I’m trying to understand the power consumption of the Notecard a bit better. I don’t think my notecards are entering low power mode after sync. I am using a Notecarrier A and a Notecard NBGL-500, I am powering the Notecarrier through a Current Ranger to the battery connector. I have nothing else attached. I just power it up, let it sync and watch the current draw. After syncing, the Notecard has a continuous current draw of ~28mA. I’ve swapped the NBGL-500 for a NOTE-WBEX-500 and current draw is similar. With an ESP8266 attached via I2C header pins and running the Sleepy Sensor example code with the ESP put to sleep using the Notecard ATTN pin, I get a sleep current of ~32mA. I was expecting something in the uA range. Help?
Hello @rberkelm!
Something is acting goofy, because that’s not what we typically see.
I also have a Current Ranger (I love it!). The simple hardware setup you have illustrated in your picture looks great, so that means there must be something happening in the settings.
To do a quick hardware sanity check, let’s ensure your Notecard is running in the absolute lowest power state.
Send the Notecard the following commands over USB:
{"req":"hub.sync"}- Ensure you have sync’d any outstanding Notes on your device{"req":"card.restore","delete":true}- Perform a full reset to eliminate all settings{"req":"hub.set","mode":"minimum"}- Put the device in the absolute lowest power state
After you have executed these commands, then you can expect the device to operate at 10uA on a fully charged LiPo battery (8uA @ 5V). If you see ~10uA, then you have validated your hardware.
Next, you can configure the device to periodically sync, and you can watch the power fluctuate as the modem activates and establishes a connection to Notehub.
{"req":"hub.set","product":"<com.server.you:your_product>","mode":"periodic","vinbound":5}
Remember to replace
<com.server.you:your_product>with your actual Notehub account and project.
This will cause the Notecard to sync with your project every 5 minutes to look for changes. That’s enough time for the Notecard to connect to the cell-tower, discover there is nothing to sync and return to it’s quiescent state. This will allow you to watch and become familiar with the “normal” power draw when these events occur.
When you are done testing remember to perform a final:
{"req":"card.restore","delete":true}
So you can start with a fresh Notecard, once again.
1 Like
Hi Zac
Thanks for the restore instructions! Unfortunately, they haven’t worked. I restored 3 Notecards using your instructions - 1xNBGL-500 and 2xNote WBEX-500, one of which was new straight out of the box. All settled on ~31.4 mA current draw. After 5 minutes I could see them sync and then settle back to 31.4mA. I’m attaching my log. You can see that the Notecard disconnects the serial after each restore. I presume that is what is supposed to happen?
Any other ideas?
Welcome to the Notecard In-Browser Terminal.
Start making requests below.
(For advanced info, use the 'help' command.)
********************************************
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867648043572716 (NOTE-WBEX-500) running firmware 3.3.1.14612
> {"req":"hub.sync"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.sync.status"}
{"bytes_sent":2028,"bytes_received":3454,"time":1666218332,"completed":2,"duration":41}
> {"req":"card.restore","delete":true}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867648043572716 (NOTE-WBEX-500) running firmware 3.3.1.14612
> {"req":"hub.set","mode":"minimum"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.set","product":"com.gmail.xxxxx:xxxxx","mode":"periodic","inbound":5}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867730051259178 (NOTE-NBGL-500) running firmware 2.3.1.2014013
> {"req":"hub.sync"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.sync.status"}
{"status":"modem now OFF (was active 122 sec, 26368 bytes transferred) {modem-off}","time":1666219699,"completed":16}
> {"req":"card.restore","delete":true}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867730051259178 (NOTE-NBGL-500) running firmware 2.3.1.2014013
> {"req":"hub.set","mode":"minimum"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.set","product":"com.gmail.xxxxx:xxxxx","mode":"periodic","inbound":5}
{}
> {"req":"hub.sync.status"}
{"status":"can't open session to discovery service: failed to connect using TLS: verify problem based on signature {network}","requested":59}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867648043572815 (NOTE-WBEX-500) running firmware 3.3.1.14612
> {"req":"hub.sync"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.sync.status"}
{"status":"modem now OFF {modem-off}","requested":49}
> {"req":"card.restore","delete":true}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867648043572815 (NOTE-WBEX-500) running firmware 3.3.1.14612
> {"req":"hub.set","mode":"minimum"}
{}
> {"req":"hub.set","product":"com.gmail.xxxxx:xxxxx","mode":"periodic","inbound":5}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
* NetworkError: The device has been lost.
That is strange behavior indeed; I’m super confused.
Let’s add a couple more steps so we can dial in a little more…
- {“req”:“card.restore”,“delete”:true}
- {“req”:“hub.set”,“mode”:“minimum”}
- Type “
trace” in the terminal and wait for the Notecard to stop logging - Pull out the USB
- Disconnect the Battery
- Reconnect the battery
- Wait for 5 minutes (overkill)
- Check the Current Ranger reading
- Copy the logs and paste them here.
Can you also attach some close up and clear images of the Notecarrier-AL?
Thanks,
Zak
Yeah, I’m confused too! Just eyeballing the battery state of of all my devices, I have 6 devices which lose about 3-5% of the battery capacity (~2000mAhr) between 6pm and 6am which I consider about right. Then I have another 4 devices that lose 15-20% in that time which is definitely way to much, plus three more devices on my test bench that are showing ~30mAhr sleep currents.
I’ve followed your latest steps - also ending up with ~30mA sleep current draw. So no different.
`Welcome to the Notecard In-Browser Terminal.
Start making requests below.
(For advanced info, use the ‘help’ command.)
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867730051259178 (NOTE-NBGL-500) running firmware 2.3.1.2014013
{“req”:“hub.sync.status”}
{“status”:“modem disconnected {cell-disconnected}”,“time”:1666227101,“completed”:25}
{“req”:“card.restore”,“delete”:true}
{}
~ Disconnected from serial
- NetworkError: The device has been lost.
~ Connected to serial
~ DeviceUID dev:867730051259178 (NOTE-NBGL-500) running firmware 2.3.1.2014013
{“req”:“hub.set”,“mode”:“minimum”}
{}
trace
none,+comm,+mem,+sync,+mdm,+mdmmax,+gps
~ Disconnected from serial
- NetworkError: The device has been lost.
`
I upgraded the firmware on one of my NOS (Notecards of Shame) from 3.3.1.14612 to 3.5.1.15545 in the hope that might magically fix it. Unfortunately it is still a NOS… 
I’m getting the results I would expect, so we must be missing a beat somewhere…
I grabbed the same hardware as you:
- NOTE-WBEX-500
- Notecarrier-AL
- LiPo Battery
- Current Ranger
I installed the latest developer release, as you did in your final test, v3.5.1.15545.
Then I followed my steps, and I have achieved the expected results.
Just in case, let’s closely examine the hardware.
- Inspect the front and back of the Notecarrier-AL for debris
Once, I had an issue, because a dog hair had bridged two power pins, and it took me forever to even see it. - Place the Notecarrier on a 100% non-conductive surface, like a rubber mat
- Finally, inspect the jumper wires and connectors
I have gotten in trouble a few times, because I had bad connections and stray voltage on my jumper wires.
Once you have double-checked all the hardware, then instead of putting it in minimum mode, let’s move it to off mode.
Again, run these commands:
- {“req”:“card.restore”,“delete”:true}
- {“req”:“hub.set”,“mode”:“off”}
Once those commands have been issued, then simply unplug the device from USB and make sure it’s fully powered down (count to 10). Next, plug in a LiPo via the Current Ranger, allow it a handful of minutes to settle (like three), and see what the current draw reads.
I think I found the problem - I have a crook Notecarrier.
I cleaned the Notecarrier with PCB cleaner and a soft brush, inspected it carefully with a lupe but nothing untoward evident. It still reads ~30mA with a Notecard at idle. I then got one of my known good Notecards and powered it up in the Notecarrier - same thing - ~30mA at idle. I then inserted the good Notecard into my own rig (complete with peripherals, running firmware similar to Sleepy sensor) and it reads ~150uA at idle. I then swapped notecards to my suspect ones and all draw the same ~150uA at sleep. So, a partial short (~130 Ohms) somewhere on the Notecarrier is the likely explanation. I’ll see if I can get some good pics under the microscope to see if I can track it down any further. Thanks for your help Zac!
