[SOLVED] Poor battery life on door sensor

[martinb]

@mfalkvidd
It looks as if the node is going to sleep OK, as I get this from the nodes debug log:

7116 MCO:SLP:MS=0,SMS=0,I1=1,M1=1,I2=255,M2=255
"Sleep node, duration 0 ms, SmartSleep=0, Int1=1, Mode1=1, Int2=255, Mode2=255"

7122 TSF:TDI:TSL
"Set transport to sleep"

[mfalkvidd]

@martinb after those lines, there is no debug activity until you open/close the door?

[martinb]

@mfalkvidd
That's correct, no further log activity until the next change in state of the door

[mfalkvidd]

@martinb sorry for asking, but what pin is D3 on a promini?

Edit: is it the one opposite A2?

[mfalkvidd]

@martinb is the current draw the same if you disconnect the reed switch?

The sketch looks good btw.

[martinb]

@mfalkvidd
It may be my terminology! It's using digital pin 3 (just marked "3" on the Arduino)

[martinb]

@mfalkvidd
The current draw is the same whether the reed switch is open or closed. There is a momentary increase after a change (which I assume is the radio drawing additional power to transmit?)

[martinb]

@mfalkvidd
Yes, I'm using pin 3 which is opposite A2

[martinb]

I'm beginning to wonder if it's the NRF24L01 that's the problem. I found this post which might explain my continuous power draw.

[martinb]

@martinb
I replaced the NRF24L01 and now the power consumption has dramatically reduced. Thanks for all the help, as I’m new to MySensors it helped to eliminate other potential issues.

[mfalkvidd]

@martinb nice work! Thanks for reporting back.

[FrankVK]

@mfalkvidd Interesting discussion!

I've got the same issue with a lux sensor based upon BH1750; battery life is limited to 7-10 days (3V, 9900mAh)
I gather that it's not possible to use the interrupt method in this case?

Do you have any suggestions how I can improve battery life?

[FrankVK]

@martinb Did you replace the NRF24L01 with another NRF24L01? iow was it a bad device?

[martinb]

@frankvk
Yes, I did a straight swap and now, after over a week, the battery level hasn’t dropped at all.