Boron LTE Sleep Modes On 1.3.0-rc

I’m testing the 2 different Sleep Modes as described in the docs and with System.sleep({}, {}, 30); I can only get the current consumption down to 16mA when feeding the BAT pins 4v.

That’s with & without the Memory LCD attached and with and without the Boron in the breadboard.

I’ve turned the cellular OFF and then waited 5 to 15 seconds before calling sleep but no difference.

I’m looking to use System.sleep for 30 seconds to hold the time and then wake up and update the LCD and go back to sleep.

Has anybody tested sleep Modes on the Boron LTE using the new 1.3.0-RC firmware? @Rftop @rickkas7 @BDub @peekay123

The only way I was able to get System.sleep({}, {}, 60); to work after play around with tons of different example code was to use the following example:

SYSTEM_MODE(MANUAL);

void setup() {
}

void loop() {
    
   
    disconnectFromParticle();
    System.sleep({}, {}, 60); 
    //System.sleep(SLEEP_MODE_DEEP, 0);
}


bool disconnectFromParticle()
{
  Particle.disconnect();
  waitFor(notConnected, 15000);                                     
  Cellular.off();
  delay(2000);                                                    
  return true;
}

bool notConnected() {
  return !Particle.connected();                             
}

Now I can update the Memory LCD every 60 seconds and then go back to stop mode where the application freezes but the RTC keeps the time.

I only pull the time on the first cellular connection in Setup() and then turn off the modem. I’ll add code later to do a time sync with the cellular tower every 24 hours or so. Need to see how far the time will drift when using the sleep stop mode.

The Memory LCD consumes basicaly zero power so it’s like eInk screens but better IMO because it can refresh much quicker and does not have the aging problem that eInk screens have.

So this combo consumes approx 1.2mA per hour and the screen is updated every 60 seconds and that is really good. We could do some BLE data broadcast along with the 1HZ screen updates and probably still stay really close to the 1.2mA per hour power consumption levels.

I like this for battery powered products and applications :+1:

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Nice experiment!
Now you got me curious about the memory lcd.
Where for you but it?

You can get the different sized Sharp Memory LCD’s from Digikey or some of the other big distributor’s for the best cost.

You can get the adapter boards that work with the different sized screens here:

Adafruit also sells a breakout board with the smaller screen attached.

https://www.digikey.com/products/en/optoelectronics/display-modules-lcd-oled-graphic/107?k=sharp%20memory%20lcd

There is a library on here for these screens along with how to add custom fonts from your PC.

The 2.7 and 4 Inch Screens looks really nice, especially in direct sunlight where most other screens are hard or impossible to read.

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