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  3. Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar

Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved My Project
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  • Nca78N Nca78

    Don't complain about your shipping costs from Digi-Key guys. These are the rates for me, insane ! :o

    0_1495469768303_digikey_shipping.png

    E Offline
    E Offline
    Ed1500
    wrote on last edited by
    #185

    @Nca78 Wow. I guess you are a loyal Aliexpress customer :-)

    Nca78N 1 Reply Last reply
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    • NeverDieN NeverDie

      @Nca78

      Isn't there some place in Vietnam that stocks parts for re-sale so you don't have to order internationally and pay usurious shipping rates? Or is there just not enough demand to support that? Surely, China must have good options for you beyond just Aliexpress.

      E Offline
      E Offline
      Ed1500
      wrote on last edited by
      #186

      @NeverDie Actually I had expected that for DigiKey Europe as well... but it says 'all shipping from USA'
      Well, China also has Banggood ;-)

      NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • gohanG Offline
        gohanG Offline
        gohan
        Mod
        wrote on last edited by
        #187

        I ordered the 5.5v 4F ones, I hope they arrive sooner or later

        NeverDieN E 2 Replies Last reply
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        • gohanG gohan

          I ordered the 5.5v 4F ones, I hope they arrive sooner or later

          NeverDieN Offline
          NeverDieN Offline
          NeverDie
          Hero Member
          wrote on last edited by
          #188

          @gohan said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

          I ordered the 5.5v 4F ones, I hope they arrive sooner or later

          That could be interesting. Do you have a link?

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • E Ed1500

            @NeverDie Actually I had expected that for DigiKey Europe as well... but it says 'all shipping from USA'
            Well, China also has Banggood ;-)

            NeverDieN Offline
            NeverDieN Offline
            NeverDie
            Hero Member
            wrote on last edited by
            #189

            @Ed1500 said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

            @NeverDie Actually I had expected that for DigiKey Europe as well... but it says 'all shipping from USA'

            Well, Europe has a Mouser.com presence, I think. Plus, surely there's other stuff there, like in Germany or the UK or something.

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            • gohanG gohan

              I ordered the 5.5v 4F ones, I hope they arrive sooner or later

              E Offline
              E Offline
              Ed1500
              wrote on last edited by
              #190

              @gohan seen those for 15 USD/10 and for 6USD/5

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • gohanG Offline
                gohanG Offline
                gohan
                Mod
                wrote on last edited by
                #191

                https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2Pcs-Ultra-Capacitor-5-5v4f-Super-Capacitor-H-Style-for-Promotion-Now-Lowest-Price/32772347560.html

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                • E Ed1500

                  @Nca78 Wow. I guess you are a loyal Aliexpress customer :-)

                  Nca78N Offline
                  Nca78N Offline
                  Nca78
                  Hardware Contributor
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #192

                  You are right @Ed1500, I receive so many shipments from AliExpress that now the postman is fed up with puting non-delivery notices in my mailbox, now he leaves the packages at the management office of my building, where they advance the tax for me when needed :)

                  @NeverDie yes I have some local shops, with very cheap delivery options, less than 1$ a;nd delivered the next day when they have stock. But unfortunately the inventory is pretty limited, I use them when the price difference is not worth the wait from AliExpress.

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                  • gohanG gohan

                    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2Pcs-Ultra-Capacitor-5-5v4f-Super-Capacitor-H-Style-for-Promotion-Now-Lowest-Price/32772347560.html

                    E Offline
                    E Offline
                    Ed1500
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #193

                    @gohan yes, saw those. please keep us informed abt yr experience with those

                    1 Reply Last reply
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                    • NeverDieN NeverDie

                      @Ed1500 said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

                      @NeverDie Actually I had expected that for DigiKey Europe as well... but it says 'all shipping from USA'

                      Well, Europe has a Mouser.com presence, I think. Plus, surely there's other stuff there, like in Germany or the UK or something.

                      E Offline
                      E Offline
                      Ed1500
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #194

                      @NeverDie Oh dont worry, plenty of local online shops here for electronic components plus distributors for adafruit and similar.
                      However, I can order in china and have it delivered to my door often for less money than just the gas would cost me to drive to a local store, or to have it delivered from a local webstore.
                      The only thing is that sometimes I have to wait 2-3-4 weeks

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • NeverDieN Offline
                        NeverDieN Offline
                        NeverDie
                        Hero Member
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #195

                        These look quite inexpensive:
                        https://www.aliexpress.com/item/30-x-ultra-capacitor-2-7v3f/32570929215.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.15.qq5cZ7

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                        • NeverDieN NeverDie

                          These look quite inexpensive:
                          https://www.aliexpress.com/item/30-x-ultra-capacitor-2-7v3f/32570929215.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.15.qq5cZ7

                          E Offline
                          E Offline
                          Ed1500
                          wrote on last edited by Ed1500
                          #196

                          @NeverDie indeed. but 2.7 Volt is a just a bit of a difficult value to work with and putting them in series makes the capacity drop, but I think one could run the attiny 13-25-45-85 from 1.8V so that might be a good combo

                          NeverDieN 2 Replies Last reply
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                          • E Ed1500

                            @NeverDie indeed. but 2.7 Volt is a just a bit of a difficult value to work with and putting them in series makes the capacity drop, but I think one could run the attiny 13-25-45-85 from 1.8V so that might be a good combo

                            NeverDieN Offline
                            NeverDieN Offline
                            NeverDie
                            Hero Member
                            wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                            #197

                            @Ed1500

                            Or, maybe this then:
                            https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Universal-Capacitors-Ultracapacitors-2-7V10F-super-capacitor-10F-2-7V-low-ESR-fast-charging-small-power/32688216790.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000013.4.G3WV1v&traffic_analysisId=recommend_2088_2_81019_new2&scm=1007.13339.81019.0&pvid=1ecf1af6-9158-4f9f-99ff-acaa16690ce2&tpp=1
                            It's just a wild card as to whether they actually perform according to the advertised specs, though. That's why I think it's helpful if we all share what we're actually using, and whether it meets expectations or not.

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                            • E Ed1500

                              @NeverDie indeed. but 2.7 Volt is a just a bit of a difficult value to work with and putting them in series makes the capacity drop, but I think one could run the attiny 13-25-45-85 from 1.8V so that might be a good combo

                              NeverDieN Offline
                              NeverDieN Offline
                              NeverDie
                              Hero Member
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #198

                              @Ed1500 said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

                              @NeverDie indeed. but 2.7 Volt is a just a bit of a difficult value to work with and putting them in series makes the capacity drop, but I think one could run the attiny 13-25-45-85 from 1.8V so that might be a good combo

                              Yeah, and the RFM69--which is what I use--runs as low as 1.8v as well, so it's possibly a good match.

                              E 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • NeverDieN NeverDie

                                @Ed1500

                                Or, maybe this then:
                                https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Universal-Capacitors-Ultracapacitors-2-7V10F-super-capacitor-10F-2-7V-low-ESR-fast-charging-small-power/32688216790.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000013.4.G3WV1v&traffic_analysisId=recommend_2088_2_81019_new2&scm=1007.13339.81019.0&pvid=1ecf1af6-9158-4f9f-99ff-acaa16690ce2&tpp=1
                                It's just a wild card as to whether they actually perform according to the advertised specs, though. That's why I think it's helpful if we all share what we're actually using, and whether it meets expectations or not.

                                E Offline
                                E Offline
                                Ed1500
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #199

                                @NeverDie 10F now we are talking. But yes I very well understood yr request to share experience. I acn only say thet the 1.5 F's i had performed well and with an RC network thrown together, they seemed in the right ballparc... but apparently seller now sells 1F and I cant vouch for those

                                The supercap is still a very viable alternative for smaller devices, so I will probably buy more in future and thus interested in which ones are good or not

                                1 Reply Last reply
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                                • NeverDieN NeverDie

                                  @Ed1500 said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

                                  @NeverDie indeed. but 2.7 Volt is a just a bit of a difficult value to work with and putting them in series makes the capacity drop, but I think one could run the attiny 13-25-45-85 from 1.8V so that might be a good combo

                                  Yeah, and the RFM69--which is what I use--runs as low as 1.8v as well, so it's possibly a good match.

                                  E Offline
                                  E Offline
                                  Ed1500
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #200

                                  @NeverDie ah yes it does, but the RFM is usually connected to a microcontroller :-) So that is limited choice
                                  i wonder if 1.8 Volt would seriously affect the range of the RFM69 (running mine from 3.3)

                                  NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • gohanG Offline
                                    gohanG Offline
                                    gohan
                                    Mod
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #201

                                    Maybe a small booster to 3.3v could be used, since power efficiency shouldn't be a huge deal since the you will have the panel charging most of the time

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • E Ed1500

                                      @NeverDie ah yes it does, but the RFM is usually connected to a microcontroller :-) So that is limited choice
                                      i wonder if 1.8 Volt would seriously affect the range of the RFM69 (running mine from 3.3)

                                      NeverDieN Offline
                                      NeverDieN Offline
                                      NeverDie
                                      Hero Member
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #202

                                      @Ed1500 said in Powering mote 24/7 using only a supercap and solar:

                                      @NeverDie ah yes it does, but the RFM is usually connected to a microcontroller :-) So that is limited choice
                                      i wonder if 1.8 Volt would seriously affect the range of the RFM69 (running mine from 3.3)

                                      Interestingly enough, the lower voltage doesn't seem to affect the range.

                                      ATmega328p's can run at 1.8v also. In theory it should be set to run at 4mhz, but neither I nor anyone I know of has had problems running at 8Mhz down to 1.8v. If you run with BOD off and internal 8Mhz resonator, it only consumes about 150na while sleeping. That's why I haven't bothered going to ATtiny's. Maybe there are other reasons to do so though?

                                      E 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • NeverDieN Offline
                                        NeverDieN Offline
                                        NeverDie
                                        Hero Member
                                        wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                                        #203

                                        So, I just ordered this:
                                        https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3PCS-fala-capacitor-2-7v10f-super-capacitor-high-current-Low-ESR-fast-delivery-2-7V10F-ultra/32715563451.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.qFbHqn
                                        and this:
                                        https://www.aliexpress.com/item/CNIKESIN-2PCS-Fala-Capacitor-2-7v10F-Super-Capacitor-High-Current-Low-ESR-Fast-Delivery-2-7V10F/32804681189.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.qFbHqn

                                        from the same seller that gohan used. It's a risk, but if either of them check out, I may buy more of that brand.

                                        I'll make a posting after I receive them to say whether they seem to be good or not. :)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • NeverDieN Offline
                                          NeverDieN Offline
                                          NeverDie
                                          Hero Member
                                          wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                                          #204

                                          I recently purchased one of these:
                                          https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mega328-Transistor-Tester-Diode-Triode-Capacitance-ESR-Meter-MOS-PNP-NPN-M328/32685741297.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.92.KtC8xS

                                          and, for the price, it seems to do a decent job of measuring capacitance and ESR.

                                          E 1 Reply Last reply
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