Hobby

Two projects classed as hobby.

Arduino Solar Power Monitoring

Using and Arduino UNO, RS-485 HAT and Nokia LCD display, monitoring the Morningstar Corporation Relay Driver was demonstrated using available libraries in Arduino. Contact me at tlagrone@serenilak.com if you are interested in sketch and setup instructions.

Repurpose Sierra Wireless MP-70 cellular modem router

The Sierra Wireless MP-70 cellular router was used extensively by police, fire, Ems, and transit vehicles and has many advanced features. This unit is still sold and available from Sierra Wireless. I have a small stock of these units sold as salvage from agencies that wanted to upgrade to units with higher capability. I am looking for one RV enthusiast that would like to explore using this unit as a data communications device. The units I have for testing are older models without LTE bands 14 (FirstNet) or 66.

Home base for the RV enthusiast would have to be in Anchorage or Matanuska-Susitna valley and part of the testing would include travel on the road system of Alaska and possibly Canada.

I personally have traveled extensively on the road system in Alaska and found that cellular coverage is far from complete and would require possibly three different carriers (AT&T, GCI [T-Mobile] and Copper Valley [Verizon]). For complete coverage, satellite communications would fill in the gaps. My own previous solution was three cell phone subscriptions and the InReach Satellite device. The MP-70 unit has two SIM slots allowing two carriers and specialized SIMs are available with multiple carriers. The MP-70 has capability for additional connectivity allowing addition of a satellite communications device if desired. I have one Iridium and one Swarm (SpaceX VHF network) module available for experimentation.

Cost of the MP-70 device alone is extremely low (about $50); however, use in an RV would require wiring and antennas that might add up to $200 to installed cost. For the RV enthusiast willing to do the installation, I would provide the MP-70 and extremely low cost additional components.

Cellular subscription price for data varies depending on amount of data consumed. My prices start at $1 per year (vehicle telemetry only) and commercial rates can exceed $100 per month for high usage (watching videos, etc.).

This project would not be appropriate for RV enthusiasts looking at StarLink RV data communications. At the higher price for StarLink, cellular connections would be redundant.

The MP-70 is also available for fixed base installation – my price is $50.00 without any support.

Contact me at: tlagrone@serenilak.com if interested.