A solar node's first 90 days
Notes from building and deploying an unattended solar-powered node, including what broke, what didn't, and what we'd change.
Ninety days ago we deployed a solar-powered node at a site with no mains power and no one checking on it more than once a month. Here’s what held up, and what needed a second attempt.
What we built
A weatherproofed enclosure housing the radio, a LiFePO4 battery pack, a small charge controller, and an external antenna on a short mast. Sized deliberately for Puerto Rico’s rainy season rather than a best-case sunny day — see the reasoning in Recommended Hardware → Solar Nodes.
What went right
The battery never dropped below 60% charge, even through a stretch of five consecutive overcast days in June. LiFePO4’s heat tolerance mattered more than expected — the enclosure regularly hit temperatures that would have shortened a generic lithium-ion pack’s lifespan.
What we’d change
The first enclosure gasket wasn’t rated for the humidity swings at the site, and we found light condensation inside after about six weeks. We replaced it with a properly IP66-rated enclosure and haven’t seen moisture since. Lesson: don’t cut corners on the enclosure to save on the electronics budget — an eight-dollar gasket is not the place to economize.
Coverage impact
Nearby Client nodes that previously needed two hops to reach the rest of the mesh now reach it in one, through this node. It isn’t running as a Router — it’s a plain Client with good elevation, which turned out to be enough. See Recommended Settings → Node Roles for why we made that call deliberately rather than defaulting to Router.
If you’re considering a similar deployment, Community is the place to compare notes with other operators before you commit to a site.