Under new management??

@pugwash

Just a thought... have you considered using an RTC module to control the sleep time and cut power?

@frogandtoad

Just a thought... have you considered using an RTC module to control the sleep time and cut power?

No, I haven't considered it. I wanted to keep the remotes as simple as possible. I will give it some thought, as the RTC, I believe, has an IRQ function which could also be used with the LowPower.h library.

@pugwash

Ok, no worries!

Posted by: @pugwash

the RTC, I believe, has an IRQ function which could also be used

Yeah, I'm not sure if they all have an IRQ function, but I have seen a couple that do which is a good feature to have.  I have seen some examples in the past where people also use sensor, such as an LDR or motion sensor to trigger power off overnight, etc...

What I have been wondering is, that only seven pins on the nrf24 are used. The eighth pin is labelled IRQ but I have not found any documentation of its use. I was wondering if it fires an IRQ when a message is received, would this be enough to wake up the Arduino and process the message. I guess I am going to have to connect one channel of my oscilloscope to the IRQ and the other to the data output pin, just to find out what is really happening.

@pugwash

I haven't checked that, but if you check out the previous reference I gave you, it will most likely cover how that IRQ works:

Have you by any chance checked out the following methods?:

void RF24::powerUp(void);
void RF24::powerDown(void);

RF24 class reference

Same link I provided last time 🙂

@frogandtoad

void RF24::powerUp(void);
void RF24::powerDown(void);

I had completely forgotten about those, and as the nrf24 is the main power consuming culprit, pulling about 13mA. There may be a "quick and dirty" intermediate solution.

Posted by: @pugwash

No, not the Dronebot Workshop, my remote environment sensors.

Well, that's a relief!

?

Posted by: @pugwash

I did put a request in for this subject to be featured but it has been met with very little resonance

Actually I was planning on accepting it, and combining it with another similar suggestion. But I was also surprised that there wasn't much feedback on it.

@dronebot-workshop

Actually I was planning on accepting it, and combining it with another similar suggestion. But I was also surprised that there wasn't much feedback on it.

Then perhaps this thread will act as a litmus test for whether you should or not!

@frogandtoad

Have incorporated radio.powerDown() and uploaded the sketch. So far so good! I am getting info coming back, so nothing wrong there.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

Now I just have to wait 44 hours or so to see whether I am getting any power savings ? 

If this works, I shall publish the revised code with results!

@dronebot-workshop

It seems like it could be effective even with the sixty plus amphrs on the robot .are all of these sketches going to be a part of one gigantic program or separate working together within an environment ?

@pugwash

Nice work... this project has come a long way since you first posed it 🙂

@frogandtoad

Thanks, this has been a pleasure and learning experience for me. When I first joined this forum I gave it some thought on how to breathe life into the framework that Bill @dronebot-workshop had created because now it was up to us. I have started quite a few threads on diverse topics but this project has given me more satisfaction than any other topic. Certainly the exchange between what I call "The Hard Core Four (@pugwash, @frogandtoad, @zeferby and @robo-pi)" has been both educational and amusing at times.

Furthermore, I hope this will be useful to others further down the road.

@pugwash

Thank you too!
Coincidentally my thoughts as well, and I'm always happy to help, when I know what the hell I'm talking about! 🙂

Cheers!