The People's Repeater - Affordable Solar Mesh Repeater

The People’s Repeater: A low-cost solar mesh repeater design for Meshtastic or Meshcore.

The People’s Repeater is an affordable LoRa mesh repeater using harvested parts from a $10 Lowes Harbor Breeze garden light. The design relies on the STL files on this page: a 3D printed hub and mount system that keeps the interior of the repeater dry.

The People's Repeater Hub holds the SMA antenna bulkhead and also creates a water resistant connection to the solar panel/battery housing. The People's Repeater Mount can attach to flat surfaces via two screws, or onto poles or antenna masts via two zip ties. The People's Repeater Hub slides easily into the Mount from the top, and stays in position via gravity.

At the time of release, these repeater builds cost approx. $35 plus shipping for parts.

Recommended Material

I print all my People's Repeater Hubs and Mounts in ASA. You may have success with other heat and weather resistant filaments such as ABS, but I recommend you do NOT use PLA or PLA+.

If you do not own a 3D printer (or a 3D printer that can handle ASA) you can purchase People's Repeater Hubs & Mounts from my online store here.

Printer settings

For Hub...
Material: ASA
Layer height: 0.2 mm
Layer thickness: 0.4 mm
Walls: 5 to 6
Infill: 30-40%
Supports: None

For Mount...
Material: ASA
Layer height: 0.2 mm
Layer thickness: 0.4 mm
Walls: 2 to 3
Infill: 20-30%
Supports: None

& to help prevent warping...
Enclosure Temp: >40 degrees C
Print Bed: ~100 degrees C
Speed: the slower the better

Components & Tools

Basic Components:
Harbor Breeze Solar Garden Light
Seeed Studio Xaio nRf LoRa Module
Solar Charge Controller
18650 battery (comes with Solar Garden Light) (affordable upgrade battery, premium max mAh option)
LoRa antenna & SMA bulkhead/pigtail
Male PH2.0 connector pigtails
1/4" Bonded Washer

Minimum Required Tools:
Phillips-Head Screwdriver
Small Crescent Wrench
Small & Large Wire Cutters
Soldering Iron (& solder, flux, etc.)

Instructions

Step-by-step VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE. Instructions begin approx. 15 mins and 35 seconds into the video.

Text Instructions:
Step 1: Collect all necessary components & tools.
Step 2: Mount antenna bulkhead to the People's Repeater Hub.
Step 3: IF polarity of your pigtails is incorrect... Swap wires in your three PH2.0 pigtails. (i.e. reverse red and black)
Step 4: Harvest parts from Lowes Harbor Breeze Garden Light.
Step 5: Slice old wires & remove garden light switch.
Step 6: Remove old wires from Solar Panel & replace with first PH2.0 pigtail.
Step 7: Remove old wires from battery holder & replace with second PH2.0 pigtail.
Step 8: Solder final PH2.0 Pigtail to the LoRa Module.
Step 9: Snap the solar panel housing into the People’s Repeater Hub.
Step 10: Secure antenna cable to the LoRa Module.
DISCLAIMER: Ensure that your antenna is connected to your LoRa module before the next step.
Step 11: Plug all three PH2.0 pigtails into Solar Charge Controller.
Step 12: Flash the People’s Repeater with Meshcore or Meshtastic software.
Step 13: Test the People's Repeater & seal all components inside solar panel housing.

Time to complete project: 30-60 minutes (if you have all your parts and tools ready to go)

Weatherproofness

This is a DIY weather-resistant design, not a certified waterproof enclosure. In testing, ASA printed with 5+ walls and 30%+ infill has been highly weather resistant, even without the acrylic clear coat. I've made or helped others make over a dozen of these repeaters, and none of them have had issues with water infiltration so far. That said, clear coat or another sealant may help improve long-term outdoor durability.

A Comment on Jank: I created this before learning CAD. This is a Frankenstein's monster of a bunch of simpler, discrete parts, assembled in my slicer. All the edges and corners are not perfectly smooth. The parts are, however, solid and weather resistant. If someone makes a better, cleaner version, then great!