I designed the electronics and firmware for the solar-powered NETT SOLAR SP-201 satellite vessel-monitoring device — an autonomous telemetry node that has operated in the field for over six years without battery service.
Attribution. I designed the electronics, firmware and technical architecture. Consorcio Nettel holds the regulatory qualification for the device and the service. DIRNEA's published authorized-provider list includes Nettel and the SP-201.
A fishing vessel at sea has no cellular coverage, no mains power and no technician. Monitoring it means putting an electronic device on a salt-saturated, vibrating, sun-exposed platform and expecting it to report position for years without anyone touching it. Every maintenance visit to a vessel costs money and vessel downtime, so a device that needs its battery replaced annually is a device that quietly stops being used.
The engineering problem is therefore not "how do I transmit a position." It is "how do I transmit a position roughly 35,000 times a year on the energy a 1 W solar panel can actually harvest under real marine conditions."
Energy autonomy removes battery-service visits, the dominant lifetime cost of a marine telemetry device.
Continuous position reporting supports vessel traceability and maritime reporting obligations.
Payload optimization and edge decision logic reduce billable satellite traffic per unit.
The platform feeds maritime monitoring infrastructure rather than a standalone dashboard.
Generic block diagram produced for this portfolio. It does not represent protected network architecture, addressing or internal integration detail.
| Parameter | Value | Conditions & basis |
|---|---|---|
| Field operation without battery service | 6+ years | Devices field-active on solar energy harvesting Measured |
| Transmissions per unit per year | ~35,000 | 15-minute reporting interval Measured |
| Harvesting budget | ~1 W | Mini solar panel, real marine exposure Measured |
| Peak current budget | 100 mA | Design constraint for the transmit window Measured |
| Satellite data cost reduction | up to 85% | Edge processing and payload optimization before transmission Estimated |
Figures are based on internal operational records and engineering estimates. Confidential client information, vessel identifiers and live positions are excluded.
| Positioning | GNSS position acquisition. |
|---|---|
| Communications | Satellite uplink for areas without terrestrial coverage. |
| Power | Autonomous solar operation with energy harvesting and storage management. |
| Reporting | Vessel traceability and reporting. |
| Integration | Integration with maritime monitoring infrastructure. |
The device is built around a strict energy budget rather than around a processor. A Microchip PIC MCU was selected for its ultra-low quiescent draw, paired with a custom power-management stage that harvests from a 1 W panel and holds enough charge to open a satellite transmit window without collapsing the rail.
| Processor | Microchip PIC MCU, ultra-low-power series. |
|---|---|
| Positioning | GNSS receiver duty-cycled against the reporting interval. |
| Uplink | Globalstar Simplex satellite transceiver. |
| Power | 1 W mini solar panel, custom PMIC stage, energy storage sized for the transmit window and for night and overcast operation. |
| Enclosure | Rugged marine-exposure housing. |
| Backend | PostgreSQL ingestion with historical traceability. |
Schematics, PCB manufacturing files, bills of materials, firmware source and credentials are protected and are not published.
| Satellite, not cellular | Vessels operate beyond terrestrial coverage, so the link is not a choice. Accepting satellite means accepting per-message cost and a small payload — which is precisely what forces every other decision on this device. |
|---|---|
| Reporting frequency versus energy | A 15-minute interval is the point where traceability stays operationally useful and the harvested energy still closes the budget. Shorter intervals were achievable in bench conditions but not survivable across consecutive overcast days. |
| Payload optimization on the edge | Compressing and filtering on-device before transmit is what produces the satellite-cost reduction. The trade is firmware complexity and less raw data available for post-hoc analysis. |
| Solar autonomy over battery capacity | A larger primary battery is simpler and cheaper to build. It also guarantees a field visit. Harvesting shifts cost from operations to engineering — the right direction when devices sit on vessels. |
| Engineering status | Field-proven · 6+ years zero battery maintenance |
|---|---|
| Device | NETT SOLAR SP-201. |
| Qualified provider | DIRNEA's published authorized-provider list includes Nettel and the SP-201. |
| Scope | Vessels below and above 20 gross register tons operating in maritime area A1. |
Read this precisely. Ecuador's fisheries law establishes satellite-monitoring requirements for applicable vessel categories, and DIRNEA regulates authorized providers, devices and integration. This page does not claim that every vessel in Ecuadorian waters is required to contract Nettel specifically.
These are publicly published sources. Vessel identifiers, live positions and route data are never published.