Power consumption after exiting program

Blue Robotics Products Ping Sonar Devices
1

Hello!

I am interfacing with the Ping360 scanning imaging sonar, and I had some worries concerning power consumption.
When I power up the sonar with 12V, and before sending any commands, the sonar is pulling 80mA (which I believe is normal). And when running the sonar it consumes around 200mA.

But sometimes after exiting the program that sends commands over serial to the sonar, the sonar still pulls the operational current of 200mA. And I have even experienced the sonar pulling 0mA after resetting the power supply for some time (around 10s), before pulling the normal standby current of 80mA.

Is this something to be concerned about? Can this be because the sonar had just received a command to move the angle, and when the serial communication was interrupted, the sonar got “stuck” in some phase?

I would greatly appreciate some guidance regarding this, as I am worried that the sonar has been damaged or in the process of becoming damaged.

-Tony

2

Hi @tonyp,

The internal motor remains engaged for 30 seconds after the last command, so that it can maintain the current angle and quickly rotate to a new angle on request. This is normal operation, and shouldn’t be causing any damage.

It doesn’t hurt to avoid wasting power though, so assuming you’re finished using the sonar at the end of your program I’d suggest you turn off the motor to reduce the current draw :slight_smile: