Type 84 Sensor with 868Mhz Xbee Battery Drain

Hardware
1

Hello,

We have several deployed Type 84 sensors, https://store.ncd.io/product/smart-industrial-iot-wireless-vibration-temperature-sensor/

We equipped them with 868Mhz Xbees as they are deployed over in the UK.

We are seeing excessive battery drain on them that we cannot quite determine the reason for. While we cannot remotely check, I had suspicions that the ‘SM Sleep Mode’ might have been set to ‘Normal’ but upon checking the profile used to flash these xbees, they were set to ‘Async. Pin Sleep [1]’.

It is definitely a possibility that those that we did not flash, those that did just work, were set to Normal and are the ones that are draining the batteries.

Anything else I can check for why these sensors might be draining batteries faster than normal?

image

2

As an aside, is there a way to remotely configure the SM field? Using Over the Air Config?

3

it can be done, not easy way

  1. when the sensor sends FLY command
  2. Send extended FLY command ( this will keep the sensor on for 30sec)
  3. use XCTU to scan remote xbee
  4. connect to the sensor xbee
  5. read xbee settings and check out the sleep setting
    You might have to send extended FLY command a couple of times ( after 20sec), so that sensor stays on for 60 sec.
4

It may also be possible to do this using remote AT commands if you can keep the sensor awake as @bhaskar suggested. I would have to test the validity of this, but if Bhaskar’s suggestions do not work for you let me know and we can investigate this possibility further.