It took me a week to physically assemble and connect all the things. Another week or more of planning. A lot of stuff still needs tweaking. It won't survive winter with my current panels. But it works!

• 500W DC ATX power supply
• 24V LiFePO4 battery pack (~7kWh)
• 500Wp of PV panels on the balcony
• Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT charger
• a lot of peripheral stuff like optional AC->DC charger, DC->AC inverter, tools, cables, connectors, switchboard, DC/DC converters for possible future expansion...

I wanted to make something that doesn't look like a bomb so I could take it with me on flights.

• A box I had lying around that was a temporary home for some of my early meshcore experiments
• Two parallel 18650 cells with a BMS
• Small prototype PCB with:
• Xiao nRF52840 + Wio SX1262 LoRa kit
• BME280 temperature, humidity and air pressure sensor module
• 24LC256 32kiB...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

I didn't feel like making an enclosure so I just zip-tied everything to an ABS sheet. Logging data via Bluetooth...

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Solar tester update: soldered solar panel and charging module connectors today. Charging path was not switching on correctly, turned out I missed one connection in the PCB design. After adding that the switching MOSFET turned the charging module on as it should.

Still, there was a problem: the test cell was not getting any meaningful current. After a lot of multimeter measurements and swapping the panel with a lab power supply,...

My solar tester is coming along nicely.

It started as a thought when I was using a tabletop charger/tester after buying a bunch of 18650 cells for my meshcore builds. If I have a bunch of solar panels and charger modules, why not use them?

My electronics design skills are pretty nonexistent so I admit, I used llm to draft a hardware design and iterated on it for a bit...

Time to raise your blood pressure. /m/

Spent most of the day sorting and organizing all my dev boards, electronic components and other assorted things. Made a spreadsheet for tracking what I have, except common resistors and capacitors that just lie in big bags. Living in an apartment doesn't give much space for a dedicated tinkering corner so I packed some less used items and evicted them to the basement.

What do you use for keeping track of physical items? I've heard HomeBox is good, might try it soon.

Haven't listened to good trance in a while, so here you go.

I saw the sun, it does exist!

I also experienced the wettest hiking terrain to date. I don't think there is footwear that can handle such bogs.

Had a pint of beer in the evening while listening to live music by some local folks. Good stuff.

Wake up honey, KEYGEN CHURCH just dropped a brand new banger!

Day 2 of Scottish Highlands trekking: Pap of Glencoe.

The Highlands remind me of the Faroe Islands. Both have this rough kind of beauty. The weather is decent so far, let's hope it stays that way. Changes very quickly though, as is common when mountains and water meet.

The heat wave is real.

Tomorrow is supposed to be worse and my apartment block won't have power for most of the day. At least we were warned this time, there's a construction site nearby that needed to cut our power before. Great stuff, I wanted to do some work before going on a vacation, but I guess that's not going to happen.

I need more time... for everything I want to do. I know I won't get it though, unless we suddenly invent some miraculous life extension technology. That sucks.

I'm not dying or anything, just becoming more and more aware of my mortality and the time that passes with every year that flows by.

I probably need to start focusing on things I want finished. Priorities...

More Mechina, because Mechina is fucking awesome and not enough people are aware of it.

I finally tested the rope ladder I've built. Well, I tested it yesterday and it was kind of a failure, but a learning experience.

Anyway: it does work. The workflow is:

1. Probably don't try this without rope climbing experience/training and a secured harness!

2. Use a thin throw line with a weight to make a pulley over a branch that will be the support. For the weight I used a steel carabiner that's normally attached to the...

I have built myself a rope ladder. It's about 7 meters long, made from 8mm polyester rope and beech rungs ~3cm in diameter, 35cm long. I drilled 1cm diameter holes about 25mm from each rung ends, rungs are supported by an 8-figure stopper knot below each rung.

Both side lines are separate, connected at the top to a carabiner. When deployed, the ladder is supported by a rope going over a suitable branch, anchored with a strap down near the ground.

Why would I need a rope ladder you say? To mount meshcore...

To start the week let's have another, dare I say, masterpiece from Mechina. This project is criminally underrated.