This post is a follow-up to our previous blog, which discussed the parts and steps to build a WLAN Pi R4 that you can use as a Wi-Fi 6E remote sensor for WiFi Explorer Pro 3 and Airtool 2.
In this short blog post, we will show you how to add an external power source to your WLAN Pi R4 to make it fully portable. A portable WLAN Pi R4 is an excellent way of using the built-in scanner and profiler apps, the hotspot mode, and other WLAN Pi functions on the go.
To add an external power source to your WLAN Pi R4, you will need the following parts:
- Anker 521 magnetic battery [Amazon]
- Slim magnetic plate for MagSafe chargers [Amazon, BadgerWiFi]
- Ultra-short USB cable (optional) [Amazon]
- 90-degree USB male-to-female coupler (optional) [Amazon]
Take the magnetic plate, peel off the adhesive, and attach it to the aluminum case using the correct orientation. The top of the ring must be aligned with the case’s edge (on the side that has the USB and Ethernet ports) to ensure the battery and the case stick together nicely (the battery shares the same length and width dimensions as the case).
Next, attach the battery to the magnetic plate and connect it to the WLAN Pi R4 using a USB-C cable. If you use the suggested ultra-short USB-C cable, make a small loop to make the whole unit as compact as possible.
And there you have it, a portable WLAN Pi R4. The optional 90-degree USB coupler allows us to connect the Comfast USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter [AliExpress, BadgerWiFi] vertically, which is a nice touch.
Remember that if you want to access the WLAN Pi R4 as a remote sensor from WiFi Explorer Pro 3 or Airtool 2 while using the battery, you will need to connect the WLAN Pi R4 to your Mac using an Ethernet cable.
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Very nice!
Will definitely copy your setup 😁
how long does the wlan pi last on that amazon battery pack ?
My WLAN PI R4 does not seem to see the Comfast CF-951 adapter anymore while testing the adapter on Windows laptop, the adapter works fine. Any idea what I can do to get this again up& running. After upgrade of WLAN PI R4 from 3.1.2 to 3.1.3, it doesn’t work anymore. Fallback to 3.1.2 doe snot help neither.
How are you powering the R4? From OTG, USB-C charger? Have you tried connecting the adapter into a different USB port? In particular, have you tried connecting the adapter to the USB 2.0 port (the non-blue one)? If the problem contnues, please access the R4 over SSH and email me the output of “lsusb -v”, “dmesg”, and “iwconfig”.
Just in case anyone was curious. I got around 5 1/2 hours of use from this setup.