Boron LTE w/ Solar- Trials

Hardware
4

I haven’t tested the E-Series either.
I’ve been happy with the Electron Performance, especially after the WakeOn RI_UC was discovered/developed by the guys on this post. OTA Firmware Flash, function calls, Particle.Variable Requests, Subscribed Events, etc, can wake the Sleeping Electron @ 5-6 mA. Most folks wouldn’t consider that “Low-Power”, but it’s impressive considering Low Power wasn’t a design goal for the Electron.

That’s one of the reasons why I’m expecting the Boron LTE will shine as the system firmware evolves, since it’s built around low-power hardware. ~25mA isn’t a bad starting point for Cloud Connected and 5 minute Publishes.

As you know, there are numerous ways to perform the Boron measurements.
When supping 5.00V CV to the USB connector, I’m seeing 20mA normally.
Short spikes during Cellular/Cloud background housekeeping.
A publish takes about 8 seconds (@ my location) at ~90mA.

Cellular Data usage isn’t showing up in the Console for the 2 test Borons.
But I’m running the same code that I’ve used on Electrons w/ 5 minute publishes, and those never came close to reaching the monthly data included w/ service. I use (NO_ACK) publish for a ThingSpeak Webhook:

    snprintf(msg, sizeof(msg),  "{\"1\":\"%.0f\", \"2\":\"%.2f\", \"k\":\"%s\"}", SOC, lipoVoltage,  myWriteAPIKey)  ;
    // Send the publish
    Particle.publish(eventName, msg, PRIVATE, NO_ACK);

Which produces this event in the console:

{"1":"90", "2":"4.11", "k":"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"}

I’ve tested the ThingSpeak Library and also MQTT, but the method above uses the lowest cellular data by far (per my testing w/ Electrons).

I forgot to mention in the original post that I use pmic.setChargeVoltage(4208); in setup() on both Borons. But it appears the charger IC won’t use any form of CV mode in it’s charging profile. Charging is suspended at the hint of reaching terminating voltage (w/ my test conditions anyway). Charging is resumed when Li-po drops to 4.11V - 4.12V. There is room for improvement to maximize energy harvesting. I’d love suggestions or guidance from anyone on the charging. I understand Li-On Safety and general Practices.

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