Mac mini on solar panel

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Level 4

1,663 points

Mac mini on solar panel

I've seen many posts regarding running a laptop on a solar panel, but none about running a Mac mini that way. Has anybody ever done that?

I want to mount a Mac mini and a Canon digital camera in a tight box atop a pole to make a time-lapse movie. Both devices would run on a solar panel through a rechargeable battery. I would control the Mac mini with VNC via a wireless connection.

* Any advice regarding sizes and sources for the solar panel, charger, battery, box ?
* What are the power requirements of the Mac mini ? (I don't have one yet to check)
* Any chance of finding a power cable (other than the one for the included AC power brick) to connect directly to the battery ?
* Alternatively, does anybody know a wireless webcam with at least 2 megapixels of resolution ?

Thanks
JL

G4 Quicksilver 733 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on May 27, 2007 8:24 AM

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Answer 1

May 27, 2007 1:28 PM in response to Recycleur

Hello! The current Mini specs show:
Electrical and environmental requirements

* Meets ENERGY STAR requirements
* Line voltage: 100-240V AC
* Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, single phase
* Maximum continuous power: 110W
* Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
* Storage temperature: -40° to 116° F (-40° to 47° C)
* Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
* Maximum altitude: 10,000 feet
You may want to consider a camera such as THIS one. You might also want to consider solar panels from THIS COMPANY.
Besides the solar panels you'll need a good power inverter and ample battery to provide continuous power. I presume that money will be no object as I can easily see this project spending several thousands of dollars to do what you seem to be intending. Tom

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Answer 2

PPMo

Level 2

235 points

May 27, 2007 2:51 PM in response to Recycleur

If the tight box is in range of a wireless network, why don't you mount just a wireless network camera in the box and have it streaming to a mini (or any computer) on same network that you can just have set up inside? This reduces the size of the box and the power consumption off the solar panel, not to mention the complexity of the setup in general.

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Answer 3

Recycleur Author

Level 4

1,663 points

May 27, 2007 6:18 PM in response to PPMo

Thanks so far for the replies.

Thomas, the only spec I really needed and that you didn't provide (and neither does Apple) is what are the DC voltage and current coming from the power brick that would be replaced by the solar charger. Does the power brick have some protection for the computer or two-way signaling with it, something the solar charger could be missing?

The camera will be mounted in my backyard to document the building of a house extension, so I don't need an expensive forest-proof camera. The estimate (hope) of my cost in CAN$ is (all for used material off eBay mostly): 400$ for a Mac mini, 60$ for a Canon A75 (which I already have), 75$ for a waterproof box with a window, 250-350$ for solar panels, charger and batteries. It might be expensive but I can reuse the material for other purposes afterwards, which would be difficult with a specialized camera. Also, the RECON camera you suggested doesn't seem to have wireless communication; I want to download the pictures on a regular basis without climbing that pole!

PPMo, yes a small wireless camera is also an alternative I would strongly consider, but I want better than TV resolution, at least 2 MP (or 1600 x 1200), and preferably a zoom which I could remote-control. Do you know one? It's sure I'd like to avoid putting the computer itself outside.

A third alternative is a WiFi to USB converter, similar to those Ethernet to USB port server. Does it exist? Maybe just a wireless switch with a USB port would do the trick? It would draw less power than a computer.

JL

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