Ive had a number of these devices. And the number 1 thing that fails is the battery. It might also be where I am at. We have 110+F days that cause spicy pillows or failures after a year or so.
So I was wondering, is there a way to make a “daytime only” node that turns on where theres enough sunlight to power the thing, and then turns off where there is not enough sunlight?
I figure I could just get a 5V solar panel and hook it up directly to one of the nodes. I’m just nervous that it will under voltage the device over the long run if that makes sense.
So, I design battery packs for a living. 115F ambient operating conditions are doable assuming you dont add solar loading. Can you paint your enclosures white? Or cover them? A high quality 18650 will operate fine up to 50C especially with a very light load and a low charging current. Do you have more details on your setup, chipset and average load?