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Recommendations for Vehicle Nodes? (mander.xyz)

submitted 11 hours ago by AlchemicalAgent@mander.xyz to c/meshtastic@mander.xyz

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I've been brainstorming ways to get a permanent node on my truck for various reasons. Here's what I have so far:

Hard-wired for power. The vehicle battery is pretty large, and I have a solar-maintainer installed with enough power left over to run a node.
GPS module for tracking
External antenna (915 MHz). I already have cargo racks on the truck bed so plenty of space to attach a mount.

Unfortunately I haven't found much in the way of hardware guides. Initially I figured a 33 cm ham antenna would be perfect but haven't seen much available. For the node itself I was looking at either a heltec tracker or a Wisblock with location module. Anyone suggestions?

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[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

There are USB C hardwire kits for dash cams that have a timer on them, as well as a low voltage shutoff. I bought the same one I use for my Vantrue N4 cam for this purpose.

I went with a LILYGO T-Echo as my LoRa unit. This was my choice so I could also grab the unit and put it in my pocket, if ever in an emergency and need to hoof it.

After researching fixed antennas, and also how much degradation there is the longer you run the coax between the low power unit and the antenna, I opted out. Instead I went with a highly rated and tested Gizont whip antenna directly on the unit.

[–] AlchemicalAgent@mander.xyz 3 points 8 hours ago

Ah, interesting. I have USB hardwire kits for my dashcam but they're not on a timer. I've seen the T-Echo, definitely something I'll be purchasing in the future. I'm carrying a T-1000E right now.

[–] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

For antennas ISM antennas are easy to find. RAK sells some that are well worth the money. For the node itself I don't think it makes a huge difference. The ESP32 based nodes have a higher power requirements if that matters to you (you'll have to make the calculations as you know how much power you have to spare). They are overall a bit easier to work with, IMHO, than NRF based nodes. The RAK modules seem better made than the Heltecs.