I have been struggling with the power source(s) I have on my rover robot. It is using 6xAA batteries for the motors, and a 9V for the Arduino/servo shield. I have 2 ultrasonic sensors, a servo and a IR sensor that I'm using off the 9V.
I'd like to get a USB battery pack to eliminate the absurd 9V usage (which needs replacing in about 10 minutes of usage). I'd LOVE to simplify to this one power supply.
It has a 9v and a 12v connector you can use in addition to usb. Thoughts on general compatibility for use with an arduino mega/uno? It lacks the correct DC connector for arduino. Can I simply buy a converter cable, given the specs?
Also, they have an older model that has lots of connectors for the DC connector. Including one that matches the arduino. http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN20L-SA
Feedback on whether or not I should consider buying one of these please?
I don't see why you can't use this. The question I have is how they get 9 and/or 12 volts out on what appears to be a 2.1 mm coaxial jack? Is there some user definable parameter to set the port to 9 vs 12 or is this some special jack i have never seen? Other than that the USB jacks will give all the 5 V power you could want and the 12 V out of the smart port could be regulated down outside the battery to whatever you might want. Seems pretty workable to me.
Do you realise those Anker units weigh 0.5 KG ?? That sounds like a lot to be carrying around on a Rover plaftorm.
Personally, on my Arudino / Rover, I use a 3S (11.1 V) 3600mAh LiPo, i.e. the type of battery used on RC cars etc. I feed the 11.1 in to three voltage regulators, to give me 9V, 6V and 5V, which suits my needs.
On my Arduino / Rover, I use a 3S (11.1 V) 3600mAh LiPo, i.e. the type of battery used on RC cars etc. I feed the 11.1 in to three voltage regulators, to give me 9V, 6V and 5V, which suits my needs.
A reasonable choice with one precaution. These batteries are intended for very high current and usually lack internal protection. The protective circuits are (hopefully) in the RC model.
As an alternate consider 18650 batteries which do have protective circuits at the cost of less peak current but still much superior to alkaline batteries.
It seems that the 20000 mAh model is now out of stock. So I'm getting a 10000mAh model for now. It is only 5V, but if I like how it works, I may go back for the 10000mAh so I can use that for 9V, and my motors.
I guess the cable for the 9/12V needs tips/converters. The old model includes them, but not the new model I guess.
To date I've had a 9V plugged into the arduino barrel connector, and a sensor shield on top of that with my sensors and 1 servo connected to it. There is a separate motor driver board using the 6xAAs, that I've isolated from the arduino power source. (only ground was connected to the sensor shield from the motor driver board)
So I just started trying to understand the sainsmart sensor v5 shield I have. It has a SEL jumper next to the External power block screwdowns. It appears in 1 post on the arduino forums that someone tested it and found it disconnects the digital V pins from using the arduino 5V.
Now if that is true, and this sensor shield sits on top of my ardiuno mega...would I need to connect a separate power source to the arduino in order to have it function? And the "external power source" would have not impact on the arduino? I'm only connecting the sensors and servos to the shield, nothing else. (1 needs to be analog conencted I think - a Sharp IR sensor)
I'm guessing that my 6xAA would be better for the sensors...(last longer)
So my change plan would be to :
1.
remove the jumper
2.
move the motor driver ground to the screwdown block on the sensor shield.
3.
add in the V from the motor shield/6xAA to the screwdown V on the sensor shield
I never said thanks to those who posted before. Thank you! I did buy the 10000mAh model.
It seems to work. I have identified possible voltage issues related to the servo. But with the SEL jumper removed, and the 6xAA driving everything but the arduino (still 9V) it seems to be working ok.
Sounds like standard servos are better/happier at 6V? (it says 4.8 - 6V) Which means the USB option would not be ideal for it, correct?
ellisco1:
I don't see why you can't use this. The question I have is how they get 9 and/or 12 volts out on what appears to be a 2.1 mm coaxial jack? Is there some user definable parameter to set the port to 9 vs 12 or is this some special jack i have never seen? Other than that the USB jacks will give all the 5 V power you could want and the 12 V out of the smart port could be regulated down outside the battery to whatever you might want. Seems pretty workable to me.
There is a (software) switch for setting the voltage on the DC jack. It seems like a regular barrel jack. I've heard of a different size connector, but why wouldn't that support 9/12V?