SOLVED Consuption of second procesor on MEGA board

Using Arduino General Electronics
#1

We need low power application. We have ARDUINO MEGA board.
Can you tell us a consuption of ATMEGA16U2-MU (second procesor on board) when USB is not connected? Is there any solution for power minimalizing of this uP?

#2
  • Measure the current
  • Desolder the 16u2
  • Measure again

Once you desolder the chip you won't be able to program over USB. You will need an FTDI adaptor to program it.

Actually the main power consumption is going to be the two voltage regulators. Have a look at Nick Gammon's power page for more ideas.

#3

Nick Gammon's page on power is an excellent reference, and his results demonstrated that the ATMega328 data sheet is correct. Therefore, to deduce the 16U2 power consumption, consult the 16U2 data sheet.

#4

The second processor consumes power even when not connected to a USB. Thus unnecessarily it is supplied without USB! If necessary, it at least "consistently" hardware reset - its consumption is significantly lowered...

#5