Need Expansion Board to run?

[Toppert]

Hello,

I would have 2 questions about running without an Expansion board. Yesterday I tried to run the SiPy without Expansion board and it worked without problems (even the deepsleep). I thought you would need an expansion board to run the SiPy, but I guess I don't?

Also when I run it, do I still need the deep sleep shield or is this part only to make the bridge between the SiPy and the Expansion board? I think I was'nt using the deepsleep and the reboot after the sleep still worked (didn't check the current though).

I'm quite new to the Pycom modules so excuse me if these questions are straightforward.

Thanks in advance

[Toppert]

It is indeed mentioned in this post.
So I'll be able to get rid of the expansion board but not the deep sleep shield for it to be fully efficient
That's exactly what I was thinking but I wanted to be sure about especially about the current since it worked but I was sure there will still be current consumption problems without the shield.
Thank you for your fast reply, this will reduce the size of my project.

[seb]

Hi,

1. You don't need an expansion board to interface with our modules you just need a USB UART adapter + a power supply capable of delivering at least 450mA at 3.5-5.5v to the Vin pin

2. The esp32 deepsleep will work without the deepsleep shield but you will find that on the SiPy/LoPy/WiPy2 it still consumes a lot of current. This is due to the flash and voltage regulators remaining in high power mode. The deep sleep shield is just a micro controller that cuts off power to the module allowing for a much lower deep sleep current draw. It can still be used without an expansion board and is recommended if you require very low power usage when in deep sleep.

[livius]

@toppert
No, expansion board is not needed at all.
Deep sleep shield is only needed for old modules affected by bigger than expected current.
New modules like Wipy3, Fipy, Gypy, Lopy4 and all OEM modules do not need this shield.
look here about detailed explanation:
https://forum.pycom.io/topic/1022/root-causes-of-high-deep-sleep-current