Want to know how much power the MSP430 uses?  I show a way to reduce the power consumption of the Launchpad by 97%.  Read on and see the video.

Here are the power specifications I found:

Recommended max V_CC is 3.6V

Minimum V_CC during program running is 1.8V

Minimum V_CC during programming is 2.2V

Absolute maximum current through any pin is 2mA

Watch the video to see how I calculated the power consumption of the MSP430.  I show how you can save considerable power by disabling the Launchpad’s onboard LED’s.

VIDEO

The video also shows how you could use Neodymium magnets to make easy electrical connections for testing purposes.

Power Consumption

MSP430 on Launchpad with green and red LED’s ON:

30mW

MSP430 with Launchpad’s LED’s disabled and OFF:

1mW

Wow…  Just 1mW!

To put that into perspective, I could use the tiny solar panel from a single garden solar light to power 84 of these MSP430 microcontrollers!

The tiny solar panel in this garden light could power (84) MSP430 microcontrollers!

[ Related post:  Landscape lights with solar panels produce 84mW of power in the winter. ]

With the Launchpad’s LED’s disabled, you save 29mW of power.  That’s a savings of 97%.

More Power Savings

At Youtube, dirtclump2 wrote a comment saying you could remove all of the jumpers from the board to disable the emulation mode.  In my experiment, I removed only the LED jumpers J3 and J5.  Perhaps a tiny bit more of power could be saved by removing the rest of the jumpers.

There are some programming tricks to get the microcontroller to sleep while waiting for tasks, which will save even more power.  For more on that:  MSP430 LaunchPad Low Power Mode.

This soil requires digging… but that’s just an opportunity for some good exercise!  I dug a hole in the ground to make another compost pile, which will some day be a garden bed when the compost is finished.  I was surprised how rich the soil is under the canopy of trees and fallen leaves.  Why buy topsoil when you could dig it up from your property… this garden soil is free with the added bonus of a “free” workout.  No gym membership required.    Gardening can be good exercise if you use hand tools instead of automated equipment.

VIDEO

While planning the placement of the future garden row, I used a compass.  I wanted my rows to be perfectly aligned with west and east for maximum sunlight exposure from the south.  In the video below, you can see how the shadows all fall from south to north.  I plan to cut some of the smaller trees to remove some of the shade so that I can plant a row of garden plants.

Using a compass to determine the orientation of a future garden bed.

I thought I discovered a magnetic anomaly, so I recorded the process of figuring out the source of the magnetic disturbance.

VIDEO

Conclusion

A compass is easily disoriented when it is near a magnetic material, like iron or another magnet.  Rebar is made from Iron, which is magnetic, and that was the cause of the disturbance on my compass readings.  I wonder how effective a compass would be in locating an iron deposit in the ground.  Instead of using an electronic metal detector, maybe a strong compass could help indicate the presences of magnetic elements in the ground.

Why did I make this video?

I am interested in making my own power using magnetic fields.  Magnets are such a mystery to me and I have yet to fully understand why they work.  How are magnets made?  Where do magnets come from?  What are magnets made of?  These are some of my questions.

Neodymium magnets

I was reading up on magnets, trying to understand better how they are made.  I read that the element Neodymium makes up the world’s strongest permanent magnets.  I wanted to know more about Neodymium and came across a site that had pictures of the Rare Earth Metals being exposed to air over a time period of 4 years.  I was very surprised that Neodymium corrodes so readily in air, which explains why Neodymium magnets are plated or coated by another non-corrosive material, like epoxy or Nickel.  I decided to make a quick video showing how Neodymium degrades almost completely in two years.  (Experiment and photos found at http://www.elementsales.com/re_exp/.  They show all the Rare Earth Metals there – interesting stuff and great experiment.  I have no affiliation with their website.)

Permanent Magnets

How long do magnets last?  Are “permanent” magnets really permanent?  Apparently, even permanent magnets lose their magnetic field over time.  [ source:  magnetechcorp.com ]

Other References

Picture of magnets from:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10240853@N08/

Some information from: http://www.whatareneodymiummagnets.com/faqs.html