u/TheOGTachyon

I've been experimenting with off grid, solar powered, modular power boxes to allow me to use various sensors with Home Assistant.

I recently decided I might want to add an outdoor repeater for my Meshtastic experiments as there are few nodes in my neighborhood. Because my HA system is designed to be modular and work with many different sensor modules, I decided to try and use it as the basis for my Meshtastic system. Here is my second prototype, in one of my solar power experiment boxes.

It's only just finished, so I haven't done any real testing yet.

Here's the basic specs.

Solar power system.

- 2x "2W" 9v solar panels in parallel

- 3x 2800mAh 18650 in parallel

- 9v mppt solar battery charger

- Seeed XiAO nRF52840 LoRa module

- Bingfu external antenna

The basic frame is made from cedar 2x2 lumber scraps. The system is mounted in a generic project box. The frame is made such that just screwing it to a flat surface facing South automatically aligns it to the best angle for my latitude.

I'm going to test it for functionality and solar usage, and then I'll play with range testing. I have I better antenna, but it will be more hassle to install and move around. For now, this cheap one will do.

My calculations estimate that it should run 2-3 weeks without sun, which was my goal. We'll see how it does IRL.

I'm trying to identify this radio (i.e., what does GM call it so I can search by that)

I also want to find out:

Can the CD input be patched into to use as a generic AUX input for phone, etc?

Does the system use external amplifiers or amped speaker modules?

If I decide to replace the unit with aftermarket, what module can I use to replace the discontinued Scosche LPGM25 module to inject car sounds into the stereo system like the factory unit does? For Eg, door open, key in the ignition chime.

Anything else worth knowing?

Honestly, I'd be happy to just find a way to add an AUX input as I'm not thrilled with using a BT->FM adapter.

Note: No, not a typo. It's a 2005 Chevy Blazer. It's a Canadian model and should be otherwise mostly identical to the US 2004 model which they sold for one more year in the Canadian market.