Need low power solution

Product Discussion Pepwave MAX
1

I have a project that needs to use low-power components because it will be running off of solar panels in a remote location (that has cell service)

It needs to obtain data from the internet a few dozen times a day, hence the need for a cellular modem.

I am currently looking at MAX BR1 MINI, so I have some questions that I couldn’t find in it’s specs:

  1. It says it will draw 12 watts max, but what is the “idle” power usage when there is not an active cellular connection? This is needed so I know how much it will drain the battery when not in use.

  2. What is the time from an “idle” state of this modem (no active connection) to when my CPU controller can make a connection to my server? Meaning, from my understanding, when my app (running on our controller) needs to obtain data from our server, it will initiate a network connection, which your modem will then come to life and connect to the carrier and then my app can communicate with our web server.

  3. What is the total time to do the same thing above, but from a completely powered off state? Meaning, to conserve power, we make connect your modem to a power relay and keep your modem powered off until our app needs to make a connection, then it will power on your modem and initiate the connection. So what would be the total time from when power is applied to your modem to when an internet connection can be established?

I am open to using a different product if it will better meet my needs.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

2

At idle I find my devices consume approximately 1/2 of maximum. Maximum power consumption might involve a multitude of things all happening at once - 100% CPU, all ethernet ports active, wifi active, cellular active.

For number 2 I dont know how much power you would actually save by configuring the idle standby. I doubt that will actually result in significant power savings since the chipsets are still powered on in standby.

You would gain the greatest power savings by having an external relay control the power feed and turn the modem on and off.

Each device is unique. I own a variety and each one is different from cold boot to cellular connected. It might also depend on modem settings. FWIW, I found the BR1 Pro boots up significantly faster than Max Transit. I’d expect this with more powerful CPU. Given the Mini being designed as lower-end spec, it might take 2-3 minutes (guess).

3

  1. See Which PepWave Max for RV in Backcountry California? - #7 by soylentgreen My BR 1 Mini uses about 2 watts (this is with a single cellular connection and broadcasting WiFi - no ethernet connections ).

  2. It takes a few minutes until you have an active connection (perhaps 2 minutes ish?) Since the device is a dual sim model, if one of the SIMs doesn’t have signal, and that’s the one it tries first, it can take about twice as long. Note that the dual SIM rules are complicated. See https://forum.peplink.com/t/sim-preference-rules-for-single-modem-pepwaves/6121e3f86b1bec0690004433

  3. I think it’s about the same time, maybe 30 seconds longer from the powered off state.

Hope this helps!