Okay, some more information.
Basically we need to make a project using this starter kit:
We want to connect two motors to the Arduino and control speed and the direction they're moving in. The motors are powered by 5V, and wiring two motors parallel to each other on the breadboard allows both to run.
However, we were not able to change the direction of the toy motor, so we ended up using this product:
It allows the motor to run via a PWM cable, in which we could pretend the motor is actually a servo and we can run it forwards and reverse. This works, but 1) The motor does not run continuously without stopping and changing direction and 2)When connecting two motors with PWM cables only one motor functions correctly while the other is weaker, whereas with normal two-pin wires it functions perfectly.
This is the original code to get the toy motors running with a two-pin wire:
/* -----------------------------------------------------------
* | Arduino Experimentation Kit Example Code |
* | CIRC-03 .: Spin Motor Spin :. (Transistor and Motor) |
* -----------------------------------------------------------
*
* The Arduinos pins are great for driving LEDs however if you hook
* up something that requires more power you will quickly break them.
* To control bigger items we need the help of a transistor.
* Here we will use a transistor to control a small toy motor
*
* http://tinyurl.com/d4wht7
*
*/
int motorPin = 9; // define the pin the motor is connected to
// (if you use pin 9,10,11 or 3you can also control speed)
/*
* setup() - this function runs once when you turn your Arduino on
* We set the motors pin to be an output (turning the pin high (+5v) or low (ground) (-))
* rather than an input (checking whether a pin is high or low)
*/
void setup()
{
pinMode(motorPin, OUTPUT);
}
/*
* loop() - this function will start after setup finishes and then repeat
* we call a function called motorOnThenOff()
*/
void loop() // run over and over again
{
motorOnThenOff();
//motorOnThenOffWithSpeed();
//motorAcceleration();
}
/*
* motorOnThenOff() - turns motor on then off
* (notice this code is identical to the code we used for
* the blinking LED)
*/
void motorOnThenOff(){
int onTime = 2500; //the number of milliseconds for the motor to turn on for
int offTime = 1000; //the number of milliseconds for the motor to turn off for
digitalWrite(motorPin, HIGH); // turns the motor On
delay(onTime); // waits for onTime milliseconds
digitalWrite(motorPin, LOW); // turns the motor Off
delay(offTime); // waits for offTime milliseconds
}
/*
* motorOnThenOffWithSpeed() - turns motor on then off but uses speed values as well
* (notice this code is identical to the code we used for
* the blinking LED)
*/
void motorOnThenOffWithSpeed(){
int onSpeed = 200; // a number between 0 (stopped) and 255 (full speed)
int onTime = 2500; //the number of milliseconds for the motor to turn on for
int offSpeed = 50; // a number between 0 (stopped) and 255 (full speed)
int offTime = 1000; //the number of milliseconds for the motor to turn off for
analogWrite(motorPin, onSpeed); // turns the motor On
delay(onTime); // waits for onTime milliseconds
analogWrite(motorPin, offSpeed); // turns the motor Off
delay(offTime); // waits for offTime milliseconds
}
/*
* motorAcceleration() - accelerates the motor to full speed then
* back down to zero
*/
void motorAcceleration(){
int delayTime = 50; //milliseconds between each speed step
//Accelerates the motor
for(int i = 0; i < 256; i++){ //goes through each speed from 0 to 255
analogWrite(motorPin, i); //sets the new speed
delay(delayTime); // waits for delayTime milliseconds
}
//Decelerates the motor
for(int i = 255; i >= 0; i--){ //goes through each speed from 255 to 0
analogWrite(motorPin, i); //sets the new speed
delay(delayTime); // waits for delayTime milliseconds
}
}
And this is the code to run the motors with a PWM cable:
// Sweep
// by BARRAGAN
#include
Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo
// a maximum of eight servo objects can be created
int pos = 0; // variable to store the servo position
void setup()
{
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
}
void loop()
{
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
}
I understand that the starter kit may have limited functionality, but I think it should still work. We are not able to obtain anything else. Sorry for not giving enough info.