Reduce current consumption on ATtiny85

Question

I am trying to reduce current consumption on my project. Right now it is using ~1.28mAh, it should be possible to get it much lower (I am using AA batteries as the power source).

The ATtiny85 has its fuses set to run at 1MHZ, with BOD disabled.

I am using this board to mount the CPU. I desoldered the power LED and the regulator, feeding power directly from the batteries to the 5V input.

Nothing was connected to any other pins while measuring, just 5V and GND. The code was running in debug mode, so every 8 seconds it flashed a debug LED. I don't know for how much this could account.

Full code:

#include <avr/sleep.h>
#include <avr/power.h>
#include <avr/wdt.h>
#include <avr/interrupt.h>

#define DEBUG (true)
#define INT_PIN (0)
#define OUT_PIN (2)
#define LED_PIN (1)

/***************************************************
 *  Name:        ISR(WDT_vect)
 *
 *  Returns:     Nothing.
 *
 *  Parameters:  None.
 *
 *  Description: Watchdog Interrupt Service. This
 *               is executed when watchdog timed out.
 *
 ***************************************************/
EMPTY_INTERRUPT(WDT_vect);
EMPTY_INTERRUPT(PCINT0_vect);

/***************************************************
 *  Name:        enterSleep
 *
 *  Returns:     Nothing.
 *
 *  Parameters:  None.
 *
 *  Description: Enters the arduino into sleep mode.
 *
 ***************************************************/
void enterSleep() {
  set_sleep_mode(SLEEP_MODE_PWR_DOWN);
  sleep_enable();
  sleep_cpu();
  sleep_disable(); /* First thing to do is disable sleep. */

  #if DEBUG
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
    for (uint16_t dbg = 0; dbg < 65535; dbg++);
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
  #endif
}

/***************************************************
 *  Name:        setup
 *
 *  Returns:     Nothing.
 *
 *  Parameters:  None.
 *
 *  Description: Setup for the serial comms and the
 *                Watch dog timeout. 
 *
 ***************************************************/
void setup() {
  pinMode(INT_PIN,INPUT);
  pinMode(OUT_PIN,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_PIN,OUTPUT);
  ADCSRA &= ~_BV(ADEN); // ADC off
  power_all_disable();
}

/***************************************************
 *  Name:        enterSleep
 *
 *  Returns:     Nothing.
 *
 *  Parameters:  None.
 *
 *  Description: Main application loop.
 *
 ***************************************************/
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(OUT_PIN, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
  /*** Setup the WDT ***/
  wdt_reset();
  /* In order to change WDE or the prescaler, we need to
   * set WDCE (This will allow updates for 4 clock cycles).
   * WDTCR on ATTINY85 / WDTCSR on ATMEGA
   */
  WDTCR |= (1<<WDCE) | (1<<WDE);
  /* set new watchdog timeout prescaler value */
  WDTCR = 1<<WDP0 | 1<<WDP3; /* 8.0 seconds */
  /* Enable the WD interrupt (note no reset). */
  WDTCR |= _BV(WDIE);
  // sleep for 8 seconds x 43200 = 96 hours = 4 days
  for (uint16_t i = 0; i < 43200; i++)
    enterSleep();
  wdt_reset();
  wdt_disable();
  GIMSK |= _BV(PCIE); // Enable Pin Change Interrupts
  PCMSK |= _BV(PCINT0); // Use PB0 as interrupt pin
  enterSleep();

  #if DEBUG
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
  #else
    digitalWrite(OUT_PIN, HIGH);
  #endif
  enterSleep();
  PCMSK &= ~_BV(PCINT0); // Turn off PB0 as interrupt pin
}

Answer 1

Today I measured again without the development board. Just the CPU, same setup otherwise (original code, using the FTDI cable as power source) and I got a reading of about 6-8µA. I guess that answers it! Thanks everyone for your help!