feat(power): warm sleep between CAD scans + TCXO stabilisation delay

cadSleep() now puts the SX1262 into warm sleep (~1.5 µA, config retained)
instead of standby-RC (~600 µA). cadWake() calls standby() then waits
5 ms for the TCXO to re-stabilise before the next CAD scan — the missing
delay was the root cause of long-packet corruption in the earlier attempt
(freq drift over a long payload before the oscillator settled).

CAD interval bumped 45 → 65 ms: with the 32-symbol preamble now in place
(≈ 131 ms at SF8/BW62.5) two scan windows still fit comfortably, and the
longer standby window reduces average RX current further.

Estimated idle current: ~200 µA (vs ~750 µA standby-between-scans,
~5.3 mA continuous RX).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Jakub
2026-06-10 17:30:53 +02:00
parent fa46e1d7e2
commit c9a347b83c
4 changed files with 80 additions and 12 deletions

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@@ -339,7 +339,61 @@ A fuller position-centred navigator (you fixed at screen centre, fixed/preset
zoom, pan) is a larger separate feature; start with the rotate-the-fit version
if pursued.
### 📋 Battery / power optimization (CAD RX windowing + APC) — after trail polish
### 🚧 Battery / power optimization (CAD RX windowing + APC)
**Phase 1 shipped on branch `feat/power-saving`** (CAD-windowed receive). Not yet
merged — under field testing. Where things stand and what to return to:
**✅ Done (phase 1) — CAD-windowed RX, behind a setting**
- `RadioLibWrapper` gained a CAD state machine (scan → standby window → on
detect, full RX), driven from `loop()` (runs before `recvRaw`). `state` stays
`STATE_RX` through all phases so the dispatcher's not-in-RX watchdog never
trips; re-arm routes through `armRecv()`; falls back to continuous RX if CAD
is unsupported. `setPowerSaving()`/`getPowerSaving()`.
- Companion: `rx_powersave` pref (schema `0xC0DE0008`), **Settings Radio
"Pwr save"** toggle, applied at boot (MyMesh) and on change (UITask).
- CSMA unaffected: this firmware's interference threshold is already 0, so
listen-before-talk was a no-op; airtime budget + `isReceivingPacket()` still
gate TX. CAD window = 45 ms (< the ~66 ms 16-symbol preamble at SF8/BW62.5),
RadioLib default CAD params.
- **Field test:** the **base (Pwr save OFF) is healthy** no regression vs
stock; an earlier "drops vs stock" scare turned out to be weak repeater
coverage at the test site (direct device-to-device was fine). With **Pwr save
ON, occasional message drops** were observed (CAD misses some), so it stays
**default OFF** and is experimental until detection is made reliable.
** To return to (not done)**
- **WAITING ON: upstream preamble 16 32.** Upstream `dev` raised the LoRa
preamble from 16 to 32 symbols; we'll pick it up via the next upstream
release/merge (our radio init still hardcodes 16 in `CustomSX1262.h`
`begin(..., 16, tcxo)`). This is the natural fix for the CAD drops: at
SF8/BW62.5 the preamble goes ~66 ms ~131 ms, so the conservative 45 ms scan
window gains a huge margin (~21 ms ~86 ms) and the occasional misses should
disappear **revisit power-save right after that lands.** It also un-no-ops
`startReceiveDutyCycleAuto(32)` (32 2·minSymbols+1), enabling the SX126x
hardware RX duty cycle as an alternative to the software CAD loop. Caveat: the
scan window must be sized for the *shortest* preamble on the mesh, so a longer
window / `startReceiveDutyCycleAuto(32)` only pays off once senders are
broadly on 32 keep 45 ms while the mesh is mixed.
- **CAD detection reliability** the open blocker (see above; the preamble
bump is expected to resolve most of it). If misses persist after preamble 32,
tune the CAD parameters (`setCad` symbolNum / detPeak / detMin via a
`ChannelScanConfig_t`). Needs the current measurement below to judge the
reliability-vs-savings trade.
- **Current measurement** never taken (no PPK2/meter to hand). The actual mA
win is unquantified. Do this alongside the detection-reliability tuning.
- **Warm sleep between scans** tried (`cadSleep()`/`cadWake()` hooks exist) but
**reverted**: warm sleep dropped longer packets because the **TCXO** hadn't
re-stabilised before the post-CAD receive frequency drift symbol errors
over a long payload. To revisit: configure a proper SX126x TCXO startup delay
and ensure RX waits for "TCXO ready", then re-test long-packet reception. Worth
~another 2× on idle-window current (standby ~mA sleep ~µA).
- **CAD window tuning** 45 ms is conservative; could push toward the preamble
limit (~55 ms) for fewer scans / lower average current, once measured.
- **Adaptive Power Control (APC)** drop `tx_power_dbm` dynamically on good
links. Small win for a mostly-listening node; lower priority.
**Original analysis (kept for context):**
Goal: multiply battery life **without losing functionality**. The dominant
draw on this node is the radio in **continuous RX** (always-on `startReceive()`
@@ -379,12 +433,9 @@ at preamble 16). Prefer adopting/extending upstream work over a parallel
implementation. Note ZephCore's licence before copying any code verbatim
(architecture inspiration is fine).
Sequencing: **deferred until the trail/waypoints/nav polishing is finished.**
The radio-side CAD windowing lives on the `feat/power-saving` branch and is now
**unblocked** by the preamble fix. First step when picked up: rebase it onto the
v1.16 merge (it will hit the removed `radio_set_tx_power()`/`radio_set_params()`
globals — replace with `radio_driver.*` like the merge did), then re-test whether
long messages still drop at preamble 32, ideally profiling with a PPK2/meter.
Sequencing: phase 1 (CAD windowing) is done and in field test on
`feat/power-saving`; see the status block at the top of this entry for what's
left (measurement, warm sleep, window tuning, APC).
### SOS broadcast

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@@ -40,6 +40,17 @@ public:
void doResetAGC() override { sx126xResetAGC((SX126x *)_radio); }
// Warm sleep between CAD scans: ~1.5 µA vs ~600 µA in standby-RC.
// cadWake() delays 5 ms so the TCXO fully re-stabilises before the next scan
// (previous attempt without the delay corrupted long packets via freq drift).
void cadSleep() override {
((CustomSX1262 *)_radio)->sleep(true); // warm sleep — config retained
}
void cadWake() override {
_radio->standby();
delayMicroseconds(5000); // TCXO stabilisation after warm sleep
}
void setRxBoostedGainMode(bool en) override {
((CustomSX1262 *)_radio)->setRxBoostedGainMode(en);
}

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@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@
#define PS_SLEEPING 2 // standby between scans, waiting for _ps_timer
#define PS_RXING 3 // CAD hit → full receive armed, waiting for the packet
// Time between CAD scans. Must be shorter than the on-air preamble so a scan
// always lands inside it (16-symbol preamble ≈ 66 ms at SF8/BW62.5). Tuned for
// this firmware's fixed LoRa params — revisit if SF/BW change.
#define PS_CAD_INTERVAL_MS 45
// Time between CAD scans. Must be shorter than half the on-air preamble so at
// least two scans land inside it. 32-symbol preamble ≈ 131 ms at SF8/BW62.5
// → 65 ms gives 2 guaranteed windows with margin. Revisit if SF/BW change.
#define PS_CAD_INTERVAL_MS 65
// If CAD detects activity but no packet actually lands, fall back to scanning
// instead of sitting in continuous RX forever.
#define PS_RX_TIMEOUT_MS 1500
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ void RadioLibWrapper::startRecv() {
// If CAD isn't supported by the module, permanently fall back to continuous RX.
void RadioLibWrapper::armRecv() {
if (_power_save) {
cadWake(); // bring the radio out of warm sleep first
int16_t e = _radio->startChannelScan();
if (e == RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) { _ps_phase = PS_SCANNING; state = STATE_RX; return; }
MESH_DEBUG_PRINTLN("RadioLibWrapper: CAD unsupported (%d) — power-save off", (int)e);
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ void RadioLibWrapper::armRecv() {
}
void RadioLibWrapper::enterCadSleep() {
_radio->standby(); // low-power between scans (TODO: warm sleep for more savings)
cadSleep(); // warm sleep (SX126x) or standby fallback between scans
_ps_phase = PS_SLEEPING;
_ps_timer = millis() + PS_CAD_INTERVAL_MS;
state = STATE_RX; // keep isInRecvMode() true so the dispatcher doesn't flag a stuck radio

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@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ protected:
void armRecv(); // arm RX honouring power-save (CAD) or continuous
void powerSaveLoop();
void enterCadSleep();
// Low-power state between CAD scans. Default = standby; SX126x overrides with
// a warm (config-retained) sleep for ~µA idle. cadWake() brings it back to a
// responsive standby before the next scan.
virtual void cadSleep() { _radio->standby(); }
virtual void cadWake() { _radio->standby(); }
public:
RadioLibWrapper(PhysicalLayer& radio, mesh::MainBoard& board) : _radio(&radio), _board(&board), _preamble_sf(0) { n_recv = n_sent = 0; }