reducing power consumption during BLE scan

RE: reducing power consumption during BLE scan

kobyatom — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 14:31:36 GMT

we need continuous scanning, so is there a point in modifying the window or interval, if eventually the scan will remain continuous? From the link you sent I cannot find anything to help us reduce the accumulated current consumption of a continuous scan.
As I mentioned, we did measure the current consumption, as well as verify our measurements with the spec.

RE: reducing power consumption during BLE scan

kobyatom — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 13:53:20 GMT

I got the currents mixed. w/o DCDC its about 10 mA.
Thanks

RE: reducing power consumption during BLE scan

Simonr — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 13:45:23 GMT

Thank you, Igor, for a great answer! The DC/DC converter should indeed consume less power than the LDO. Where did you find these numbers in our specs? According to our specs, the RX current consumption for continuous scanning will be ~6.5mA with the DCDC enabled. I don't think you will be able to get much lower current consumption doing continuous scanning as the radio does consume quite a bit of power when it is running.

Best regards,

Simon

RE: reducing power consumption during BLE scan

Igor — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 09:35:04 GMT

Try to modify Scan Window and/or Scan Interval. Check https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/posts/bluetooth-smart-and-the-nordics-softdevices-part-1 for details.

Also, you should measure the actual current consumption.

P.S. I think the current should be *lower* with DC/DC (and not higher, as you say)