Slashdot Mirror
Build Your Own Solar Powered Hotspot
hode writes "Popular Science has a how-to article up on turning a backpack into a portable, solar-powered Wi-Fi hotspot. Possible uses include providing Wi-Fi access for a road-trip caravan." From the article: "Its secret ingredient: the Junxion Box. Plug a cellular-network card into the book-size open-source-based device, and voil--instant Wi-Fi hotspot, with speeds averaging around 700 kilobits per second. To power the box, I wired it to a 1.2-amp-hour battery and dropped both into the Voltaic Systems backpack, which has a built-in solar charger."
This thing, as made in the article, costs over $1000, I would have thought a project slashdot would link to would have somebody rigging up their own solar panels instead of paying $230 for a bag with solar panels on it and setting up their own system (mini itx or some such) instead of paying $700 for a Junxion Box.
You can build your own EV-DO/Wi-Fi router for much less than the cost of a Junxion box.
This solar powered hotspot is $1,000. Maybe an alright price for a consumer product, but a little much for something you'd build yourself, here's a cheaper solution:
$189 - Gum Stix Connex 400xm-bt, a small xscale system running embedded linux
$25 - CFstix, an expansion board for the above system allowing connection of Compact flash cards
$70 - Netgear MA701 802.11b Wireless Compact Flash Adapter
Subtotal: $284
That ought to be a good replacement for the junxion system in this case, for 40% of the cost.
As for the solar power, you might want to use the same Voltaic Systems bag they used in the article, but you could deck out a bag you already have with solar panels and such and it might be a little cheaper. Hell, if you wanted you could put their solar panels and batteries in your bag, they sell them seperately!