Foundation Projects

Telemetering the telltale signs of power issues of wireless Internet relays

Rural Broadband - AirJaldi

The TellTale project was conceived with aim of addressing the problem of measurement and projection of the power uptime duration of wireless Internet relays. In rural areas and in areas where such projections are not available, operators often fail to address downtimes in a timely manner, thereby increasing the number and duration of downtimes and/or fail to project the power needs of a relay properly. These issues have direct adverse economic consequences for both providers and users

In line with this, the project objectives were to:

  1. Identify an affordable and replicable sensor+SBC+ Internet uplink power charge and discharge module
  2. Create a cloud-based, machine-learning supported, data ingestion, storage, data prep, analysis and reporting system.
  3. Develop an easy-to-use reporting and alert system with PC and mobile applications (Android)
  4. Measure and report on the cost-saving and improved uptime impact of the project
  5. Disseminate the project findings and share the systems design
  6. Create a paid support system for interested parties.

The project has achieved most of its objectives. An AirJaldi “TellTale” system, capable of measuring battery voltage and generating indicators and alerts based on the its change over time, has been built, demonstrated and is ready for distribution and sharing. At a device cost of around US $20 (hardware components) the system is affordable, as are the software packages and cloud hosting services required.

AirJaldi will offer TellTale using a Freemium model. Interested users can either download the source codes and manuals at no cost from Github (accessed directly or via our website and those of other partners), or choose one of various models of paid support offered by AirJaldi.
TellTale’s User Interface (UI) was designed to be clear and easy to use and update and is available in both computer and mobile version. An Android APK, offering a stripped-down version of the web UI with a focus on alerts, was also created and made available for users.

We plan to continue working on improving and enriching TellTale in the coming months and will share information and resources.

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