Power consumption

The radio module on the Moteino is both a receiver and a transmitter (a.k.a. ‘transceiver’). With commands issued from code running in the Moteino’s microcontroller the radio can be set in transmit, receive or sleep mode.

The radio module can only be in one of these modes at one time. It cannot both sleep and receive, nor can it both receive and transmit.

During sleep mode the radio power consumption is minimal (about 0.1 uA @3.3V). Put the radio in sleep mode when you want to save the battery and you don’t need to receive or transmit anything.

During receive mode many of the radio’s circuitry must be turned on and therefore the power consumption is a lot higher than sleep mode (around 15mA @3.3V).

In transmit mode the power consumption is the highest (up to 130mA @3.3V, for RFM69HW/HCW, 45mA for RFM69W/CW). To note that transmission is only on for short bursts while the packet is modulated into the medium, usually a few milliseconds.