Solar Charge Indicator

Hardware
1

Really didn’t want to ask because it appears this has been answered in various questions . I need to know if my battery is being charged or not. I have aux_charging pin (pin 8 CHG ) connected to the notecard aux_charging

I ran

{“req”:“card.carrier”,“mode”:“charging”}

{"mode":"charging"}

but regardless of whether the solar panel is connected or not, I always see “charging”.

notecard version:
(NOTE-WBNAN) running firmware 9.2.3.17324

1 Like
3

Hi @gomario2,

I think what you are missing is that the card.carrier response will also include "charging":true when it’s charging, but it will be omitted when not. You’ll get {"mode":"charging"} in the response either way. Also the charging pin is NCHARGING, meaning it is active low, not active high.

Thanks,
Rob

4

Thanks Rob for the clarification. I’ll will re-check

5

Hi Rob

I tested using a notecard F with no solar panel connected.

~ DeviceUID dev:860322068117693 (NOTE-WBNAN) running firmware 7.5.2.17004

Hint: A newer firmware, notecard-u5-11.1.1 (2025 Q4 Developer Release), is available. Run 'firmware install latest' to update.

> {“req”:“card.carrier”,“mode”:“charging”}

{
 "mode": "charging",
 "charging": true
}

This implies its charging but only the battery, & the notecard usb is connected. Thoughts ?

6

Hi @gomario2,

If plugged in via USB, the Notecarrier will charge a connected LiPo, which is why you see "mode":"charging".

Rob

7

Right ! Ok, I’ll install running code to do the check, will use the F notecarrier , Batt and a solar panel – I’ll loop and toggle solar, sending the results as a note – hopefully that does what I expect it to do.