@Nca78 I feared that might be the case. my task for today was to dig up my st-link and try that, though I hoped I might have done something wrong and the cp2102 can be used to program and not just debug.
That module is pretty cheap and from what I see with the naked eye, you can disconnect the cp2102 with the jumpers so the power consumption might actually be good enough to use as-is.
I'll report back to let you know once I've succeeded

Thanks for sharing. How did you get low current while still checking messages frequently enough? Or do you only check for messages every hour or so?

@nagelc From what i've read on the forums, it seems pretty clear that if a pro mini was my choice i should go for the 3.3v variant, as the power draw is lower, its just that i then came up on the STM8/32 options and got thrown off. since i can enable the boost converter to 5V for the motor just when i need the motor, i think that offsets the benefits of using just 1 regulator to 5V for both the pro mini (5v variant) and the motor.
What im trying to do is mainly get it to work with the lowest possible current draw and most efficient power source so i dont have to replace/charge it every month. for example lithium is more energy dense than alkaline, but if the power conversion takes a lot more that kinda negates the benefits.

Im not sure my flashing with the blackmagic even does anything. The console is unclear:

Sketch uses 3556 bytes (0%) of program storage space. Maximum is 409600 bytes.
Remote debugging using \\.\COM11
Target voltage: ABSENT!
Available Targets:
No. Att Driver
 1      Nordic nRF52 M3/M4
 2      Nordic nRF52 Access Port 
Attaching to Remote target
0xfffffffe in ?? ()
Reading symbols from nrf1.ino.elf...done.
Loading section .text, size 0xde4 lma 0x1c000
Loading section .ARM.exidx, size 0x8 lma 0x1cde4
Loading section .data, size 0x78 lma 0x1cdec
Start address 0x1c578, load size 3684
Transfer rate: 33 KB/sec, 614 bytes/write.
Temporary breakpoint 1 at 0x1cb8c: file C:\Users\....\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\sandeepmistry\hardware\nRF5\0.6.0\cores\nRF5\main.cpp, line 28.
Starting program: C:\Users\....\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino_build_366086\nrf1.ino.elf 
Note: automatically using hardware breakpoints for read-only addresses.

Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
0x00000000 in ?? ()

Program complete!

and i dont see any serial debug information

@ncollins I've been working on turning an stm32f030f4p6 into a blackmagic probe for a few days now. Hit a wall when the compiled firmware came out to 83kb which is over the 64kb on board. Found someone who shrunk it down so it'd fit, and someone claiming it has another 64kb which can be unlocked. I'm just looking for the patience to get back in there, as this whole thing has been a major ordeal

@Nca78 no luck with the st-link v2, though i doubt it is related to the board, but rather my inability. i've tried every option in zadig, installed the st-link driver from their website, and nothing works.
i get this in arduino ide:

debug_level: 0
0x4000
adapter speed: 10000 kHz
Error: init mode failed (unable to connect to the target)
in procedure 'program' 
in procedure 'init' called at file "embedded:startup.tcl", line 473
in procedure 'ocd_bouncer'
** OpenOCD init failed **
shutdown command invoked

the selected serial port 
 does not exist or your board is not connected

@Nca78 I feared that might be the case. my task for today was to dig up my st-link and try that, though I hoped I might have done something wrong and the cp2102 can be used to program and not just debug.
That module is pretty cheap and from what I see with the naked eye, you can disconnect the cp2102 with the jumpers so the power consumption might actually be good enough to use as-is.
I'll report back to let you know once I've succeeded

Does anyone know what settings I need to use for this development board with arduino ide?
Ebyte E104-BT5032A-TB
https://a.aliexpress.com/_dT5dMb8

It has a cp2102 on board which I have the driver for. I've installed the arduino ide nrf52 board, but I can't find a programmer, board, or any other settings which will let me flash it without a Java exception or a timeout. Maybe I need to set the jumpers differently but there's no documentation on that.
OTA works fine though.

@NeverDie thanks for clarifying!
So for example in the mini breakout board (https://www.openhardware.io/view/471/Ebyte-nRF52832-Small-Breakout-Board) I could just align the 6 pads and use a standard 6 pin pogo programmer right?

Thanks for sharing. How did you get low current while still checking messages frequently enough? Or do you only check for messages every hour or so?

@NeverDie sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I see that 10 pin ARM box connector you use in several of your designs, and I was wondering if it offers anything extra in addition to the regular 6 pin programming pins. I'm asking specifically because I want to try some of your nrf52832 designs, but would like to avoid spending extra money on special connectors and cables. Thanks!

@mfalkvidd you're right, there's a lot of 2.4ghz pollution from every device these days, no avoiding that, but specifically having 2 transmitters so close to each other has never been a pleasant experience for me.

I don't think I've read anything about serial gateway not working on esp8266, it's more the lack of any mention of it anywhere. I mean logically there's no reason why it wouldn't be prevalent, as esp8266 like the D1 Mini costs the same as a nano, is faster with more memory, uses micro usb, no real downside.
Plus, if you free up the wireless module, you can even use the esp-now protocol instead of connecting a nrf24 (which unfortunately hasn't been implemented in mysensors yet)