Post #1081752

2026-04-10 21:52 UTC

Thinking about repurposing old phones as servers. Would it be possible to add an extremely low power pcb which switches USB power on/of? So by discharging them regularly the OG phone batteries keep on working safely? This would allow phones to charge during the day on solar &amp; using the battery at night. #DIY #SelfHosting #Recycle #OpenSource #OpenHardware #Safety #SolarPunk

Replies (6)

@rogerweissenbrunner@mastodon.social 2026-04-10 22:01

@BjornW that's actually very doable. I'm an amateur radio operator and have my VHF/UHF station working like this. Mind you that non-handy amateur radio equipments work on 13.8V and I have to read the information directly from the battery instead of reading the current USB power draw.

Open ##1995785
@dasrecht@chaos.social 2026-04-10 22:12

@BjornW even a zigbee usb socket would do :)

Open ##1995788
@windigo@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-04-10 23:03

@BjornW https://widget.uk/@TindieBot/116352955273650002 ?

Open ##1995791
@chris@hallo.ween.de 2026-04-11 09:03

@BjornW did you hear about the #postmarketos hardware-ci project?

Open ##1995794
@pocketvj@fosstodon.org 2026-04-11 17:27

@BjornW if you use sdm845 phones, direct solar charging has some issues... when there is a quick voltage drop, the charging driver stays on the lowest value... but maybe you are the one fixing this annoying driver issue😉

Open ##1995797
@frox@tooting.ch 2026-04-11 22:05

@BjornW another approach is setting a charge limit. Lithium ion doesn't like sitting at 100% all the time, but sitting at 80% is another story

Open ##1995799