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Got myself a starlink, Lightning ⚡ Internet AP?
3338 sats \ 10 comments \ @fedelang 13 Aug 2023 bitcoin
During Summer time in Patagonia we like to enjoy going to the lake. Problem is there is the need for connectivity. I just solved getting myself a starlink dish.
Now I want to get a lightning paywall captive portal in order to get ppl the chance to connect only if they manage to send a low amount of SATs.
Any suggestions on how this could work? I am kinda looking for a DIY guide. I bought the ethernet adapter and I am going to get my hands on a solar panel, sine inverter and lithium battery set.
Guess the trick is to allow for lightning wallet app download and a faucet or easy way to get SATs.
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66 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullama 13 Aug 2023
Here is a template to have the paying part ready to go
#72864
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100 sats \ 2 replies \ @sgornick 14 Aug 2023
Isn't it winter in Patagonia right now?
I am going to get my hands on a solar panel, sine inverter and lithium battery set.
The Starlink is a power hog. Plugging the Starlink router into A/C sucks even more power than the Starlink uses because of the loss from using the inverter when converting from DC.
There are a couple of devices for that ... Boondockers (Canada) and Dishy Powa (New Zealand). But those only work for the Starlink rectangular dish (which is what is sold with the Starlink Standard subscription) and they will not work with the High Performance dishes (Starlink "square", and Starlink "flat").
Otherwise, you are likely to not be able to operate late into the evening / night, due to the battery becoming drained.
Unless you are only looking for solar as a way to just cut power cost (and have access to utility / mains), you may want to look into these -- though they are essentially bleeding edge, so maybe start out with the inverter and see if power is a significant problem for you.
As far as sharing bandwidth from Starlink, assuming Starlink's terms of service permit that, without implementing proper "throttling" technology you will likely have tiktok and youtube watchers consuming all the bandwidth, and the service you provide will become terrible for everyone.
But it's been a decade now since the first "bitcoin-enabled hotspot" discussions began: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=7998.0
And then adding LN payments to the mix makes things a bit more complicated even. Here's an approach for some software that was offered for re-selling from an Android's mobile data connection:
https://github.com/araspitzu/btc-hotspot https://www.peplink.com/products/max-adapter This product has custom captive portal with a radius integration. So basically we just need to build a public captive portal that takes payments with LN and allow the user access.
https://t.me/s/kriptodecom/1512
In my app, I allow them access for the first minute or so and they can complete payment. Obviously you need to track it so it's not abused.
https://t.me/s/kriptodecom/1518
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Some related posts here on SN, the first by @bradmillscan
We need a real decentralized mesh network for censorship resistant Bitcoin usage #49841 https://twitter.com/bradmillscan/status/1551951097375358976 [Nitter]
Okay guys. Hear me out. Helium network, but with lightning. #26106
Making Bitcoin Unstoppable Part One: Mesh Nets #47911 https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/making-bitcoin-unstoppable-part-one-mesh-nets
Reticulum: Self-configuring, encrypted and resilient mesh for LoRa, packet radio, WiFi and everything in between #17325 https://github.com/markqvist/Reticulum
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29 sats \ 0 replies \ @037447d9ca 14 Aug 2023
nice summary. don't forget about althea.net
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29 sats \ 0 replies \ @_arshbot 14 Aug 2023
The Starlink is a power hog. Plugging the Starlink router into A/C sucks even more power than the Starlink uses because of the loss from using the inverter when converting from DC.
Yea… no. Built my own camper, paid meticulous attention to A/C usage vs all other usages (inc Starlink). The RV Starlink at least uses around 100W during heavy usage (hd video streaming). My A/C? 1400W. There is an efficiency loss with an inverter but it’s negligible at these wattages.
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25 sats \ 0 replies \ @kristapsk 13 Aug 2023
For pure paywall checkout page maybe SatSale could work (or BTCPay Server, but that's more complicated to set up).
https://github.com/SatSale/SatSale
There is example code of wooCommerce integration.
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14 sats \ 0 replies \ @l0k18 13 Aug 2023
I would say you want to have a caching proxy set up on the delivery of all necessary content associated with downloading several popular LN wallets for the several platforms (iOS/Android/Mac/Linux/Windows).
Not really an easy way to get around the gating of the walled gardens on iOS, what's the deal with side loading on iOS anyway? Possible? You can always offer to help them with supervised initial full access to get on the App Store or whatever. Also, sideloading on Android might be a little problematic for some people, but it's usually just a popup asking if you want to enable "untrusted sources".
Or you could have it so that they are informed of a time limit and a platform-detecting page generates a link to click through to the platform download and then after 5 minutes of free access if they haven't paid they stop having their traffic forward over the link.
There also might be some way for you to "share" your "authorized" app installation package to your customers directly, again, I know jack diddly about apple, but that will be the most irritating problem you will encounter in all this.
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214 sats \ 1 reply \ @kdnolan 14 Aug 2023
cool idea... I've got one in my classroom - would be cool to do something similar
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5 sats \ 0 replies \ @cyberpunk02 27 Jan
the coolest!
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25 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 13 Aug 2023
Many WiFi routers allow you to have "guest" WiFi that first shows some webpage. You can add lightning button to that webpage.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Kathleen_Croteau 14 Feb
Here's a DIY guide with potential solutions to help you set up a Lightning paywall captive portal for your Patagonian lake adventures:
Hardware:
  • Starlink Dish & Ethernet Adapter: You've got this covered!
  • Solar Panel, Sine Inverter, Lithium Battery: Ensure these have enough capacity to continuously power your router and a device running the captive portal software.
  • Router: A basic Wi-Fi router for broadcasting your access point.
  • Device to Host Captive Portal: This could be an old laptop, a Raspberry Pi, or a dedicated small form-factor computer.
Software:
Here are several potential options for your paywall system:
  • btc-hotspot (https://medium.com/@a.raspitzu/decentralizing-the-hotspot-market-introducing-btc-hotspot-9ccfd6156083): A self-contained solution providing captive portal and Lightning Network features.
  • Lightning Wi-Fi FAS (https://github.com/bhavman2/fas-frontend): A popular solution specifically designed for Wi-Fi paywalls powered by the Lightning Network.
  • Custom Solution: If you're comfortable with programming, you can create a captive portal system using Python/Flask or Node.js. You'll need to integrate a Lightning Network library like LND to handle payments.
Lightning Node:
  • Before users can pay, you'll need a way to receive payments. For maximum uptime, consider a hosted node service like Voltage or LNBits. These often have easy interfaces to generate invoices. A self-hosted option on your captive portal device is possible, but more complex for intermittent connectivity.
Onboarding New Users:
This is your biggest challenge for adoption. Here's how to overcome it:
  • Education: Simple instructions at your lake spot on how to download a Lightning wallet (consider BlueWallet, Muun, or Phoenix as beginner-friendly options).
  • Lightning Faucet: Consider setting up a small faucet dispensing enough SATs (fractions of a Bitcoin) to pay for initial connectivity.
  • QR Codes: Provide easy-to-scan QR codes to download wallets and your node's invoice for faster connections.
DIY Guide (General Outline):
  1. Power Setup:
    • Connect your solar panels, inverter, and battery to create a consistent power source.
  2. Network Setup
    • Connect your Starlink dish to the router with the Ethernet adapter.
    • Connect your captive portal device (laptop, Raspberry Pi) to the router.
  3. Captive Portal Installation:
    • Choose a captive portal solution and install it on your device. Configure the desired time duration users get access for after a successful Lightning payment.
  4. Lightning Integration:
    • Set up a Lightning node or integrate your external node with the captive portal to generate invoices and receive payments.
  5. Onboarding:
    • Create clear instructions and provide QR codes for wallet downloads and faucets, as needed.
Additional Considerations:
  • Weatherproofing: Protect your system's components from the elements.
  • Connectivity Range: Choose your setup location and router based on desired coverage area.
  • Security: Take basic precautions for passwords and device access to protect your Lightning node and payments.
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