Controlling devices in the van when in storage.

[GUMPY]

I have various bits of kit in the caravan that are controlled over bluetooth via apps on my phone. i.e. Battery charger, Solar charger, Li-on battery. The van is in storage 10 miles away so I can't just pop over and have a look.
Over the new year I decided that it would be good to check on these items remotely so I can ascertain how well the battery is charging in cold weather. As well as seeing how much battery is being used by alarm, tracker etc.
After much brain searching I came up with the idea of installing an old smartphone in the caravan and controlling it over 4g using TeamViewer as if I was actually there.
On the phone in the caravan I installed TeamViewer Host and universal add on. On my phone the main TeamViewer program.
This gives me full access to the remote phone as if I had it in front of me.
The only gremlin is you have to have physical access to the remote phone to aporove the first connection. After one connection you can connect/disconnect whenever you need remotely.
I happened to have an old phone and an old data SIM so it's been costless to set up.
At present the charger and battery are sitting in the workshop as I wanted to run a full test on it before install and it all works as expected.

Hope this idea may be of use to someone in the same situation.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Have you considered how you are going to keep the phone in the caravan charged?

 

[GUMPY]

Have you considered how you are going to keep the phone in the caravan charged?

it will be plugged into the external solar input in the battery box via a 12v-USB adapter. This is fused and connected direct to the battery so the rest of the van can be switched off.

In it's quiescent state it draws less than 0.005amp at 5v, when in use it draws about 0.25amp at 5v, solar should easily cover that.

An alternative would be to connect it to the output of the MPPT controller via a suitable fuse and 12v to USB adapter

 

[Mr Plodd]

Seems like a lot of effort! But in your position I might be tempted to something similar but..................

My 100w solar panel and bog standard (non MPPT) controller keeps my LB fully charged to 12.6v all year round (even during December when even my house solar panels struggled to oroduce much) and the caravan solar panel doesn't get direct sunlight in the winter because its shaded by the house. Having said that I don't have an alarm or tracker.

 

[GUMPY]

Its not really an effort just a bit of programming and plugging a few bits in. It's more effort to actually go there to do it 🤔

 

[Richard Avensis]

I wish I was clever ...

 

[ProfJohnL]

That s an idea for a product, you should market it.

 

[GUMPY]

I wish I was clever ...

Trust me I'm not clever.


The system is installed and has thrown up a few gremlins😱
I ended up supplying power from the load output of the MPPT as the external socket I thought was live all the time wasn't.
I have to bring the phone back as sometimes it's not connecting because I think it needs local input. It runs for a couple of days then nothing, it could be due to updates I will have to investigate.
Battery is fully charged and I have turned the MPPT controller off and will leave it off as the lifepo4 battery doesn't need float charge.
Once I have it running 100% might do some pics and full instructions if anyone wants them.

 

[GUMPY]

As an update to this I have ditched the phone and got an old Huawei T3 7" tablet with a SIM slot to replace the phone. It now doesn't need local input after a restart. TeamViewer Host now runs after a reboot using Start Up
I have also enabled location sharing on the caravan account so I get location info on my phone. 😉

 

[Mr Plodd]

Life's too short

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Life's too short

Agreed 🤔

 

[otherclive]

I thought Huawei equipment was now banned from critical national infrastructure 😂

 

[Anseo]

As an update to this I have ditched the phone and got an old Huawei T3 7" tablet with a SIM slot to replace the phone. It now doesn't need local input after a restart. TeamViewer Host now runs after a reboot using Start Up
I have also enabled location sharing on the caravan account so I get location info on my phone. 😉

Especially for those who store their caravan away from home, I think this is a great idea.

That it can be done for very little outlay is a rarity these days.

A clever use of an idea and resources 👏.

 

[GUMPY]

I thought Huawei equipment was now banned from critical national infrastructure 😂

What am I going to do half my equipment is Huawei 😱

 

[otherclive]

What am I going to do half my equipment is Huawei 😱

Adopt a Glaswegian /Govan dialect and those listening will think that your speech is being encrypted. 🤣

Good system though, glad it works.