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

Sat Jun 1 23:04:59 UTC 2013

Hi Charles,

My thoughts about the use of smart phones and tablets come from observation
(1<http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/After-Sandy-N-Y-recovering-but-slowly-3998882.php>,
2<http://www.northjersey.com/weather/After_Sandy_Things_improving_but_life_wont_be_back_to_normal_for_awhile.html>,
3<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-30/sandy-knocks-out-cable-phone-service-to-1-million-in-new-york.html>)
of recent instances here in the US where a weather-related event caused
widespread power outages, and indeed queues formed at locations that still
had electrical power, of people wanting to recharge handhelds.

Phones and tablets usually have several hours of battery life, far better
than laptops.  Also, in extreme situations where the cell towers are all
out too, one could assume folks would only use their handheld while
connected to wifi, further reducing the power consumption.

As for a community charging station, my friend Dann Green (former St. Louis
resident / all-around geek) built this one recently.  This, however, is
definitely an order of magnitude above what I was considering for the solar
rooftop mesh nodes, which is namely just one or two mini-USB ports supplied
with 5V from the battery.
http://blog.makezine.com/2010/04/29/mfba-solarpump-electric-charging-st/

On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 1:53 PM, Charles Wyble <
charles-lists at knownelement.com> wrote:

> 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
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Commotion-discuss mailing list
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>>
>>
> --
> Charles Wyble
> charles at knownelement.com / 818 280 7059
> CTO Free Network Foundation (www.thefnf.org)
>

-- 
Ben West
http://gowasabi.net
ben at gowasabi.net
314-246-9434
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