Hey,
I just bought an arduino mega 2560 and i tried some basic tutorials with reading digital and analogue signals but every time i plug in the 5v pin, all on-board leds turn off. I was suspecting lack of power from usb so i attatched a 9v battery but nothing has chanegd.
Plug what into the 5v pin
i plugged in a ptm switch or a potentiometer just like the basic tutorials
sounds like you create a short.
Most USB must be strong enough to support the Arduino if you have no have equipment connected to it.
Only time my arduino goes down (all light off) is when i make a mistake and short the internal power supply
thomasmanman:
I was suspecting lack of power from usb
You might be right. Inadequate power from a USB port is a common problem but a 9v battery is likely to have less power and therefore not a solution.
" all on-board leds turn off." doesn't say much. It may be lots of LEDs improperly installed, which is likely to be a problem, or just the original LEDs the board comes with, which are innocent, and the real problem is caused by other peripherals. Ultimately, the solution is to use a proper power supply, like a 9v wall wart.