Solar power for wireless mesh
When installing the access points at a location, there needs to be a power receptacle nearby to provide power to the AP..
I have an application where power is not easily accessible at each point where I want to place an AP. This is a marina where the logical place to mount an AP is on the pilings that support the docks. These present several problems. One, there is no power nearby and Two, if there was nearby power, there is the problem of the dock rising and falling with the tide making wirinng difficult and subject to damage. It would be much easier to have the AP mounted to the piling supplied with power right at the piling.
Has anyone attempted to provide power via solar power? The AP does not need much power and I would think that this could be done in a manner similar to the way highway signs are powered.
If I used a setup like that, I would need to incorporate an RJ-45 jack with the power delivered to the appropriate pins. I also need to know which pins to use!
Surely someone out there has had this idea and would be willing to share the details.