AP Battery Powerpack
From Bob's Basement
Project Inception: Sunday 13th May 2007
Status: Working prototype
Project Leader: Bob Plonker
Project Members: None
Laptops are portable, their network infrastructure isn't.
If you want a network available while you and your friends/colleagues are working on laptops and regulary moving from site to site this is a problem. Wireless accesspoints or hubs/switches require power. The solution is to make the networking equipment as portable as the laptops.
The simplest piece of network equipment to battery power is the wireless accesspoint as they typically have an external transformer. This negates making a 240V battery pack out of a large number of individual cells, just for the voltage to be stepped back down within the networking device. Or manually modifying every piece of networking equipment to be used, bypassing their internal transformers.
When using a wireless AP with an external transformer you only need 3 pieces of information:
- The transformer output voltage which is usually printed on the transformer label
- The type of AP power transformer connector, pop down Maplins and try each one!
- The polarity of the connector, for the Linksys WRT54G this is on the socket
Next assembly your components shopping list, buy your components and build it. We successfully prototyped this at the Bobs Basement meet on [Sunday_13-05-07] Sunday 13th May 2007, To follow.
Looking forward
Different connectors, Maplins
Different cell technology, i.e. sealed lead acid
Charger

