This probably ought to go the the Routerboard forum but the readership there is very low and in any case my login does not work for some reason…
Having recently squeaked through another winter solstice w/ our various solar powered systems, I want to extend thanks to MT for for the RB532 w/its ability to run off a nominal 12.6v PS even while supporting multiple wireless cards.
In places where we have RB230 boards deployed we run 12-48v DC-DC converters. Over the course of 24 hours the overhead from these converters consumes a pretty large number of watt-hours, enough to have an impact on sizing of batteries and PV panels (straight 48v is a possible arrangement but drives up PV system complexity and cost making it a toss-up which way to go, particularly when 12v components are on site).
On the other hand, where we’re running RB532 units (including those equipped w/2 SRx cards + 2 CM9) we find the boards function flawlessly even down to the point where the power supply has been interrupted by the charge controller LV disconnect (11.5v in our rather conservative arrangement). Although we had questions about whether these boards would be stable in this configuration we’ve been extremely pleased with the results.
The RB532s are also have a baseline consumption less than the 230, another help in itself. All in all these boards have been a boon to our system.
It would be terrific if the RB1xx boards were able to run over the same range but it’s probably a little too late to incorporate that suggestion.