Hacking_and_Penetration_Testing_with_Low_Power_Devices
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102 CHAPTER 5 <strong>Power</strong>ing The Deck<br />
SOLAR POWER<br />
Solar power can be used to provide all required electricity for an exterior drone or to<br />
extend the run time. Either way, a rechargeable battery will be needed to run the drone<br />
during the dark hours. Solar cell packages outputting 6 V are readily available. Adafruit<br />
offers 6 V solar panels delivering 330, 530, 600, <strong>and</strong> 930 mA (http://www.adafruit.<br />
com/category/67). In terms of size, these panels range from 5.44.4 to 8.626.87 in.<br />
Even if you are performing penetration tests in Alaska, sunlight will not be available<br />
at all times. For our calculations, we will assume sunlight is available 40% of the<br />
time <strong>and</strong> a 5000 mA h 6 V rechargeable battery is used. After a little algebra, the run<br />
time is simply equal to (battery capacity)/((average current required)–(sunlight<br />
percentage) (solar panel current output)). Negative run times indicate that the<br />
drone can be run indefinitely. Run times are shown in Table 5.4 for each of the four<br />
solar panels sold by Adafruit.<br />
MATH IS FUN<br />
Calculating Solar Run Times<br />
Generally speaking, the run time (t) is equal to the available current capacity (s) divided by the average<br />
rate of current flow (r):<br />
t ¼ s=r<br />
Solar power adds the complication that the current capacity increases when the solar panels are<br />
converting sunlight into electricity. As a result, s is no longer a simple constant but a value that<br />
depends on the run time t. Calling this new value s 0 , the percentage of sunlight p, <strong>and</strong> the current<br />
capacity of the solar panel c:<br />
s 0 ¼ s + pct<br />
Substituting into our original formula for t:<br />
t ¼ s 0 =r ¼ ðs + pctÞ=r<br />
Rearranging to get all terms involving t on the same side of the equation:<br />
Dividing by (1–pc/r):<br />
tð1<br />
pc=rÞ¼s=r<br />
t ¼ ðs=rÞ= ð1 pc=rÞ<br />
Multiplying the right-h<strong>and</strong> side by r/r to simplify:<br />
t ¼ s= ðr<br />
pcÞ<br />
Table 5.4 Run Times For Solar <strong>Power</strong>ed Drones With 40% Sunlight <strong>and</strong> 5 A h<br />
Storage Battery<br />
Solar Panel Output (mA) Run Time at 220 mA (h) Run Time at 280 mA (h)<br />
330 57 34<br />
530 625 74<br />
600 Indefinite 125<br />
930 Indefinite Indefinite