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yeah, that would definitely be difficult. Adding a heating element could help with the cold itself but with the reduction in sunlight it might require a much larger panel relative to the size of the device... I think doable but some testing and likely just way extra solar would be needed to make it reliable...

This is the duplexer I found. Seems to work well. www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804935265281.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.2.5684f19c2LLjIr&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

sounds like an issue with the config file. I would first not use any custom apps just to make sure it can adjust your main volume. If that works you rule out a com issue and know its the config file, this is what my mappings look like btw - slider_mapping: 0: master 1: discord.exe 2: chrome.exe 3: deej.unmapped

Nice, that's great it lasted the whole week. Its nice to have something that's a set and forget. I just got back from a week long camping trip also and it worked great when I used it, definitely extended my range from previous trips to this locations. I didn't use it every day however so I am not sure about my battery life. I am just using the stock extended batteries in the baofengs with the option to add a USB battery backup... Need more testing tho...

That is a hard question to answer simply as local topography plays a significant role. If you are in a relatively flat area and have a good external antenna you can go many miles. I live in SoCal which is far from flat and have picked up stations directly 20-30 miles away when I had my unit outside in a tree. However, I would say the typical range you could expect is a few miles for most stations. Again this is highly dependent on the local terrain and if you are using the stock antenna or not...

Working on trying to get a 3d printer then its on :)

It's working pretty well. I just got back from a week long camping trip. It was definitely able to extend my range.

This could be good to have. It is small, easy to power from any USB battery bank and could allow for secure communication over a very wide area provided you have other people with the same devices. Its also very easy to convert this into more of a base station with a larger antenna mounting it higher up and a larger battery pack with solar panels.

Nice, that's a great idea! I have one of those batts, seems like a pretty tight fit. U modify the case at all? I feel like I might need to grind a little off the screws posts...

@@TechTinkerHobbyist Yeah, I shaved off 1 mm from the screw posts and 1 mm from the internal surface where the new battery contacts the case.

agreed 100%

huh, that's weird. I also flashed one of my 2 devices with the firmware I found on Heltec's site and it still worked fine. I have read about people having some inconsistent devices delivered to so I am betting the QC on these isnt too great. Something else to think about, the WiFi and Bluetooth modules are shared and can't both be used at once. If your device is in WiFi mode the Bluetooth will not work. Not sure thats the issue but something to look at... Otherwise I would contact them and send it back. Good luck!

@TechTinkerHobbyist I managed to get it working again finally, after a thousand random flashes. Add to that the GPS is working as you mentioned even when it shows as disabled. Appreciate your video man.

awesome, great to hear u got it going!

Thanks!

ur getting 2hrs? I wish! I am getting about an hr and fifteen or so but once the voltage gets low the GPS and LoRa radio seem to be more unreliable, or at least less consistent in transmitting locations. I really only get about an hr of reliable use...

I have the link to that duplexer on the main build overview video. Seems to work great so far. I have a few upcoming trips where I can field test it. Thanks for watching!

@TechTinkerHobbyist love it ! Tonight I'm going to watch the video u made. I'm very much into this hobby hard-core now and I really Want a repeater for personal use and Cloe family communications shtf situations.

@TechTinkerHobbyist I am going to get a harbor freight solar panel and setup a battery link for them to keep it charged 24/7 in my mind I'd like to.

SBR on this setup 1.0!

Nice, that should be a pretty powerful setup! I wanted to use those KG1000's also, just not in the budget at the moment...

Yeah, just looked at those are they are pretty cool. Looks like that LoRa board is a lot more power efficient. Curious if that one solar panel works for people in most circumstances. I see the same thing on aliexpress for a little cheaper. Looking at the raw boards too... might have to start planning my v2... Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I am not sure what the heltec board charges at, those other usb charging boards are rated for 1amp. I have 4 5000mah batteries in a parallel config and it get just over 24hrs of use.

The single solar panel I used is not enough to recharge the device during the day even in direct fill sunlight. It just helps extend the battery a little. I would need several more panels connected to start making a real difference...

I didn't realize it had that capability, that's cool. I just looked into it real quick and couldn't find what the charging current it. The board I'm using is 1amp so if its the same or more that's a win. I guess the only other reason/consideration might be the placement of the charging USB port in relation to the screen and its USB port. That info is super helpful when I look at doing a revised version. Thanks!

100% agree. I knew the panel wasn't ever going to be enough, at best I was just hoping for an emergency power source. It will be placed up high in a tree but still under the canopy so for my use case I don't have a lot of direct sun to warrant a larger/more panels. And ya, those heltec boards are not the most power efficient. I will be looking for a different one on my next build.

Thanks, it was a lot of fun. Already building v2 in my brain... :)

I have to test it thoroughly on an upcoming camping trip in June, however testing at home has shown it to work quite well. It only lasts about 24hrs though, that's the biggest change/update I will make in the next version, more batts and more solar, and a different more power efficient board, if I can find one... Thx for watching!

@@TechTinkerHobbyist are you going to set it up for external battery pack attachment?

I kinda already can. It does have an integrated 1amp USB-C port so I can just attach a battery back to the back and plug it in. It is just not ideal in the current config. That USB board gets pretty warm and I worry about the combination of that heat, heat from the device operation, and just the ambient temps especially if it is in direct sunlight. I have a lot of hot glue in there right now that probably cant take all of that. I feel a redesign and rebuild will be worth it after field testing as there is already enough little things I would like to change.

It was a fun project and I like that I have my own. However this particular DIY project doesn't have amazing cost savings. I probably put in $400-$500 and when you look at something like the Anker power station that has pretty much the identical capacity but a much larger inverter, those awesome camping lights and a very finished, polished look, the extra $150 or so is very worth it. My build probably took me 8-12hrs to complete. www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5CBDX2P/?coliid=I2NRQMA8ZI3S04&colid=1U9HQR21GCS44&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Those little solar cells you have, I bought a 10 pack. You might want to put them all in parallel if you also got the 10 pack. I tested 4 in parallel and the current was very low in full sun. Not really enough to keep it charged.

Yeah, that's a great build. Definitely a short coming of mine, that single solar panel isnt gonna help charging that much. The problem is in my typical use case it will be hanging from a tall tree in the Sierra's, so it will be high but still under the canopy so I dont expect much direct sunlight even if I had a better solar charging system such as yours. If I had more of a permanent mounting solution, with a clear view of the sky, then I would for sure do something similar as you. Right now my solar panel feels pretty gimmicky. It's my 1st build with an integrated solar panel so I wasn't banking on it being super helpful. Now if I can possibly pick up a 3d printer :) I would revisit this project and try and beef up the solar system. I also want to take a look around for a board that is a little more power efficient. With standard settings and the 4 18650 batt's I only get 24hrs of use. I am testing some settings now to see if I can extend that... Thanks for watching!

@@TechTinkerHobbyist I have the exact same board as you and I'm having a terrible time with the sleep setting. When it goes in to deep sleep I can't wake it up. I have to reset it. Both of my 2 boards do this. I have to run it in standard mode all the time. I have tried adjusting some of the sleep setting but it's been no use so far. I'm in the testing phase now with mine before I put it all up on a pole. Today is the first sunny day test. Last 3 days my Amazon solar panel managed to keep the battery from running completely down during cloudy weather. It's a 5 volt panel made to charge cellphones direct with USB c. I'm hoping it will be enough to run it indefinitely.

Yeah, the sleeping function isnt great. I just finished another power capacity test yesterday using sleep with settings to try and extend the life more and only got maybe 4hrs more run time, so not enough of a gain to have to deal with the sleep function. I will want to revisit this build at some point using a more power efficient board. I just bought a pair of these boards to play with, now that I have more of a use case I can get more specific with my build. In your case it sounds like you probably have enough solar to run it pretty much indefinitely aside from some extreme cases with no sun. Definitely a fun project with some interesting and helpful use cases.

Coming soon!

No prob! Thanks for watching!

You can't really see it in the video but the USB port is totally accessible so it should be fine. However, I did only use hot glue to secure that just in case I made a bonehead mistake, happens a lot, and needed to reposition it or make some other change. Thanks for watching!

​@TechTinkerHobbyist ah brilliant! Providing you can keep that firmware updated that is awesome! Quite a few changed have happened recently so always good to be able to keep it updated! 1:25

Thanks so much!

I thought about that, but I wanted to be able to set it down on a table also and the box has some small rubber feet in the back. For my use case I really don't need to see the screen as it will be up in a tree anyways. I really just wanted to try adding a solar panel in but dont expect much from it as when it is deployed it likely wont get much direct sunlight... I agree though that it doesn't look as nice this way

Thanks for watching! I got the info from another very helpful video - th-cam.com/video/SflpABkJAQ4/w-d-xo.html

Thanks! 😄

Yeah, I would say so. Typical VR headsets these days should be the headset with 2 hand controllers. You def dont want less...

That was done on an OG Rift. Rocking a Rift S now... My last Oculus device tho, I hate facebook...

The devs took it out I thought that was a stupid decision I loved the Watson feature

The studio only had a limited license to use the watson feature. It was extended due to the popularity but was finally pulled out... I loved playing solo, but only with this feature...

Twisted Gemini Tv yes