DIY mounts made from cinderblocks, treated lumber, conduit, misc
>parts
>   - $30
>   http://goo.gl/62jYJ
>   http://goo.gl/eU53G
>
>- ~50ft of shielded cat5 cable (from $150 spool of 1000ft) and ~100ft
>of
>   ground wire - $20
>
>Total materials: $410 per rooftop node (or $380 with cheaper charge
>controller)
>
>
>-- 
>Ben West
>http://gowasabi.net
>ben at gowasabi.net
>314-246-9434
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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--
Charles Wyble 
charles at knownelement.com / 818 280 7059 
CTO Free Network Foundation (www.thefnf.org)
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