Alright, so I'm a high-school student enrolled in an elective class where I have to come up with an idea, and my partner and I decided on a quadcopter. It eventually got to the point where we used a RedBoard in a SparkFun kit to serve as how to quadcopter will work. As it stands right now, I've been able to connect the four motors from the kit to the circuit found in the SIK Guide with the corresponding code found in Arduino (they all have the same pin as they are all on the receiving ends of one diode). However, not enough power was going to the motors, and my teacher recommended the use a capacitor to increase power output into the motors. Do you guys have any suggestions?
I am also looking for a Bluetooth module that is compatible with a MacBook Pro and a RedBoard.
Diode? Can you draw a schematic? You could be losing power at the diode.
A capacitor won't help with total power. It may help smooth out variations but 4 3-phase motors turning will have a pretty constant load.
MorganS:
Diode? Can you draw a schematic? You could be losing power at the diode.
A capacitor won't help with total power. It may help smooth out variations but 4 3-phase motors turning will have a pretty constant load.
You can find the schematic of the circuit on page 68 of this pdf, except with a RedBoard:
- That's a 32Mb file! No page numbers, so I have to open it in full Acrobat, not just inline in the web browser. And the diagrams are worse than F**ing, which is saying a lot.
Do you have any idea how much power a quadcopter uses? Think about those really tiny little ones that recharge off USB for an hour and fly for 5 minutes. They can't fly while attached to the USB. USB barely even has enough power to turn the motors over, as you have discovered.
Get a power source such as a battery or a bench power supply and try again.
