how does low battery level affect the signal?

khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
in Cyton
hello!

how does low battery level affect the signal? Maybe it doesn't? I am still using 4 AA batteries. 

cheers! k

Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    edited July 2019
    Kris, the OpenBCI boards use 3.3 V voltage regulator chips on the main boards. These take the (varying) battery voltage and change it into a constant DC level for the chips. So as long as your batteries are above 3.3V, you should be fine.

    AA batteries are nominally 1.5V each, so 6V total when new. It's a good idea to check your battery level periodically. Not needed before each session, but perhaps weekly. This applies to lithium cells as well; single lithium cell starts at about 3.7V; but goes down very slowly.

    Here's a recent related thread on possibly monitoring the battery voltage with an added circuit component. Only if you are interested in a bit of geek-ery. ;-)


    Regards,

    William
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks William, 
    the voltage capacity display sounds like a good idea.
    Cheers! k
  • techsupporttechsupport United States
    Hello @khofstadter, in our experience low battery causes dropped packets and massive spikes seen on the Time Series widget, due to the rfduinoo22301 radio module experiencing low power. Don't know if this helps but the easy fix is getting this LiPo battery or making sure you have plenty of AA batteries and switching them out regularly.

  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks techsupport. I ordered the LiPo Battery. 
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