I’m using a tracker from Heltec, and I’ve already enabled the Power Saving function. I can see that the WIFI, Bluetooth, and display are turned off, but the power consumption is still very high, with a 1500mAh lithium battery lasting less than 6 hours. I just want to ensure that it can last for at least 24 hours.
set it to role “tracker” then it might sleep (and is not reachable) between position fixes.
role tracker
and power saving on.
depending of “Tracking interval” you could get very long runtimes !
“I have configured it as a tracker role, but it still doesn’t work.”
“Very long”?,I only have 5 hours
depends on what hardware u are using… heltec capsule v3 as an example, it does not sleep, so does not work…
heltec tracker v1,1 it does sleep if settings are correct…
rak with gps (or thermometer, configure as sensor) does sleep
so what hardware model u using? which firmware version.?
i read here that the heltec tracker v1.1 has very low power comsumption when sleeping ! so can get very long runtime, if not waking up too often
I am using the Heltec Wireless Tracker with firmware version firmware-heltec-wireless-tracker-2.4.0.46d7b82.bin, but the energy-saving effect is very poor.
i have heltec wireless tracker v1.1 here, firmware 2.40 and its running for days on a 1500mAh.
sending position every 300 seconds. sleeping between. all settinggs default, except channel, tracker role and energy saving.
The role has been configured as a tracker, and Power Saving has also been configured.
does it get a gps fix? if there is no gps fix, it does not sleep…
Thank you for your feedback. I tested the tracker outdoors and it was able to receive location information, quickly enter sleep mode, and consume very low power. When I press the user button, it displays “resuming” and wakes up. However, sending a text message from another node does not seem to wake up the sleeping node. Is it possible that the LoRa function becomes unavailable during deep sleep? Is this the difference between light sleep and deep sleep?
But the official website has a description like this:
ESP32 Platform Only
Every role except for the TRACKER and SENSOR roles are capable of traditional sleep behavior using the power.is_power_saving setting. When a node goes to sleep, in general, the serial console, peripherals, GPS, and WiFi/Bluetooth radio are all shut down to conserve power. The CPU will enter a low power state (light sleep or deep sleep on the ESP32). The LoRA radio will be left on stand-by for receiving any packets which will wake up the device to resume services and respond.
tracker and sensor go into seep sleep and will not respond.
these are just sending data in defined intervalls…
therefore maximum enery saving.
if you dont want deep sleep, dont set to tracker/sensor , and use more energy to stay in the mesh.
That’s no different from shutting down. If it’s set to client + Power saving, the device can enter light sleep mode.but the battery will run out in a few hours.
“Is there a solution to still receive text messages while the device is in sleep mode?”
you dont want device to deep-ssleep?
dont set tracker or sensor role…
in client role they will still send position and telemetry , but remain active…
tracker and sensor are meant this way… maximum energy saving and only sending data…
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Not in deep sleep, as the radio is off, tracker nodes are explicitly configured to NOT be one that is receiving messages, but rather only sending them to the mesh
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@richieframe so if i have a RAK4631 and i put it on “tracker” mode, not client nor sensor, it is possible to wake up the device on interval and put the microcontroller AND the LoRa on deep sleep? So it just send and not receive.
I wanted to put some node on battery that lasts at least 10/12 months without solar panel ore recharge the 2200mah Li-Ion battery.
Thanks
After several days of testing, I have come to the following understanding: When the “Power Saving + Tracker” setting is enabled, as soon as the node captures location information, it immediately enters a deep sleep mode. During this sleep period, it will be unable to send or receive text messages and position updates. When the node automatically wakes up according to the set interval, it will transmit the position information and then re-enter the deep sleep mode. This process repeats itself in a loop. If there is a need to proactively send a text message, the user must press the user button to wake up the node before sending.
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If set to the “Power Saving + Client” mode, the TFT screen will cease to function, but the APP can still connect to the node via Bluetooth, seemingly entering a light sleep state. When the node receives a text message, it will also wake up all nodes that are in the light sleep state.