I’m writing this post while one of the test JeeNode Micro’s here at JeeLabs is nearing its eighth month of operation on a single coin cell:
It’s running the radioBlip2 sketch, sending out packets with an incrementing long integer packet count, roughly once every minute:
The battery voltage is also tracked, using a nice little trick which lets the ATtiny measure its own supply voltage. As you can see, the battery is getting weaker, dropping in voltage after each 25 mA transmission pulse, but still recovering very nicely before the next transmission:
Fascinating stuff. A bit like my energy levels, I think :)
But this post is not just about reporting ultra low-power consumption. It’s also my way of announcing that I’ve decided to wrap up this daily weblog and call it quits. There will be no new posts after this one. But this weblog will remain online, and so will the forum & shop.
I know from the many emails I’ve received over the years that many of you have been enjoying this weblog – some of you even from the very beginning, almost 5 years ago. Thank you. Unfortunately, I really need to find a new way to push myself forward.
This is post # 1400, with over 6000 comments to date. Your encouragement, thank-you’s, insightful comments, corrections and additions – I’m deeply grateful for each one of them. I hope that the passion which has always driven me to explore this computing stuff tied to the physical world technology and to write about these adventures, have helped you appreciate the creativity that comes with engineering and invention, and have maybe even tempted you to take steps to explore and learn beyond the things you already knew.
In fact, I sincerely hope that these pages will continue to encourage and inspire new visitors who stumble upon this weblog in the future. For those visitors, here’s a quick summary of the recent flashback posts, to help you find your way around on this weblog:
- Discovering the Arduino
- RFM12B wireless
- Batteries came later
- The first JeeNode PCB
- Ports and I2C in JeeLib
- Easy Electrons
- Dive Into JeeNodes
- Anatomy of a transmission
Please don’t ever stop exploring and pushing the boundaries of imagination and creativity – be it your own or that of others. There is infinite potential in each of us, and I’m certain that if we can tap even just a tiny fraction of it, the world will be a better place.
I’d like to think that I’ve played my part in this and wish you a lot of happy tinkering.
Take care,
Jean-Claude Wippler
PS. For a glimpse of of what I’m considering doing next, see this page. I can assure you that my interests and passions have not changed, and that I’ll remain as active as ever w.r.t. research and product development. The whole point of this change is to allow me to invest more focus and time, and to take the JeeLabs projects and products further, in fact.
PPS. Following the advice of some friends I highly respect, I’m making this last weblog post open-ended: it’ll be the last post for now. Maybe the new plans don’t work out as expected after all, or maybe I’ll want to reconsider after a while, knowing how much joy and energy this weblog has given me over the years. So let’s just call this a break, until further notice :)
One more thing– If you’d like to meet up, I’ll be at the bi-annual elektro:camp 2013.11 event, as usual. A great place to meet up with fellow hackers and makers for everyone interested in home energy monitoring and reduction. This time around, it’ll be held on the island of Texel, Fri Nov 1st and Sat Nov 2nd.