Solar Powering with Power bank
#1
Hello all, 
We ordered some System Blues, now in transit to Kenya, that we plan to put them multiple locations in East Africa. 

Have anyone tried powering the whole system with a power bank and solar panels? I think 5V, 1 A can power the device and an internet device
This is what I am thinking: 
  1. Power system Blue with power bank, chargeable with solar panels. 
  2. Internet supplied by 3G WiFi Router with Ethernet and WiFi SIM Card Router Huawei E5730: (https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/U...570eHn3vyU
Anyone with experience on best components to look for ? 

Gilbert: Kenya
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#2
Have a search through the forums, I posted a set of rough calculations based on reasonable assumptions resulting in approximate sizing of the bits required. You might be surprised, your battery is going to have to power everything, on it's own, over night. The charging system has to charge the battery for the next night *and* run the kit...

It'll be a bit tight to squeeze everything into a 5W (5 V @ 1 A) power budget. A Blue is 2 to 3W. I have a TP-Link TL-MR3020 with 4G dongle as a backup 'net connection, just powered it from the PoE switch which said it was taking 2W (4G connected, WiFi Off). Take a look at the TL-MR3020 I thnk it'll enable a Blue connected via ethernet to access the 'net via the dongle plugged into it. No power hungry WiFi...

Assuming a 1A load your battery will have to be in the order of 24 Ahr capacity. Probably more as that doesn't leave much leeway for dull days, charging and conversion effciencies etc.
Cheers
Dave.

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#3
Thanks Dave, that is helpful
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#4
FYI, I've been running a system Red through an MR3020 and WiFi for quite some time now on two powerbanks (using one while charging the other) and I consistently get 16 hours from 10Ah bank (Romoss Sense4)
That works out to ~3W load.

I have all the gear here, one day I'll pull my finger out and finally piece the kit together:
I have 2x 10W panel,
1s20p 18650 cells (~40Ah)
SX01-3A solar charger (1s Lithium friendly)
Dual USB board from powerbank (not for charging, only using boost converter and low voltage cutout)

I have no shortage of Sun(Australia) So 20W panel and 40Ah battery has just enough overhead to keep it running through 1 or 2 cloudy days.

Barebones, you could possibly get away with a 10W panel and 1s10p battery (~20Ah) and using a CN3722 MPPT(-ish!) charger instead, but just one overcast day and she'll run dry.

Edit: Oops. I read the OP date as Nov 2018
Oh well, info might still help someone else  Big Grin
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