I’m want to setup a relay on my shed. Ideally, it would be solar-powered (as a backup) but could also operate over battery and connect over ethernet to my network for management and communication (MQTT? kind of new to the whole thing).
What I’m missing is a battery backup, and ideally some solar panel top mount. I don’t see those as an option in there, is that something that could be added later easily?
And, sorry if that sounds dumb, but what do people use Ethernet for? I figured i could use a mqtt gateway that way to bridge gaps in the mesh, but in general, what is it for?
If you need MQTT functionality, you can use the Ethernet Gateway and connect it close to your switch or router. You can have UPS there or something as backup power.
MQTT is only for driving payload traffic to the MQTT server. It is not used for node configuration.
I can tinker a bit. Like I’ve done some soldering, i know my way around torx and weird screws and would rather not unglue things, but I’ve done it.
I would be fine with starting with the ethernet gateway, I’m wondering if i can slap on battery / solar later: is there room and fittings in the case that would work? Has aonyone done this before?
I’ve seen those fancy things! That one seems a tad expensive for my needs…
And this one seems solar only: i’m not sure i can power it from USB and stay weatherproof. It also doesn’t have ethernet management…
Yeah, that’s pretty much the idea in the short term: i have a UPS inside and PoE injectors, even a PoE switch… somewhere. But I’m also thinking long term, and having a flexible platform I can build on.
Yeah, I’m still a little confused about all this. So far, my experience with MQTT is turning on the MQTT thing in the Android app when connected to the T1000-E Card Tracker, and getting flooded with nodes from all over the US. I’m hoping I can get something more local to bridge gaps in the mesh, but I’m not sure i want to run a MQTT server. Is that what that thing is? Or it’s just a “gateway” (ie. a MQTT “client”?).
Is there something out there that does that? I kind of have an TCP/IP network at home and funnel everything through there. I am not a fan of having to use Bluetooth to configure and monitor things…
I see the meshtastic app has support for talking with nodes over IP, but so far I haven’t seen much of how this actually works…
The POE power up the whole WisBlock board if you are using RAK19007 and will charge the battery attached to it. You can use it as a backup to power your node. You can attach a solar panel to it or just charged it via PoE. I personally haven’t tried this, but inspecting the schematic shows that it is possible.
MQTT is only for sending payload data to the MQTT broker. Unless Meshtastic includes ethernet configuration, until then you can only configure the node via BLE or USB connection.
Is there a way to order the gateway with the parts needed to complete the setup? Seems like I would need the solar panel cover and a battery? Is there any extra fitting I would need?
I’m not sure I understand this. I guess the question is whether or not the gateway will fetch an IP address from DHCP from the network and whether it is accessible from meshtastic clients over the Ethernet port for configuration… You said:
but meshtastic firmware typically does support configuration over the network? or do you mean configuration of the Ethernet PHY?
Sadly we do not have that bundle. You will have to do the modification yourself.
The ethernet connection is only for connecting the node payload to the MQTT broker in the case of the Ethernet Gateway because it uses nRF52 based MCU. The full functioning network that can remotely configure the node using meshtastic client is only available for ESP32 based nodes.
okay, but that still means i’d be able to monitor the node, over Ethernet, through a MQTT broker? and i guess it will receive and relay messages over LoRa and meshtastic as well of course…
You have to attach a battery and a solar panel that will charge the battery. You can follow the same approach done on WisMesh Repeater Mini (it uses 3600mAh battery). We do not sell the battery only due to some logistics reason but you can find lots of this type of battery online. Likely you can order the solar lid and replace the one on you WisMesh Ethernet Gateway.
For this custom order, please send email to [email protected] so our customer support can handle this better. Please take note that I haven’t done this setup myself. I only assess the schematics and how things are put together. And my conclusion is that is should work. I cant provide guarantee since this is a customized setup and haven’t fully evaluated. Please review the schematics as well since they are publicly available.
I’m hoping I can get something more local to bridge gaps in the mesh, but I’m not sure i want to run a MQTT server. Is that what that thing is? Or it’s just a “gateway” (ie. a MQTT “client”?).
