ESP8266 Community Forum

- Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:01 am #95751

I think the problem is with the choice of regulator. The HT7133 is a low power regulator designed to supply currents up to about 30mA. The ESP8266 modules require a powering with something that can supply 500mA peak although the average operating current is about 80mA.

There are a number of regulators that will do the job. I normally use XC6303

I measured the current draw peaks at 85 mA. I used a breadboard power supply at 3.3V and it didn't work same as in with the battery. Only able to work at 5V. Isn't it supposed to work at 3.3V with HT7133 I will try another regulator. HT7133 is the only LDO I could find. Do you think somethink like LD1117V33 3.3V would work fine with the battery?

- Tue Jan 10, 2023 7:27 am #95759 I don't know how you are measuring the peaks but there are many scope measurements on the web for the esp8266 that show it drawing 350mA-400mA for short periods of time.

E.g. https://www.ondrovo.com/a/20170207-esp-consumption/

The 1117 regulators will provide the current capacity required but they do have a higher drop out voltage which means that they will stop working as the battery voltage drops and when there would still be a decent amount of charge left in the cell. That is why I use the XC6303 type device as it has the current capability plus a low drop out. Its downside for some is that it is a smd device but it is not too small and could be mounted on a small break out board if you need 0.1" compatibility.

- Tue Jan 10, 2023 5:21 pm #95764

Does the ESP-01 board have a LED? Is it on when you turn on the switch?

Would be really good to see the current draw - can you wire a multimeter into the circuit?

Also what is your sketch doing? If you have the wifi turned on then the current draw is quite high

Yes it has a LED. And the ESP-01 wifi is on and sends info to home assistant of the PIR sensor. Let me measure the current draw.

By the way it works fine on a 10000mah power bank which has a current sensor but it is so low that it doesn't measure it. I will measure it with a multimeter when I am back home.

But so far it works on a computer USB and Powerbank. I just couldn't make it work on 18650 Lion battery.

The problem with the battery power is that there's a serious current spike when the unit first turns on, and this current draw pulls the battery voltage below the LDO dropout. Your other supplies can cope with the current spike

- Wed Jan 11, 2023 12:16 am #95769

Does the ESP-01 board have a LED? Is it on when you turn on the switch?

Would be really good to see the current draw - can you wire a multimeter into the circuit?

Also what is your sketch doing? If you have the wifi turned on then the current draw is quite high

Yes it has a LED. And the ESP-01 wifi is on and sends info to home assistant of the PIR sensor. Let me measure the current draw.

By the way it works fine on a 10000mah power bank which has a current sensor but it is so low that it doesn't measure it. I will measure it with a multimeter when I am back home.

But so far it works on a computer USB and Powerbank. I just couldn't make it work on 18650 Lion battery.

The problem with the battery power is that there's a serious current spike when the unit first turns on, and this current draw pulls the battery voltage below the LDO dropout. Your other supplies can cope with the current spike

Any suggestions to make it work on a single cell battery? I have seen alot of projects event with 3.7V button batteries.