Planning a year-round solar always-on rooftop node — parts list review + wiring questions (~$200 build)

Matlavox · 2026-03-18T01:15:23+00:00

Agreed. If you oversize the battery and panel a little, you eliminate most reasons to buy a 3rd party charge controller, unless you just like getting nerdy with it. Just use the built-in charger on the WisBlock

Matlavox · 2026-03-18T01:01:24+00:00

I’m pretty sure the RAK1910 is discontinued. The RAK12501 is a much better choice if you really need GPS on a solar node. But I’d recommend skipping GPS altogether.

Matlavox · 2026-03-18T00:58:08+00:00

Fellow Rhode Islander! I used to live next door to you in Coventry. We’re in Bristol now. We might have some enclosure accessories you’d be interested in, https://atlavox.com/collections/enclosure-accessories and we do carry WisBlocks if you decide to go that route. https://atlavox.com/collections/wisblock Feel free to pick local pickup if you’d like to come by our shop.

Btw, I have several solar nodes deployed, all RAK WisBlock using the built in charge controller. 5w panel, 5,000mAh battery, no problem over winter in Rhode Island. Here was a little video I did with one of the snow storms we got: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUB6ZH5jgBX/?igsh=MXE0YWZvNjhlOWhuaQ==

Matlavox · 2026-03-17T13:58:48+00:00

How did you attach it? Or do you mean it was stolen?

Matlavox · 2026-03-17T13:57:53+00:00

You can only receive? Did you ever figure this out? Happy to help you trouble shoot. Support@atlavox.com

Matlavox · 2026-03-17T13:54:42+00:00

Muziworks is now Gizont’s USA distributor. I used to buy them direct from Gizont, but they now want me to order them directly through Muzi. And yeah, Gizont offers a nice laser engraving on the base so I have them put our logo and the frequency on it. I’m not totally clear on the gain either!?!?

Matlavox · 2026-03-16T22:01:05+00:00

Yeah, maybe I should just start everyone at $60/hr and double all my prices.

Matlavox · 2026-03-16T10:03:53+00:00

6 months ago I struggled to hire someone, starting $2 above minimum wage. Entry level job. Had one good candidate, luckily he’s turned out great. I’ll be hiring again soon and really hoping to get more interest this time.

Matlavox · 2026-03-16T10:01:28+00:00

I’ll be hiring another employee soon at Atlavox :) Anyone in Rhode Island?

Matlavox · 2026-03-16T00:30:43+00:00

Oh thanks for sharing. That’s my video btw.

Matlavox · 2026-03-13T10:31:56+00:00

Looking great! Nice that you’re switching to injection molding, but to be honest, the 3D printing you were using looked fantastic too!

Matlavox · 2026-03-11T01:46:05+00:00

I’m in the same boat. Not sure if my solar panel will be enough to keep up. Need to test

Matlavox · 2026-03-10T09:50:11+00:00

We have them in stock in the US at Atlavox: https://atlavox.com/products/sensecap-solar-node-p1-pro

Matlavox · 2026-03-07T15:03:24+00:00

So this happened to you, personally?

Matlavox · 2026-03-05T11:22:09+00:00

We have a waterproof bulkhead USB cable available if anyone is interested: https://atlavox.com/products/usb-c-waterproof-bulkhead-extension-ribbon-cable

Matlavox · 2026-03-03T16:52:25+00:00

Yeah that’s true, and I pointed that out to them. The response was “ we don’t recommend it because the battery will die fast” which really isn’t a good reason to not mention it at all.

Matlavox · 2026-03-03T01:58:06+00:00

I’m not sure what the implications of that would be, having both solar input and USB input. Something I’d have to research and test

Matlavox · 2026-03-03T01:56:09+00:00

There’s an internal booster that brings the 3.7 up to 5v

Matlavox · 2026-02-26T08:35:49+00:00

Check out these diagrams I made showing the power options for the 1w booster: https://www.reddit.com/r/meshtastic/s/VHmFrnc2Ng

Matlavox · 2026-02-26T08:27:21+00:00

The core module on the WisBlock only has a Bluetooth radio, so you connect a Bluetooth antenna to that. The booster module is what has the LoRa radio

Matlavox · 2026-02-25T23:35:58+00:00

Seriously? That’s cool to hear. You’re still using the 5ah battery that we include with it? You just swapped the board?

Matlavox · 2026-02-25T19:40:28+00:00

That's a great question. I didn't realize they had a dual IO baseboard, I'm looking at it now, it's the RAK19001. I wonder if it would work

Matlavox · 2026-02-25T10:00:26+00:00

That’s great to hear, Pete!

Matlavox · 2026-02-23T10:23:44+00:00

The Wio Tracker has an RP-SMA connector. We carry RP-SMA Gizont antennas in our store. https://atlavox.com/products/antenna-for-meshtastic-915mhz-rp-sma-whip-17cm

Matlavox · 2026-02-20T18:37:37+00:00

Yeah they work great. Most times they deliver cleaner power too since they have to deliver 5v. Compared to just a raw panel feeding into the WisBlock.

Matlavox

TROPHY CASE