Alternate ways to power the arduino?

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi!

I was wondering if there are any alternate ways to power the arduino duemilanove.
Is it possible to do this without using a cable (power adapter/usb)?
Using a couple of batteries would be nice.
Just let me know.

Thanks!

2

http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/9VBatteryAdapter

You can also get AA battery holders with a PP3 style clip on them.

3

Please note that depending on how much sensors etc you add to the Arduino, batteries may not have a very long life.

Car battery, Solar panel (sunny days) are other options

4

You could use a LiPo battery from spark fun.

5

Another question. There are several ways to power the arduino duemilanove, each using different voltage levels. See below.

Power the arduino duemilanove

Power adapter: 12 V
9 V Battery: 9 V
USB: 5 V

Does this affect the arduino and/or output voltage levels?

6

No, it doesn't, the duemilanove has a built in regulator with an 5 volt output.

7

pins 1 and 4 on the usb connector are typically 5v and ground

has anyone connected a spliced usb cable to a battery pack (4 AA) on those pins.
Would that work?

8

kstorn:
pins 1 and 4 on the usb connector are typically 5v and ground

has anyone connected a spliced usb cable to a battery pack (4 AA) on those pins.
Would that work?

yes, it would work. as stated above the device regulates the power supplied to 5v and it was also stated that it would possibly drain the batteries quickly. so if you're looking for long life you may want to add a second set in parallel, or get bigger batteries

9

PsychoData:

kstorn:
pins 1 and 4 on the usb connector are typically 5v and ground

has anyone connected a spliced usb cable to a battery pack (4 AA) on those pins.
Would that work?

yes, it would work. as stated above the device regulates the power supplied to 5v and it was also stated that it would possibly drain the batteries quickly. so if you're looking for long life you may want to add a second set in parallel, or get bigger batteries

You may want to be careful with that. IIRC, the Arduino does not regulate the power coming in over USB. I'm not sure what the tolerances would be for a direct connection like that. 4x AA could get you anything between 4.8v and 6v depending on the battery type.