[Solved] Easy PCB - current when sleeping
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Re: 💬 Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors
Hello
I'm building a gas meter sensor with easy pcb, with 3.3v / 8mhz arduino pro mini, a rfm69w (with an nrf2rfm adapter).
I remove led and voltage regulator on the arduino board.
The easy pcb is configured with battery booster and voltage divider (1mohm and 470kohm).
I use internal pullup to get read sensor of the gas meter (pin 3 used with interrupt)Everything is working fine, but when sleeping, my multimeter said 400uA.
In the main time, I have this board from aliexpress, and with the same sketch use 40uA (ten times less), with a voltage regulator included and 16mhz clock
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/33006101437.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1424881cHzQI0F&algo_pvid=16f38802-af52-43e2-a2d1-7e3c2a84733f&algo_expid=16f38802-af52-43e2-a2d1-7e3c2a84733f-0&btsid=2100bb5116098762728804034e5d33&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_Is it normal ? Is it Arduino pro mini that consume much more than the development board? is there a special way to investigate it ?
Thank you for your ideas and advice.
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You can try with the bear minimum, only the pro mini and the rfm69w feeded directly by 2x 1.5V AA batteries.
A booster and a voltage divider will consume power...See https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/4796/battery-powered-sensors/243
My minimum with a pro mini and a rfm69HW was 133µASee also https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/11499/checking-mechanical-locked-doors-by-a-battery-based-windows-door-sensor-node?_=1609880916266
To minimize the current with a closed contact, I did not use the internal pull-up resistor of the 329P (internal pullup resistor value around 30KOhm), but an external 1M ohm resistor. With closed contact and deep sleep, I have now around 136µA.See also at the end of the topic in the section 'references', you will find plenty of other topics related to current consumption and sleeping.