6V (4 AA) for Arduino+Motor Shield+DC Motor+Mouse?

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Frequently-Asked Questions
1

Right now I'm building a vehicle using the Arduino, this motor shield:

and a DC Motor with a worm gear assembly, and an old PS/2 Mouse. I've done everything except attach the mouse, and it moves fine.

I'm only going to use a total of 6V to power it, 4 cells limit. Right now I'm assuming 4 AA to limit weight.

Will I be okay powering it like this?

2

With the 2V drop from the 7805 regulator and the .6V drop from the protection diode, you'll be operating well below 5V.

It may operate OK at the lower voltage, but don't try to burn a new sketch! It can corrupt the bootloader and render your Arduino useless until you get the bootloader re-burned.

-j