This is a prototype of the solar #meshtastic node that I'm building. Today I got to the point where I was able to flash the firmware on there and then upload the latest version of meshtastic.

Currently requires USB for power because the battery connector that RAK uses doesn't match the one on LiPo batteries. 🙄 The solar connector will need yet another type of battery connector. 😖 I'll also be switching to the solar charging board that doesn't have USB-C.

Other than power, I also need to do a bunch of configuration. On the right we have a power meter so we can get an accurate measurement of how much power is being used in practice over a long period of time.

There's also secure remote administration over the mesh to configure and test.

The temperature sensor (barely visible, but it's there, between the MCU and power meter) will also need to be configured.

After I get the power connectors, monitoring and battery discharge protection circuit in place, I expect things to start going much faster. I've spent months ordering parts, wrong parts, and failing to order parts... but I think I'm going to have a really nice node when I'm done. One that I should be able to easily troubleshoot, maintain and extend.