This past summer, thunderstorms interrupted our rural electric service several times for several hours at a time. If we are out of electric for only a few hours, it can be an enjoyable recess from the distractions of life. However, when you have mission-critical electrical needs, a power outage becomes less enjoyable.

Most of the gear that I wanted to stay online (fiber modem, router, weather station) were already on UPS units, though through many of the extended outages these devices eventually went down. My brother Michael's hobby at the time was hatching and raising bobwhite quail, and his incubator had to stay up to temperature if the quail inside were to live. If the power remained out for more than an hour, we had to break out the gasoline generator. Hauling the generator out of the shed, filling it up, running extension cords, and hoping you can get it to start is not enjoyable, especially at 3 AM in the middle of a storm.

After this happened several times, I started researching this project. It turned out, Michael had already considered building his own power box before. He was able to point me to Ice Hole Power, who has many videos testing batteries and assembling power boxes. Ice Hole Power's videos were crucial in explaining the ins-and-outs of lithium batteries and power box construction.

Unlike many basic power box builds, I used a large LiFePO4 battery with an inverter in order to provide power to 120 V devices for an extended period of time. This build is not inexpensive, but it is built to last. The Power Queen battery I chose is rated for 4000+ full discharge/charge cycles, so even if you drain the battery fifty times a year, it could theoretically last your entire lifetime.

_{^{Links above are Amazon affiliate links}}

The battery is at the core of any power box, but it can be pretty intimidating to research. First, there is the difference in battery chemistry. It may be tempting to resort to a cheaper solid lead acid (SLA) battery. An SLA battery with a similar capacity can be over 2.5x cheaper than their lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) counterparts. I decided to stick with LiFePO4 because they are substantially lighter, have a long lifespan, and a greater usable capacity.

Power Queen has never paid me a dime, but their comparison graphic compares the two battery chemistries well.

To determine the runtime of the different battery capacities, just use this simple equation.

(battery capacity in Wh) = VI * (time in hours)

To determine the runtime of a 1.5 A load at 120 V AC on my 1280 Wh battery, neglecting any losses in the inverter:

1280 Wh = (120V)(1.5A) * (time in hours)
(1280 Wh)/((120V)(1.5A)) = 7.1 hours

Or to determine the runtime of a 1.5 A load at 12 V DC:

1280 Wh = (12V)(1.5A) * (time in hours)
(1280 Wh)/((12V)(1.5A)) = 71.1 hours

Once you've settled on the LiFePO4 chemistry and capacity, you'll need to settle on a model. There are many different batteries on Amazon, but they are not all made equally! Before you buy a battery, be sure to check out the Ice Hole Power teardown to make sure its safety features work and its capacity matches the label on the battery. Below is the teardown he did of the Power Queen battery that I purchased.

If you won't need to run any AC devices, you won't need an inverter and can skip this step.

There are a few factors you'll need to consider when choosing the inverter. First, you may be tempted to buy any cheap inverter on Amazon. These cheaper devices tend to be modified sine wave inverters, which produce alternating current (AC) using a square waves and thus supply "dirtier" power.

This Renogy graphic (not a paid endorsement) from the product description of the unit I purchased provides a useful visual comparison.

This "dirty" power may work fine for your purposes, but it is hard on many electronics, especially those with AC motors (refrigerators, microwaves) or other devices with sensitive circuitry (including TV's, CPAP machines, and more).

For this reason, I opted for the pure sine wave inverter. Running a refrigerator or freezer during an extended outage or running a TV outdoors somewhere were two situations I wanted to be prepared for. The pure sine wave inverter was over 2.5x more expensive that its modified sine wave counterpart, but I didn't want to risk damaging anything.

You'll also need to consider how much power you may want to pull from the inverter at a time. With the 1000 W inverter I purchased, I won't be able to run a full size refrigerator, heavy power tools, or other power hungry devices. I considered buying a larger 2000 W unit, but the 2000 W unit was so large that it wasn't going to fit in my box and it would have further reduced portability.

The box I used was purchased on a whim at our local Rural King store. While it does perfectly fit all of the gear I wanted to include, it does have drawbacks. First off, it with all of the components inside and the one handle it has, it isn't super portable. It is quite heavy and is a little awkward to lug around. Looking back, I wish I would have found a box with two handles on the side, or maybe even wheels. I'm also not a big fan of the "stackable toolbox" design, which gives it extra indentions that use up valuable space on the walls and inside the box. If I opted for a larger inverter and needed a larger box, I would definitely want wheels on the box.

My box's first use was on a weekend houseboat trip on Dale Hollow Lake. I was a little worried about waterproofing, as this toolbox is not water resistant, but water didn't cause any issues. It was used for lighting, to power a portable air pump in order to inflate tubes, and to recharge a Milwaukee radio and phones, all of which it excelled at. If you are considering buying a waterproof box, remember that the inverter does need airflow for cooling. I haven't put the inverter under sustained, heavy loads yet, but when I do I will likely open the box to allow the cooling fans to do their job.

With a battery as large as the one I chose, the average 1 A battery charger would be very slow at fully recharging a battery. Aside from the charging current, you will need to make sure the charger supports your battery's chemistry (in this case, LiFePO4). The Noco 5 A charger was sufficient for my needs and was especially helpful once when my car battery was completely dead and needed nursed back to life.

I hope this overview was helpful and can guide you when building a power box of your own! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

It's 2021, and excellent rural internet is not as hard to come by as it was just a few months ago.

As a tech enthusiast living in small (and I mean small) town America, solid internet has always been something I've searched for. My family went from AOL dial-up, to a Verizon Jetpack, to Exede Satellite. All of these were huge improvements in their time, but they just don't cut it today.

Fiber Optic

This is a no-brainer if available to you. Fiber internet is the best of the best, and comes with very low latency and screaming fast speed.

Several years ago when Verizon decided to build a cell tower in my small town of around 120, the local ISP (ETC) promised to run fiber optic connectivity to everyone in town if we could reach a customer goal. I spent several days riding my bike around town, convincing neighbors to get on ETC's waiting list, and luckily it paid off. This was especially crucial during this crazy past year. Now we have the luxury of living in the country and the luxury of an affordable big city connection (200Mbps Upload, 200Mbps Download, 4ms Ping).

Even if you don't have a friendly local ISP, many electric cooperatives (REMCs) have begun rolling out fiber optic connections to their members. In southeastern Indiana, Jackson County REMC already has some of its members connected and Southeastern Indiana REMC plans to begin rolling fiber out soon.

Fixed Wireless

Major Networks

T-Mobile's purchase of competitor Sprint along with the rollout of 5G has allowed them to provide their own home internet service, which I have to say is quite impressive. T-Mobile already has far more 5G coverage than Verizon, so don't rule them out as an option if you feel you are too remote.

Their plan is simple: $50/mo (includes taxes and fees) gets you truly unlimited internet with no contract. Truly unlimited means there are no data caps, so you won't be slowed down partway through the month. As with most wireless services, there is no guaranteed speed but their goal is to provide at least 25Mbps down. In practice, I have seen it achieve download speeds of 57 Mbps and 191 Mbps.

If fiber isn't available to you, T-Mobile Home Internet is an excellent option.

AT&T and Verizon both offer home internet service as well. They are both more expensive* and AT&Ts service is restricted by data caps. These carriers also love contracts, so if you go that route I hope it works well for you.

Also, before you sign any contracts, check the Indiana Broadband Map to see if fiber may be coming your way soon. SEI Communications appears to have something in the works for parts of Ripley and Jennings Counties.

*^{Verizon's Home Internet service is cheaper if you use Verizon for your cell phones, but if you are paying Verizon for cell service you probably aren't looking for a deal. Check out Visible or Ting if you want to use Verizon's network for less.}

Local Wireless

Several local companies have come about that offer wireless internet in the area, including UnlimitedNet (in parts of Bartholomew and Decatur Counties) and AirWave Networks (in parts of Ripley and Jennings Counties). These providers do not impose data caps and provide local service and support, something you just can't get from the major carriers. If you are within their service area, they would make for a solid choice.

Satellite

Satellite internet has been terrible for a long time, but SpaceX has been working to change that with Starlink. Starlink is still in beta, but claims to provide 50 to 150 Mbps and 20ms ping connections, which is very impressive from a satellite provider. They expect speeds and latency to improve in the future.

When I put my address in (Millhousen, IN), it says they plan to start offering service in mid to late 2021.

If you sign up, you will need to pay for their equipment, which will cost you $500. The service itself will cost you $100/mo. While this is no deal, if satellite is your only option this is the best it is going to get until something better comes along.

Goal: Track local air traffic with a Raspberry Pi and a pop can antenna

Time Needed: a couple of hours

Now you all are probably wondering, why in the world would I want to do this? There are a couple of (admittedly mediocre) reasons.

It’s really neat to be able to see all of the details of the planes in the sky flying over. Everything from the flight number to the direction and speed to altitude and geolocation is all displayed with a map in a tidy web interface. It also then reports all of your collected data to the FlightAware website, where you can see where you will be granted a free premium subscription and be able to see statistics on your receiver.

I enjoy tinkering with electronics and have a fascination with radio signals. So tracking airplanes from a soda pop can on a chicken coop at my house? A no-brainer! My grandpa owns a personal plane, which makes this really cool because I can track all of the details of his flight.

We are going to create our own antenna out of an extra coax cable and a pop can that is built specifically for ADS-B. You could purchase an ordinary RTL-SDR receiver and antenna, but you will not be able to see near as many planes. I have not tried the “Official” FlightAware Antenna, but if you are willing to fork over the extra $50, it may be worth it.

The cantenna design was created by abcd567.

You want your setup to be in a location as high off of the ground and as far away from obstructions as possible, as these signals are line-of-sight. If there is a tree or house in the way in one direction, you won’t be able to see many planes in that direction.

If you will be placing your setup near your router, you may not need the WiFi adapter I used and could use an Ethernet cable. I’m using the adapter because my setup is in another building about 130 feet away from my router, and it performs terrifically!

What We’ll Need

• Drill
• 5⁄8” Spade Bit
• Zip Ties

Step 1: Create the Antenna

Cut the Can

First, we’ve got to cut our can 69 mm from the bottom. (see diagram above) I found it easiest to mark the cut with sharpie, jab a knife on the line, and use a scissors to cut around.

Then we need to cut a hole in the bottom of the can, big enough to fit one end of the F to F Coax Coupler through, but not too big so we can still fasten the washer and nut to keep the coupler in the can.

Insert the F-F Coupler

Now put one end of the F-F coupler into the hole you cut in the bottom of the can, screw on and tighten the nut to fasten it to the can.

Strip Coax for the Copper Whip

Now we need to strip the extra coax (not the good cabling we purchased). Any extra RG6 you have laying around the house will work. Use whatever you can to do this, as I could not find a great way to go about it.

1. Cut about 4” of coax off of one end of the cable you found.
2. Remove the outer black coating and the metal shield layers. Leave the clear coating on the wire.
3. Now strip away just enough of the clear coating on one end of the wire to fit all of the way into the coupler.
4. Put the wire in the coupler and cut it to be exactly 69mm from where it comes out of the coupler.

Create the Enclosure

Make sure your peanut butter jar is all cleaned out and you remove the label so we can weatherproof this thing!

Using your 5⁄8” spade bit, cut a hole into the lid of the jar.

Now we need to insert one end of our good RG6 coax into the lid of the jar and screw into the F-F coupler that is inside of the can.

The RG6 coax you buy should be enough to reach from the antenna to a dry location that you will store the brains in. Too much coax will cause signal loss. I used a 4ft cable

I also suggest taping the can onto the lid of the jar so that it doesn’t tip in the jar and bend your copper whip. Don’t use hot glue because you may need to do some cleaning or other maintenance later on.

Step 2: Make the Brains

These are all of the pieces that will need to stay in a dry location.

Connect the Electronics

1. Put the Pi in its case.
2. Connect the SMA Male to F Female Adapter to the FlightAware dongle. The dongle converts the signals that the Raspberry Pi will understand.
3. Connect the dongle to the USB extension cable. This will allow room to plug in the WiFi adapter.

Software

Now for the software side of things. There are two ways to go about this. If you’re using the WiFi adapter listed above, we will use an Ubuntu Server installation because we’ll have to install the drivers for the adapter. If you are using Ethernet, or a adapter known to work with the Raspberry Pi well, use PiAware, an image created by FlightAware.

Ubuntu Server

You’ll want to set up Ubuntu without the FlightAware stick plugged in. Only plug in the TP-Link dongle and power. There is a great article on setting up Ubuntu headlessly by Claudio Carnino on Medium.

Before you do “Step 4: Going wireless” in his guide, install the TP-Link drivers (8192eu) using the following commands.

sudo wget http://www.fars-robotics.net/install-wifi -O /usr/bin/install-wifi sudo install-wifi

Then, to install the application that decodes the signals and displays and reports the data, follow the instructions on the FlightAware website.

PiAware

Instructions to install the pre-configured PiAware software can be found on the FlightAware website.

Once you have all the software set up, let’s test our configuration! Plug in the WiFi adapter, FlightAware stick, and power and make sure everything works by visiting your device’s web interface. It should be located at http://YOUR.DEVICE.IP:8080/. If you don’t know the IP of your Pi, the Fing app can scan your network and find the IP for you.

Step 3: Relocate

Now that you know everything works, you can take the parts to where the device will stay. My antenna is zip-tied to a steel pole that my weather station is on.

My coax cable then runs into my chicken coop where I have the “brains” in a Ziplock container to protect them from all of the dust in there.

Don’t forget to leave a “drip-loop” in the coax cable if it is outdoors, as this keeps the rain from running inside your dry location and ruining the Pi.

If you are curious on how many planes my setup brings in, here are my stats and map.