#324

The Wemos D1 Mini is my favorite ESP8266 board. It is small, cheap, easy to use, and you get many compatible shields. The prototype shield I like most. Unfortunately, these Wemos are not perfect when it comes to power consumption during deep sleep, and they do not offer an external antenna. That is what we will change in today’s lockdown quickie.
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[@aaronag7876]

Outstanding advice and video. I have 3x D1 ESP8266 mini's for a project and this has helped me reduce the power consumption, as they will use a solar panel from outdoor Christmas lights to charge the battery and do not need powered on all the time, just when it needs to send data (currently temp, humidity, Light level, noise, vibration and gases), which is sent once every 5 mins. So this video has really helped. Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Cool project!

[@v-king936]

Absolutely right we'll miss the quiet lockdown days without a chance to get bored. Thank you Andreas!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcomed. Being bored has also its quality ;-)

[@shernshiou]

Grüezi! I am amazed to find out that you can solder the chip even with your injured finger. Rest well, heal fast.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am lefthanded for soldering:-)

[@Funkylogic]

Andreas, love all your videos and the effort you put into making the data sound. I was going to do a LoRa node here, but then I had to work from home. I look very much forward to seeing you outside again soon, climbing some amazing fort or castle there. Best Regards, Tom.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The next "adventure" will probably be in the garden as I have to pay attention till my finger is good...

[@PihkalTheTihkal]

What a great timing Andreas! As part of a project for my greenhouse I've been looking into these exact same topics for the past 2 days. Very interesting, thanks! Now if I could only get my Wemos D1 mini running stable that would be great...

[@AndreasSpiess]

Should be possible...

[@eliasjoserodriguez5160]

@@AndreasSpiess and how much time in 1 hour consume the modification?

[@AndreasSpiess]

@@eliasjoserodriguez5160 Unfortunately, I cannot do remote debugging. Mine run very stable.

[@TheOleHermit]

Gotta love those D1 Minis. This mod makes them even better. Thanks!🤙

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome.

[@PhG1961]

Awesome video and a quite amazing result !

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you. A quick hack because the China supply chain is nearly dry these days.

[@TheSlyMouse]

Wow awesome mod, the deep sleep power draw is very low now. Thank you for the quality content

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome

[@cyberbob4111]

Danke, Andreas, very helpful! Until now I've always lifted the Vcc pin of the FTDI chip to save its power consumption, but the trick with cutting the trace is much better!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Your way is also a good one, I think. And it works in all situations ;-)

[@unknownsauce3768]

I love the dedication to the gloves even after losing a finger!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Fortunately it is not lost...

[@gallardopt]

Cool vídeo! I'm currently using the wemos outside with a tiny solar panel, a tp4056 with protection ic, and an old 18650 cell from laptop battery. Working great so far

[@AndreasSpiess]

Very cool!

[@AbcDef-hl2ic]

Great video! We all love this board.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Me too!

[@wjn777]

Useful and interesting! Now, I can make those Lifepo4 batteries last much longer. Thank you for sharing

[@omaryanas435949]

Amazing! I love this type of videos

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good to know!

[@Markfps]

The real lockdown is just getting started, we're not on the last remaining days lol. Nice video though, I'll try it out! thanks Andreas!

[@AndreasSpiess]

We will see...

[@onecircuit-as]

Brilliant! Thanks Andreas.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@OndrejL]

Andreas,I see your TINY HAND got some serious upgrades! Btw I will use the low power mods in my projects thx a lot, excellent work as always (almost,haha).

[@AndreasSpiess]

Not that I asked for this upgrde ;-)

[@OndrejL]

@@AndreasSpiess i wished for it hard secretly :)

[@chahilpatel2993]

Thank you for extra video

[@AndreasSpiess]

My pleasure

[@theruprix]

I am new and your channel is super helpful. Every time I have question your name pops up. We are both interested in many of the same subjects. My great great grandfather is from Someo, that must be the connection. I plan on traveling there next year. Thanks for the hard work.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome! Maybe there is a connection. But he most probably spoke Italian...

[@seeker4430]

Great video! I love how professional you are... With the gloves and earth link on your finger... I just don't bother with any of these things probably that's why many of my projects don't work

[@AndreasSpiess]

I would rather not have this "earth link" ;-)

[@seeker4430]

@@AndreasSpiess😁 ESD protection wristband sorry!

[@electronic7979]

Very nice video 👍

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@Cymanable]

Danke für das tolle Video

[@AndreasSpiess]

Bitte, gern geschehen

[@iblun]

Yay another Quickie ;)

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-))

[@Sta640]

Nice vid! That mini hand had me rolling laughing though

[@AndreasSpiess]

😁

[@simonnaughton2272]

Awesome video. Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Glad you liked it!

[@CircsC]

Between the white gloves and the top hat I always feel that I might not be fancy enough for this channel

[@AndreasSpiess]

Unfortunately, I do not understand your point :-(

[@Jungmin_Seo]

happy to play with ESP32 during lockdown

[@AndreasSpiess]

Enjoy!

[@tonysfun]

Very well done again Andreas. And I agree about the "time out", due to virus19.... I have much more time on my hands but I still run out of the time, not the stuff I like to make or play with!

[@AndreasSpiess]

At least we were given the chance to see another life. Now we can decide for the future.

[@deviagemarcada]

I mas looking to video about it finally the best KZbin channel

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@babakhallajian684]

it was good as usual

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@silverjohnson3163]

keep up the good work and the accent !

[@AndreasSpiess]

The accent is the simple part ;-)

[@bobbytmp1322]

good job!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@stefans9990]

So nice to see a video on the ESP8266 again. I thought you had given up on it and gone solely ESP32 :-) The D1 mini is my favourite 8266 board too, especially when flashed with the Annex RDS firmware. The latter might not be that well known, but if you like combining live web interfaces with embedded or just like a retro BASIC (yes, really!) experience, it might be worth exploring. I find myself using this a lot more than Arduino IDE or Platform I/O because it's as flexible as MicroPython without being so sparse and irritating as the latter :-) And the single step and breakpoint debugger actually works :-) If you are resurrecting interest in the 8266, you may want to have a look at what the Annex RDS team have been up to in the past year? Thanks for an interesting video Andreas...

[@AndreasSpiess]

I use the ESP8266 if I do not need an ESP32 because I still have plenty of them in my box. For the videos I usually use ESP32s. I will have a look into Annex RDS.

[@craiglarson2346]

Another great vid. Thanks! Andreas, one trick I have learned: When soldering the ESP12 form I have been using a small syringe of solderpaste first applied to the board pads. just a little dab will do, as they say. Once the ESP is placed, the solderpaste forms a bit of suction on the pads so the ESP stays in position better. Much easier for my old shaky hands. I can see when the solderpaste melts as it gets drawn up though the small pin holes.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good tip. Thank you.

[@HATipsByLarry]

Good video. I use a D1 mini pro V2 which has a external antenna and a built-in battery charging circuit. Has pads on the back so with a dab of solder you can connect GPIO16 to RST and another dab of solder and it connects the plus side of the lipo battery through a 130 k resistor to A0 for voltage monitoring added a BME680 sensor set it to deep sleep every 10 min. It reports all sensor readings to thingspeak website. Can monitor Temp, humidity, pressure and Indoor Air Quality. Last about 60 days between charges.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Sound like a great bord. I will have a look at it.

[@miketony2069]

That little hand has me cracking up every time I see it 😂

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@MSaqib-bm6np]

Good i need this thanku

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome!

[@EasyOne]

is my favorite ESP8266 board

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@p1366]

Great video again Thanks! It would be interested to learn what increased range you found with the external WiFi antenna and what antenna you used. P

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not do range tests around and in the house. It depends on too many things to be comparable. You have to test it in your situation.

[@marcusone1]

Great video! Fyi: you can purchase a D1 Mini Pro with external antenna connector pre-soldered.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I know. But it would probably arrive as a Christmas gift in the current situation ;-)

[@TD-er]

@@AndreasSpiess Why not using the ESP07S? It has an external antenna connector, no LED and no chip antenna to be removed. It also has 4 MB flash and like the ESP12S it only has the pins on the side, not the "bottom" row (opposite edge of the antenna position) The ESP07 has very little flash, so OTA updates are much harder.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Same answer as above. Do you know if it is pin compatible with the esp12?

[@TD-er]

@@AndreasSpiess Yep, I use them myself. Main difference is that you don't need external components for pull-up or pull-down on the ESP12S / 07S. So it makes my own boards a lot more easier :) Less pins to solder, no external components. When you use the Wemos base boards, there are already the pull-up and pull-down resistors present on GPIO-0, GPIO-2 and GPIO-15 (and the EN pin), so I guess those will be in parallel to the ones included in the ESP12S/07S package and thus impose a stronger pull. You may need to keep that in mind if some connected sensor is not capable of pulling the pin down (or up for GPIO-15). Also there have been reports on ESP12S not being able to wake up themselves because of the wake signal on GPIO-16 to rise too slow and thus give a pulse width which is too short. Not sure if that applies to all. It could be remedied with an external resistor or capacitor (not sure which).

[@marcusone1]

@@AndreasSpiess same for ording a ESP-07 chip to replace an ESP-12 :P :)

[@andrewwalsh3744]

Hi, you do great work, thank you. I'm working on a project to run a number of heaters upto 30 from a generator and want to send the heater temp data 4 and alerts shock etc from each heater via the mains cables to the monitor at the generator. The maximum ring cable lenght is 127.8M. Would these boards be suitable and what way would you recommend to inject the signal. Each heater would send data to the the monitor and then develop an android app to control the temps and on/off criteria. Is this a suitable approach or would you approach it a different way? Thanks for any advice or pointing me in a better direction. Great channel.

[@georgei2480]

5 months later, and we are still in lockdown.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Bad for you. Here we will see if we get one back...

[@VideoStefan17]

cool!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@gerdabotha5917]

Hallo Andreas. I have both ESP processors and will try your modification. What type of improvement can one expect in the range between two ESP dvices?

[@wjhoogervorst]

Thanks for another good video with ideas suitable for a lot of viewers. Have you tried to add an external antenna to the ESP-12 module of the D1 mini by cutting off the pcb antenna and adding a small uFl connector?

[@AndreasSpiess]

No. I do not do such experiments because I cannot measure the effects in a reasonable time.

[@bgable7707]

I've tried to add a "small" uFL connector w/out success! Not much metal on them. After melting ~4 of them, I decided to cut off the female connector from the diploe antenna wire. Separated the two wire peaces, tinned them and just solder them to the board right where I cut the antenna traces for the uFL male connector. Easy Peasy, and it works great

[@sblantipodi]

Lolin D1 mini genuine boards are generally better quality than clones. Loving them

[@AndreasSpiess]

I cannot distinguish what is real and what is clone with these Chinese boards :-(

[@sblantipodi]

@@AndreasSpiess simply buy them from the official store :) lolin.it.aliexpress.com/store/1331105?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.50254c2fDV2WkV

[@axelhertwig8258]

Hi Andreas, going down to ~20uA for a prefabricated PCB including USB-TTL (when needed) is really impressive. Also the LDO seems to be pretty ok. I wish there were some more ready made modules (also for ESP32) available with low power configurations suitable for battery projects. I tried your power modification and found that the 10k pullup for RES is on the ESP side of the cut while the IO0(FLASH) and I02(blue LED) pullups are on the CH340 side. When powering the module on the ESP side only (battery mode) and going into deep sleep, the blue led drives a small current via the 10k resistor into the CH340 "power domain". I02 is at around 0.8V in this stage. This is the reason the blue LED stays on in deep sleep. I also measure 0.8V on I00, probably crosstalk? Removing the LED it is 0V. My module works ok with the LED kept or removed. However, I am not sure if it is 100% save to have IO0 connected into the CH340 domain without being properly pulled high and the CH340 domain is still connected to ground.

[@axelhertwig8258]

Today I reconnect the 2 power domains and removed the LDO instead. This led to 30uA@3V during deep sleep. Actually I had expected much more since the CH340 is still connected. Then I inserted an MCP1702 instead and and removed the 100k resistor between VBUS and GND (I have no idea why this is there). This led to almost same deep sleep current feeding 3.3V and 34uA feeding anything from 3-6V to the 5V pin. In this state you can also just plug in the USB cable. However the MCP1702 is not at all ideal (just had it around) and even fed with 5V from USB it led to spontaneous crashes unless you connect a big capacitor between 3.3V and GND. Finally I connected 6V to the 3.3V input........

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for sharing your experiments. 6 volt on the ESP is probably not the best idea ;-)

[@russellhiscock8426]

What I would love to see is a video on construction of a finished project - eg, mounting the mcu board, practical wiring, connectors, proto board wiring, etc. I don't think Dupont wires and breadboard are suitable... 😁

[@AndreasSpiess]

You can easily replace the headers with soldered wires. I often keep them and they work for a long time . Maybe here I will go for a PCB. But much more testing is needed throughout the summer.

[@russellhiscock8426]

@@AndreasSpiess Thank you Andreas. Just looking for general construction tips and techniques...

[@AndreasSpiess]

You find other videos for this topic on the channel.

[@EpicLPer]

Nice tips! Where do you buy your D1 Minis and Hats? Cause I’ll definitely buy them in bulk then, especially the prototype hat!

[@ciarfah]

EpicLPer Aliexpress I presume

[@kitecattestecke2303]

@@ciarfah no you should buy them on gearbest they are cheap there

[@AndreasSpiess]

There are links in the description. I added one for shields.

[@jesperbartholdy178]

Hi Andreas, thanks for introducing lockdown quickie projects, it is certainly a nice addition to your channel, in a time where many of us, have a lot more hobby time at home. As always I enjoy your projects, for this particular one I would like to ask, if it is possible to connect an external antenna to a standard ESP8266-12E board, by cutting off the PCB antenna and solder wires directly to the board. I have seen videos demonstrating this, but the procedure shown does not look convincing to me. Do you have any suggestions on how this should be done the Andreas way?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I would not do it because it is not simple. To do it right you would need a VNA and lots of time. You can try it and maybe you get better results than with the PCB antenna.

[@jesperbartholdy178]

@@AndreasSpiess This was kind of what I feared, maybe I will give it a try (as the supply-chain of new parts have stopped for the time beeing). Thanks for your answer and thanks for having this channel up running, it is super educational

[@TheHardie]

The "AZDelivery D1 Mini NodeMcu mit ESP8266-12F" consumes 16.9 uA with this Methode! Thanks alot!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@gcmaudio]

Hi there, Andreas, love your channel, learned so much from it. I also love the D1 Mini. Quick question, I notice you used a tantalum cap in your design. I don't have any if them at the moment, is it possible to use ceramic caps instead? Or is there a reason not to use them?

[@AndreasSpiess]

If the ceramics are big enough it is ok to use them, too. I like the tantalums because they are small and are good for power supplies.

[@gcmaudio]

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks so much for the response!

[@jeanyluisa8483]

I know its a bit late almost one year later, but there is a Wemos D1 Mini Plus that already has a ceramic antenna plus a connector for an external antenna. Its a bit more expensive than the normal Wemos D1 mini, but still cheaper than buying an additional Esp-07. for a few cent more there is also a Wemos D1 Mini plus with a bigger flash memory. I some time ago played with an ESP-12 and soldered it on one of those little breakout boards that are sold for them. After some time I noticed that breakout board used a 0Ohm reistor instead of a regulator. So I was running my ESP-12 on 5V instead of 3.3V. It didnt take any harm, so I googled a found some posts that ESP8266 would be known to run on 5V without problems. Thats nothing I would recommend to do. But I could imagine runing it on a Lipo with 3.7V instead of 3.3 V will not do big harm, especially if it always only works for a second and then goes back to deepsleep.

[@AndreasSpiess]

According its datasheet the ESP8266 has a maximum rating of 3.6V. And its input pins are 5V tolerant. So you can be happy that yours survived!

[@jeanyluisa8483]

@@AndreasSpiess Ich weiss, dass der Esp8266 nicht für 3.7V oder sogar 5V zugelassen ist. Mich haben nur die Forenbeiträge von Leuten gewundert, die behaupten, dass sie ihre ESP8266 immer ohne Probleme mit 5V betreiben. Aber wer weiß, ob das stimmt. Mir ist aber auch gerade mein Denkfehler klar geworden. Ich bin fälschlich von 3.7V ausgegangen, aber volle Lipos und Lithium Ionen Akkus haben ja 4.2V und das liegt natürlich schon weit über den zugelassenen 3,6V.

[@xusiklviv]

Hi Andreas, do you plan to add voltage reference to measure battery voltage, or is there any trick to use analog input for this purpose?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I assume that the ADC inside the ESPs have such a reference. Otherwise you would always get the same reading if you measure VCC. There is no trick. Just as I did in the video.

[@lostintheelectricalaisle5318]

Few remaining days? Lucky guy.

[@keithroberts5946]

Depends on where you are - if USA and Trump has his way it would be tommorow Here in the UK there is no end in sight yet

[@lostintheelectricalaisle5318]

@@keithroberts5946 For sure, it was a rhetorical question, but thinking more about the "lucky guy" part after your reply, it might not actually be that lucky to have it end soon, especially if it were to result in increased illness or death. The USA will continue to suffer so much more than the rest of the world and it is such a sad thing to see.

[@keithroberts5946]

@@lostintheelectricalaisle5318 agreed- some American with signs protesting about the lock down are so stupid - like the person complaining because they cant get a haircut!!

[@sdogh9]

I want to point out some clarification regarding the cutting of the PCB trace: I did as instructed in the video. However i got strange behavoiur, as the ESP did not work properly afterwards. After some time debugging I found that by cutting the trace as suggested, the Pull-ups for D3 and D4 have no 3V3 anymore. So I connected the pull ups with a short wire to 3V3. But I had to cut the trace which leads to Pin16 of the CH340 to prevent the Chip from getting power again. I han further problems with the 470R Resistors in the RX and TX line. I found that somehow current was flowing from ESP to CH340 through them. Therefore i desoldered them. Now I can only program via external serial converter, but it's working now as expected. BTW: my blue LED was also slighly glowing during deep sleep as you described. I suspect that this is caused by the above mentioned issue. I suspect in your case (only the one trace cut) current flows from GPIO2 (where LED is) throught the circuit path (the disconnected 3V3 copper traces) and through the CH340 chip back to the ESP. Probably due to some parasitic diodes. With my additional modification (cut 2nd trace and solder a short wire), the LED does not glow anymore during deep sleep.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the info. Another viewer pointed also out that he had a slightly different board.

[@sdogh9]

@@AndreasSpiess When I compare your close up shot of your PCB traces with device, the Layout looks the same, however. But of course no all is seen, so it could have been something different. As Addition to anyone who wants to achieve a very low power design: I measured the reverse current of the voltage regulator (i think ME6211) when no USB was connected. As will be the case when I supply 3V3 from an external regulator. I measured 58µA! However, this was not acceptable for me. So I ended up desoldering the CH340, the two NPN-transistors, the resistors in between and the voltage regulator itself. So i have a very low power device. Programming can easily be achieved with any 3.3V external USBtoSerial converter with 4 Signals RX, TX, RTS and DTR and some jumper cables. I think, this little inconvenience is worth a considerable lower current consumption.

[@martyewise]

"Lock-Down Quickie" -- LOL.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You were fast!

[@spacewolfjr]

@@AndreasSpiess that's what she said!

[@brcisna]

Hi Andreas, Thank You for great detailed Wemos how to video. Question. Am wanting to use one of these as a repeater mounted on drone to hopefully get better FPV range. Problem: The FPV is transmitted to smartphone over wifi 5.8ghz. Is there any cheap modules to make this happen? (Have already tried adding an external antenna to existing wifi on board of drone for the 5.8ghz wifi on no range increase at all?) To put into perspective. The drone communicates from drone to controller,over wifi 2.4ghz and can in fact fly over 1km in distance. The camera/FPV from drone to smartphone is transmitted via wifi 5.8ghz,and this dies after only 125 meters distance. Thank You.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I have no knowledge about video nor about drones. So I am no help here.

[@RcFanBlog]

So, do I get the last table right? The ESP-07 gives you an external antenna connector. But it draws a lot more current than the ESP-12 which is pre-installed in the D1 mini? I hope I got that right, to be honest that's a bit confusing...

[@RcFanBlog]

@@aqib2000 This is deep-sleep current. So only the chip's bare minimum functions are powered. The transmitting or receiving part of the chip is shut off during deep-sleep.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know the reason for the higher current of the ESP07. Maybe because it is an old design.

[@Arrowtake]

Is it possible that the last table has wrong row labels? ESP-07 on that table eats much more current than ESP-12?

[@antonmilosevic]

i was asking myself the same question

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is what I measured. I do not know why :-(

[@antonmilosevic]

Andreas Spiess incredible. What components do the modules use? ESP8266EX, flash and oscilator + some passives. Does the ESP-07 have some RF circuits for the external antenna?

[@Arrowtake]

@@AndreasSpiess Ok, I misunderstood this. So ESP-12 is way to go if one wants to save energy and the simplest way is to get rid of the blue led. Thanks for the great video again.

[@antonmilosevic]

ꀯ i thought the same. But what explains the current draw differences (other than an eventual mistake mr adreas made)

[@MrSpoocy]

@Andreas Spiess, I hink the Video missing the # bevor the number in the title ;)

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. It should be corrected now…

[@petermaka5140]

Great video. Did you have issues programming the board with RST connected to D0? The Arduino IDE gives an error when this happens on the NodeMCU ESP8266 board; you have to disconnect while programming it.

[@AndreasSpiess]

RST must free to program.

[@ElectroFun_SmartHome]

Hi, great video, do you use a 10K resistor from 3.3V to A0? Just wondering if a resistor divider would not be required as A0 input voltage is maximum 1 V isn't? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Most Wemos boards have these resistors built-in. If you only want to measure 1 volt you can bridge one resistor and remove the other.

[@typingcat]

If I do not call `Serial.begin()` at the beginning, aren't all subsequent `Serial.println()` calls ignored and have no effect? Do I have to put the conditional preprocessor block around each and every `Serial.println()` in order to disable the serial output and save power?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not think that they are ignored. The just do not know where to output and lose everything. With precompiler directives the commands are not inserted. But I never looked how the compiler works.

[@michaeltucker8645]

You can hack a 36led harbor freight security light with solar panel. To power your weather stations very easily they use lipo4 3.2 volt cells just fyi think they are 9.99. Pretty cheap powdr option and the light still works as intended

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good idea to repurpose a commercial product!

[@johansj]

Thanks Andreas. Great video. I'm running the Wemos D1 mini v3 which seems to have a different layout. I've not yet located where to cut the power to the LDO. Unmodified mine consumes 4 mA in deep sleep! (feeding 3.3v directly and tested with Current Ranger). Seems to me like board design has got worse.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe they also sell different versions. Every cent counts for them.

[@johansj]

Andreas Spiess yes, seems lite the first version I tested is à poorly designed knock-off. I tested another board with same sketch and got around 170uA as expected.

[@fortheregm1249]

will you please make the same instruction for esp32 .. for wemos or nodemcu . im having a really hard time soldering to the naked esp32, and i just CANT solder the 3.3v pin to a breakout PCB

[@AndreasSpiess]

You get "naked" PCBs for the ESP32 with normal pins. I showed it in one of my videos.

[@edgeman148]

Although I have been in networking/tech since 10-base-T LoRa is new to me. Thanks for your videos; do you have any details anywhere regarding the tools you use?

[@AndreasSpiess]

For development I use the Arduino IDE because it is very common amongst my viewers.

[@edgeman148]

@@AndreasSpiess thank you for that, what about your physical tools, soldering iron etc?

[@cvaug6958]

Hi, great video, have you tried deep sleep on wemos d1 mini with an external wake up? I've seen in theory it doesnt work the same as other 8266, but havent found a practical example of it.

[@AndreasSpiess]

It is the same as if you connect GPIO16 to RST. Just connect another source to RST and it wakes up. You can try it with a button and a pull-up resistor

[@cvaug6958]

@@AndreasSpiess thanks

[@mertcapkin7263]

If I understood correctly, cutting the track does not change the working of the board, right? All functionalities stay the same. The only change is that the USB does not feed the USB to serial chip anymore, instead external power must be applied, am I correct?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Pay attention. Some viewers wrote they got slightly different boards which did no more work after this mod. So check first the traces. But you are right, I disconnected the USB chip and the voltage regulator from power.

[@Giblet535]

Consider adding an op amp connected to the battery so that its output changes state when the LiFEPo4 drops below 3V or 2.9V. Use that state change to interrupt the sleeping ESP and send a low-battery message. It's not so critical when your module wakes every five minutes, but other sensors, like motion sensors, might sleep for long periods, and this cheap addition reduces the risk of damaging an expensive battery.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe an overkill because the battery voltage drops very slowly and you should have enough zime to react with the processor alone..

[@Giblet535]

@@AndreasSpiess It is overkill for a light sensor, or any polled sensor. However, event-driven sensors, which are often the most useful, need some way of monitoring the battery voltage. A remote motion sensor that only wakes from sleep on a motion event, that is placed where no motion should ever occur absolutely must have the op-amp trick. I'm lazy, so I use one remote sensor PCB design. All of my remote sensors have that feature (plus solar charging, a LiFePo4 holder, LoRa, a ZIF socket for a Teensy LC or 3/3.1, plus a socket for an SPI bus ADC chip. It mounts perfectly in a 10x8cm box with a PV panel on top and a dipole LoRa antenna on the bottom. The board & box cost me $11 US each. Having that feature has saved a few batteries in the past year alone.

[@MarkusSeidl]

I'm a bit confused about LiFePo4, as the internet sometimes says that 3.2V cells are actually 4.2v (when fully charged to the brim)... :/

[@AndreasSpiess]

Lifepo4 batteries are charged up to 3.6 volts and their nominal voltage is 3.2 volts Li-Ion batteries are charged up to 4.2 volts and their nominal voltage is 3.7 volts. They are very different

[@tahanprahara]

Can wemos to make CW 7Mhz or 16Mhz transceiver using quadrature demodulation technique Sir?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not think so. Maybe as a part of a whole design.

[@nuclearcat]

"Time is Energy", absolutely agree. This is why i wrote few days ago opensource library (not arduino yet, but it is coming soon) for collectd protocol, i think it is better, for collecting sensors data. github.com/nuclearcat/collectd-embedded What is most important it uses UDP packets, and it is "fire and forget" ( collectd server will handle rest (including forwarding to mqtt, saving to csv and to timeseries database for graphing, and possibly all at same time, it can be installed on raspberry as well). While MQTT is: 1)NTP (might be skipped, probably, if certificates are not verified) handshake 2)TCP handshake 3)TLS handshake 4)MQTT auth handshake 5)Sending message (also over TCP - require ack)

[@AndreasSpiess]

So we wait for your Arduino implementation. Sounds good.

[@dd0356]

Lockdown=more videos from ;-) btw i once broke my finger. it was difficult to write anything and practice math problems. anyway, nice video. maybe china electronics will not be the same after lockdown is over.

[@AndreasSpiess]

They are already different now. The take much longer to arrive... Fortunately I am lefthanded. But I write with my right hand. So it is similar to your situation.

[@maxdido6226]

Great video Andreas! Concerning the mod for lower power consumption - do you have an idea where to perform the cut in the Lolin D1 Mini? Looking to the picture docs.wemos.cc/en/latest/_static/boards/d1_mini_v3.1.0_1_16x16.jpg it seems to me the cut has to be carefully done...

[@AndreasSpiess]

Mine was simple... It is probably not easy to cut on this board.

[@slatersmith5188]

where would you cut it?

[@bgable7707]

Cutting the trace on the board to disconnect the LDO regulator? Not quite clear about what is being explained between 3:35 and 4:10. Can you expand on this, ie, how to program and run the board from which inputs? thanks. PS. I'm powering my battery run devices using the HT7333 w the appropriate volt divider from either 4.2(parallel) or 8.4 battery(in series) configs

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think the explanation was very clear. The HT7333 is a good solution. I also use it frequently.

[@ukassio85]

Hi Andreas! Antoher great video. These materials are extremally helpfull - especially for rookies like me. One question - I'm going to make my first project based on the WEMOS D1 mini - the weather station with independent solar power supply. I've a concerns - the place where I assembly the station is located 50m away from home, where the WIFI analyzer showing -90dB (wifi router is located insie the hoise). I'm wondering if there is any possibility to create some kind of wifi repeater, which will be based on the wemos d1 min, or another arduino version with fixed ethernet shield.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I would not go for a repeater. Maybe you use a ESP board with an antenna connector and attach an external antenna (google about the resistor you have to solder). Or you go for another technology like 433MHz or LoRa.

[@ukassio85]

@@AndreasSpiess ok so it can be assumed that 433 will give better range the esp. LORA is better for sure, but I'm trying to find the cheapest solution as possible :) Kind regards.

[@redslashed]

Any idears how to make range longer with esp8266 like whitout replacing my soldering tips arent that thin haha

[@AndreasSpiess]

I made many videos about antenna design

[@RonenLin]

So on average how long would a battery last with this mod. Thinking of using it with a moisture sensor.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You have to do your own calculations and tests because it depends on many things.

[@litromobil51]

3:40 where I have to cut 3.3v power on D1 v3.0.0 board?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Some other commenters suggest that my hack does not work for all boards. So you have to check with the diagram and the traces of your particular board.

[@redslashed]

Do you connect the antenna to something more or just the cable?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Yes, you can connect it to an antenna.

[@quoit99training83]

What is the best board that provides low voltage during deep sleep and uses esp8266? Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The module alone. You find PCBs like that on AliExpress.

[@jelkabisa]

Hello, I'm trying to measure input voltage on A0 pin I was wondering what is the reference voltage to use in order to get accurate measurement. I want to measure 4V connected to an ACS712 sensor, sensor output is connected to A0.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Most Wemos D1 only measure around 3 volts. The need a voltage divider for higher voltages.

[@yuvarajvelumani7760]

When you say WeMos ESP8266 D1 mini, it’s the base board which contain ESP-07. So you de soldered it and replaced ESP-12. Am I correct? Are they pin compatible? What is the difference between other ESP’s?

[@AndreasSpiess]

My Wemos D1 mini do not contain an ESP-07

[@yuvarajvelumani7760]

@@AndreasSpiess What was the module that you replace with antenna connector? Also please let me know where to buy the shield board with HT7333 regulator.

[@jyreprejoles7604]

How about the Smartphone wifi antenna? Is it possible to modify for research purposes?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Of course it is possible. But I would not do it...

[@timmydeee]

Two more weeks remain in lockdown... Where have the last 5 weeks gone!!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good question. Here I did not have a lot of change. A lot of Zoom and video making...

[@mr.anirban6631]

Which voltage regulator should I use for esp-01 so that that, the regulator consumes less power and runs for a longer period?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I use HT7333s

[@mr.anirban6631]

@@AndreasSpiess Any other alternative?

[@peterpepo9232]

Gruezi Andreas, I'm building iot thermometer for my swimming pool. Please could you recommend a board without need for these modifications? Basically I'm looking for board, battery, charging module, regulator combo recommendation. I would like to use Tasmota in following mode: read ds18b20 temp; sleep for 60mins; Waiting for delivery from China isn't an issue, pool season starts in 7 months. Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Check out your needs (external antenna, battery, deep sleep, etc.) and then search for a board with the properties you need.

[@peterpepo9232]

@@AndreasSpiess hello Andreas, thanks for your reply. Your videos are great help orienting in endless sea of options and combinations :) They also inspire me to tinker with electronics. My goal is simple esp8266 running tasmota, single waterproof ds18b20, battery operated, don't need external antena, although would be nice. I'm struggling to find a "minimal" board - without USB-to-serial and with efficient/no power regulator, but enough to boot without additional resistors. This is the closest i found: github.com/skorokithakis/tiny-ESP8266-breakout It should complement bare ESP-12F fine, and is compatible with HT7x33. Next comes the battery. I was thinking of single 18650 battery. I've seen your video recommending LifePo4. Despite it, I would prefer 18650 which I can get "protected" over charge/discharge. The problem here is, cut off voltage of 18650 battery is 2,5V (according to specs on aliexpress). I expect the esp8266/ds18b20 to malfunction, once the voltage decreases below 3v. Please could you help with the battery, share your opinion my components selection or make some recommendations? Also - do you favor any kind of "minimal" board, or do you prefer d1 mini and cutting the traces in battery powered projects? Thanks, Peter.

[@petermaka5140]

I tried the deep sleep modification (cut the line near D7 and removed the led) but the Wemos D1 mini (ESP12F) is not restarting from deep sleep when supplied by two AAs. Its does restarts from deep sleep when powered by USB. Any thoughts?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Other viewers also suggested that there are different board layouts around. So you have to check if the needed voltages at the pins of your board are still there. Compare all pins while powering with USB and with battery and you should find the difference.

[@atom6_]

did you ever try the d1 mini with deepsleep without wifi but with a 433mhz transmitter instead ? should save lots of juice.

[@AndreasSpiess]

No. But with LoRa. But 433 is also a good idea

[@MihailTravel]

Hello, what kind of soldering iron do you have?

[@AndreasSpiess]

TS80

[@jimjulian4443]

Now in Sept 2022 and cannot locate the article on your web site or blog or Github. Where is the article?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Not all videos get articles. I did not delete anything.

[@movax20h]

Remember to continue social distancing and good hygiene practice after lockdown.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Not easy to disinfect my hands with my bad finger :-(

[@lostintheelectricalaisle5318]

Social Distancing, such a mistake of a name to have started off calling the idea of increased personal space.

[@lostintheelectricalaisle5318]

@@AndreasSpiess I'd hate to see it fall off that stick.

[@TheOleHermit]

Remember? I call it 'normal daily routine', aka 'no brainer'.😎

[@notsonominal]

lockdown quickie; almost thought i'd entered the wrong url..

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-))

[@redslashed]

Is your finger broken or is that soldering eequipment?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Broken finger. But long time ago…

[@lewuskip]

Hi Andreas, great video as usual. I am always interested when you try to get best of ESP in terms of power and range. In fact I have spend some time to build my own module based on ESP in order to give best low-power solution and reduce complexity of connecting sensors to the internet. The module called Cricket and in short it provide 600nA when off and only 0.1mAh for single event sent to the cloud from analogue or digital sensor and this without writing single line on FW code and allow build device in less than 5 minutes. With this board I managed to send temp value 15K times using 2xAAA batteries with nearly 0A between reads which allows this to work for years. Apologise to reach out to you from comments but I read from your description this is the only way, respect that. As I am now in phase of developing new version of that board I wounder if you would like to play with it and give feedback in order to improve it ? You can find more details here www.thingsonedge.com/. Please send message on priv if you interested in evaluating the board, I will be more than happy to work with you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This seems to be a similar concept as Kevin Darrah's Trigboard. I do not see if you use an additional chip to switch the ESP on like Kevin. Yours is more integrated because you do not use a ready-made module. But maybe, one day, you will get a call from the FCC. As you might know, I sometimes make mailbag videos where I show things sent to me by my viewers. So feel free to send me one. You should have my address by now.

[@daczka92]

i am powering my weather station from 18650 lipo and i see the jumps in voltage readings. i forgot about capacitor but what value should i get?

[@JC-zl7sq]

220uf Tantalum

[@daczka92]

@@JC-zl7sq i try to learn about electrics so can you tell me what is the method to calculate capacitor? It depends on voltage of source or what?

[@TheRealStructurer]

I have a Wemos D1 Mini but version 4.0 with USB-C. Does anyone know how to do the hardware hack at time 3:33 on that one? It has a slightly different board layout Thanks for sharing Andreas!

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not have such a board because I usually use ESP32 now.

[@TheRealStructurer]

@@AndreasSpiess OK. Thanks for replying and all your great videos 👍🏻