Power Management in the AirLink Raven RV50 LTE Cellular Gateway

Posted by Dennis Mathew
IT'S FINALLY HERE FOLKS!! Sierra Wireless' new ULTRA LOW POWER industrial gateway - the AirLink Raven RV50 LTE cellular gateway. This new offering from Sierra Wireless touts 4G LTE performance at 2G power consumption (less than 1W in idle mode!!) providing state-of-the-art 4G LTE coverage along with all the features you've come to know and love in the Airlink series modems. The Raven RV50 is optimized for solar applications and systems requiring power efficiency with minimal power usage.

 Want to know how you can get the most power savings out of the Raven RV50?? Then keep scrolling...

 The Raven RV50 gives you various options for managing power usage, depending on your application and hardware configuration. You can configure the RV50 to minimize power consumption by:
  • Disabling unused interfaces (USB, Serial, Ethernet)
USB
Serial
Ethernet
  • Adjusting the Ethernet data rate (10/100/1000 Mbps)
  • Disabling GPS
  • Configuring various STANDBY options
  • Enabling LED Power Saving mode  
Network and Signal LED will be set off when in known good states (it will still alert you when there is no signal or poor signal and when there is a problem with the network connection)
  • Enabling Processor Power Saving mode
This feature optimizes idle power consumption. It is monitored and dynamically controlled by the processor. This mode is recommended for users who require the best power consumption efficiency for applications that employ the use of a battery, solar power, etc. The default setting (Disable) favors performance, but increases power consumption. Enabling this feature saves energy by reducing performance were possible.
The Raven RV50 has three power modes:
  1. ON – the CPU and the radio are on. The current draw is 900 mW (75 mA @ 12 VDC) when the gateway is idle (i.e. no traffic is being sent or received)
  2. STANDBY – the CPU and radio are off, but can be enabled by an I/O input or at a configured time. Current draw is 53 mW (4.4 mA @ 12 VDC)
  3. OFF – all power is switched off. Ignition is low, but Vin remains connected. Current draw is 11 mW (0.9 mA @ 12 VDC)
If you are transitioning from a Raven XT or Raven XE to a Raven RV50 and you want to maintain a similar level of power consumption, Sierra Wireless recommends the settings outlined in the table below:
Feature
Setting
(transitioning from Raven XT)
Setting
(transitioning from Raven XE)
Default/Location in AceManager
GPS
Off
Off
Off by default
(GPS>Global Settings)
Ethernet Port
Off
On
On by default
(LAN>Ethernet>General
Ethernet Link Setting (data rate)
n/a
Recommend 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps, unless 1000 Mbps is required
Auto 10/100/1000 by default
(LAN>Ethernet>Advanced
USB Port
On
Off, unless a USB connection is required
On by default
(LAN>USB>General)
Serial Port
On
n/a
On by default
(Serial>PortConfiguration)
LED Power Saving Mode
Enable
Enable
Disabled by default
(Services>Power Management>Power Savings Modes)
Processor Power Saving Mode
Enable
Enable
Disabled by default
(Services>Power Management>Power Savings Modes)
For step by step instructions, refer to the ALEOS Software Configuration User Guide.
For additional information about power consumption specs, refer to the Raven RV50 Hardware User Guide (page 14).
If you're interested, there is a short video clip from Sierra Wireless that shows how to configure the Raven RV50 for low power consumption - RV50 How To Achieve Low Power. In order to view the video clip you will need to sign in to the Sierra Source Account or create one (free) if you don't have one yet. 

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