I’m interested in using the MinIMU-9 in a battery powered project, but the schematic shows two LDO regulators. To my knowledge, these devices are quite inefficient and are likely to have a quiescent current of >=1mA, even if I use the power down features of the main ICs.
As my design relies on very low power standby (<1ma, lower if possible), this is not acceptable.
Am I correct about the LDOs and is there anything easy I can do to mitigate it? (if all else fails, perhaps connecting a micro-controller pin to the Vcc connection of the IMU)
The regulators are supposed to have quiescent currents of under 100 μA, so they might draw a little less power than you expected. However, as you mentioned, using a microcontroller I/O line to provide VIN to the IMU is probably the easiest way to control its power consumption.
Thanks for the quick reply!
I hadn’t realised it would be so efficient, 200uA is more or less acceptable (~400 hours standby, with luck).
I’m considering using the 3v output to supply some of the fussier devices in my design, so I can probably justify the higher power usage.