Let’s explore this direct relay switching a bit further …

As suggested by @tmk in one of the comments, it is also possible to drive this thing with a single I/O level change by inserting a capacitor in the circuit, i.e. using just 2 I/O pins:

The idea is that the (opposite) charge and discharge currents pulses will be sufficient to make the latching relay switch state. The electrolytic cap takes the place of the pulse software, which can now be simplified to just switch high and low:

static void setLatch (bool on) {
  if (on) {
    bitSet(PORTD, 6); // D.6
    bitSet(PORTC, 2); // A.2
  } else {
    bitClear(PORTD, 6); // D.6
    bitClear(PORTC, 2); // A.2
  }
}

The extra 10 Ω resistor in series with the cap is used to measure the current in the circuit and show it on the scope:

I’ve added the integral of the current in red, which allows calculating the total charge consumed by this circuit when switching the relay. A quick visual estimate tells me that the surface under the current pulse is about 50 ms x 50 mV, and since I’m measuring over 10 Ω, that corresponds to 50 ms x 5 mA = 250 µC. The actual integral is more like 350 µC. This corresponds to drawing 350 µA for one second, every time the relay is switched – which would presumably be done only a few times a day, so this is still within the capabilities of a battery-powered JeeNode.

There’s a strange hump at the start – here it is again, zoomed in:

I suspect that it is caused by relay contact bounce, and the change in inductance as the latching relay core toggles to its alternate state. The relay’s inductance is about 95 mH, according to my low-cost LCR meter – i.e. a 40 Hz resonant frequency combined with that 100 µF cap, so this can’t be a resonance issue (that would have to be in the 25 ms range).

Tomorrow, the last post about this topic, with the final circuit and code…