Applying Power and Testing
Apply power by removing the opaque covering from
the solar panel (the cardboard or beach towel from the previous
section). If it’s sunny, there should immediately be a “power
on” indicator and the “charging” or “full” lights will be lit.
Switch on the power strip to apply AC power to the wireless
radios. Check for the usual link and status lights on your
wireless equipment.
When you remove the opaque covering, the solar
panel will immediately begin pumping outelectricity as fast as
the sun will allow. Also, since your batteries are already
charged, the radiosand inverter should be up and running even
without sunshine.
With
the pole securely sunk into the ground and the solar panel
boldly facing the sun, it already looks very impressive. Anyone
who sees it will be very impressed with your technical acumen
and desire to improve the future of our planet.
The final stage is to move a short distance from
the panel/repeater and break out your laptop for a wireless
test. Ensure that your connection is to the solar-based access
point and that your network settings match the wired network to
which you are down-linking (DHCP, IP Address, and so on).
Congratulations! You should now be surfing
through your repeater. Anytime day or night, the repeater will
extend your network reach. Free and abundant daylight recharges
the batteries that ran the system overnight. The system can work
perpetually over many years.
Over the years to come, you may find
opportunites to expand your repeater. You may wish to install
new Wi-Fi radios or expand capabilities by installing a network
camera. If your power needs increase, the system built in this
chapter can be expanded simply by adding more batteries to the
array. Or you may opt for a solar panel with a higher power
output for quicker recharging. Either way, the basic components
of your system will serve you well into the future.
An amateur radio satellite placed into Earth
orbit in 1984 is still operating after thousands of cycles of
charging and discharging on-board batteries. The satellite,
named UoSat Oscar 11, celebrated its twentieth anniversary of
solar-powered radio operation. May your new solar repeater see
this much uptime!
Summary
In this chapter, you learned how to set up a
wireless repeater and power it with free solar energy. You
learned the background and history of photovoltaic energy, and
how solar can be used in wireless communications.With two radio
repeater/bridges, you’ve extended your network to the furthest
reaches possible, beyond network cables, beyond telephone lines,
and even power lines.With the system you’ve installed in this
chapter, you are now truly wireless.
In the next chapter, you will learn how to set
up a free wireless hotspot. Read on to discover how to create a
captive portal system where wireless Internet users are
automatically presented an information screen when they open a
Web browser.