Hi, I know @cfastie has posted that it's not a long battery life due to USB, the lack of alarms on the real-time clock, and other things, but how long is it?
I think this is probably just answered in one of the #nano-data-logger notes, but thought it'll be a common question.
I'm also curious how much difference it makes to use a much larger battery, or more batteries. Can you run it for a week or two?
@pdhixenbaugh - this would be great to have posted on the Riffle page as well, and we can inter-link the answers. Have a moment to post it?
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Without making modifications to the components, a Nano Data Logger will last two or three days on small batteries (4 or 6 AA or AAA). I'm not sure larger batteries help too much because the voltage regulator might just waste the excess power, but properly chosen batteries will help some.
Disabling the bright LEDs on the Nano and shield will probably help quite a bit. Removing the voltage regulator on the Nano could also help (but I guess that limits the options for input power). I assume the shield also has a voltage regulator that uses power, but I guess you need that to use the screw terminals for input power.
If the processor and SD card cannot be put to sleep between logging events, the longevity while on batteries won't be very impressive. Ed Mallon suggested that the square wave output of the RTC could be used to wake things up, so it might be possible to sleep some components of the logger. Somebody who knows what they are doing could probably make the Nano Data Logger last more than a few days.
If the modifications to make the logger last longer require hard stuff like soldering, the advantages of the Nano Data Logger might be lost and using an Arduino Pro Mini could be an easier solution.
Chris
Hm, can you link to the Ed Mallon comment about square waves?
Also I see your posts here: https://publiclab.org/notes/cfastie/06-09-2017/the-mini-pearl-logger - exciting too. Great work you're up to!
I have a wind sensor from AS220 that I could send you if you like. Any interest? https://moderndevice.com/product/wind-sensor-rev-p/
Could be an interesting thing to try with a logger, although it only does speed and not direction. Maybe I should post a question about this. OK, i will. Twist my arm. :-P
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https://publiclab.org/questions/warren/06-12-2017/any-simple-ways-to-measure-wind-direction-from-a-data-logger
I actually have both versions of the wind sensor if you're interested!
That's a really cool-looking wind sensor. The new one requires at least 8 volts, so a big battery pack is needed. It would be pretty fun to put that on a KAP rig. I guess it can handle 10 to 20 mph wind. They don't say how much wind the old version can handle, but it seems to be aimed at breath and indoor air currents. The old version can run on 5 volts so it is easier to add to typical Arduino loggers. Adding one of those to the SkyPod could be sort of awesome (and the SkyPod flew yesterday for the first time which was awesome enough to merit a gin and tonic afterwards).
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