Change of behavior: TBEAMS will now stay awake if they have USB power

Development Hardware
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Hi ya’ll,

Just FYI - I just changed the rules for sleep. For devices that can sense USB power (currently only TBEAMs), they will now never sleep while hooked to USB power. This should make usage more straightforward for folks (especially for permanent installations or USB/API users).

Also, I think it would be possible to change the behavior of the power button so the device would automatically wake if USB power is connected (so that users don’t need to press to boot the first time). If you want this, please file a github bug.

This will be in the next device release.

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is this configurable? this seems like a sensible default, but i wonder if it will negatively impact folks who are using solar/battery for power.

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answering my question: it seems like meshtastic --set is_low_power 1 might suffice. Meshtastic-protobufs/mesh.proto at master · meshtastic/Meshtastic-protobufs · GitHub

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Hi, is it possible yet to change the behavior of the power button so the device would automatically power on if USB power is connected? I would love to put a device on my roof with a solar charger (and a battery), but as of now I guess I would need to climb up there every time the battery is drained :slight_smile:
As suggested, I created this github issue: auto power on if USB power is connected · Issue #720 · meshtastic/Meshtastic-device · GitHub

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I assume from your symptom that you have a tbeam.

Unfortunately, the power management chip on the tbeam has this behavior built into the silicon. There’s no configuration we have access to that could change this.

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Ah, thanks for clarifying, yes I have TBeam v1.1.
Would you know if the suggested heltec device can be configured to power on automatically? Or would you recommend a different device for that purpose? I would need it to serve 868MHz to match the other devices. Apart from that it would not require GPS or display, since it would just serve as a relay.

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I don’t have a heltec boards, but looking at the schematics – any of them should work.I’m a big fan of the ttgo lora32 v1 boards. They were made in partnership with heltec and you can get them as low as $20 for 2, but usually $24 for 2.

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also supposedly (according to @SensorsIot) the ttgo lora32 boards had much better RF performance than the equivalent heltec board.

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That sounds great, so this is what I would order now… argh, almost bought the wrong frequncy…

I also found there are later versions of this board - does the “old one” have any advantages or have the newer ones just not been tested that much?

Is this the 433MHz version of ttgo lora32 v1 that was recommended 2Pcs LILYGO TTGO LORA SX1278 ESP32 0.96 OLED Display Module 16 Mt Bytes 128 Mt bit) 433Mhz-433Mhz-p-1270420.html)

or should I get one of those for my rooftop-relay: V2.1 LILYGO® TTGO LoRa32 V2.1 ESP32 433MHz/868MHz/915MHz OLED 0.96 Inch SD Card bluetooth WIFI Wireless Module SMA IP5306 - 433MHz

Thanks much for your advice!

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I get a not found error when clicking on that link

For the v2.1, can’t really say if I recommend it from my own experience. I have one and it does work but have not used it enough.

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Sorry, somehow the link got cut off. This is the complete link to the item I hope to be the recommended v1: https://www.banggood.com/2Pcs-LILYGO-TTGO-LORA-SX1278-ESP32-0_96-OLED-Display-Module-16-Mt-Bytes-128-Mt-bit)-433Mhz-p-1270420.html

This link still breaks because of a bracket, but it works when copied and pasted. Or this might help: https://bit.ly/3r9eJt0

Maybe I will just order both versions and compare, since they are so cheap :slight_smile:

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Sorry, this is way off topic. I will start a new thread.