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Central Community Communications-Power Offering

A communications and power hub in the event of a disaster.

guyisitGuyisIT
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The inspiration for this is the Great Blackout of 2011 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Southwest_blackout), where a very large area was without power for a large period of time. I was the only person on my block with an internet connection/ power (thanks to a UPS), and people came over to my house to post to facebook and charge their phones.

The purpose of C3-PO is to offer a similar experience, but with larger capacity batteries, and additional features that will assist in communications with the "outside" when an event limits our ability to connect to the rest of the world in a 21st century fashion. It also brings people together around a central space for moral support.

This is designed to be a neighborhood-level power station and communications hub in the event of a wide- scale natural disaster. I will include:
*Battery backup (SLA) - Most likely 12v 7/8Ah, as they are cheap.
*Cell signal booster - GSM/ CDMA for broad compatibility.
*USB/ 120v output - I'd like to build a custom USB charger (that can do many 5v2.1Ah connections), but off the shelf works too.
*Solar/ generator charging
*Moral booster (Stereo)

  • 4 × SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) 12v battery For proof of concept, I"ll be using 12v 8Ah batteries as they are relatively cheap. The final project calls for >35Ah.
  • 1 × Charge controller
  • 2 × 12v Solar Panel 100w (~8A)

  • Stereo sourced!

    GuyisIT • 11/21/2014 at 19:56 • 0 comments

    I just found an old stereo in my garage that is a perfect fit for this project- it's an Insignia something iPod dock (Best Buy's house brand.) I always ran it off 120v mains, but it also can run off C-cell batteries, at 6v! I gutted the system last night, and will try to update this log + post pictures. I'm also ordering a 12v to 6v converter from ebay- more on that when it arrives!

  • 10,000ft view

    GuyisIT • 09/08/2014 at 05:57 • 0 comments

    I made a quick diagram to show power in- power out at a basic level. To start, I'll use what I have laying around (including AC/DC converters, SLA batteries, etc.) My budget is pretty tight right now, so some parts will have to be bought one month at a time (like the charge controller.)

    The 19.5v DC output is for most laptops.

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