I currently have a circuit together using a couple motors controlled by an L293d, LED’s ,as well as a gravity voice recognition module. The circuit is currently on a breadboard and when I have the power supplied (using an external power supply module on breadboard) from a wall outlet the circuit works flawlessly, however when I use 2 9V batteries connected in series it seems it is not enough power to have the circuit work properly. This project needs to be able to use batteries to function properly and I’m kind of limited on space for the battery, probably equivalent to about 3-4 9V batteries worth as far as physical space for a battery power supply. Anybody know any batteries or power supplies I could use for it to run like it does using the wall outlet? (Also funny side note I tried connecting 3 9V batteries in series to power it and the power supply module kind of blew up in my face😅)
I’m using just regular Duracell 9V batteries like these and not sure if these are the exact power supply modules I’m using but they’re very similar, a capacitor (or something that looks like one) flew off when I ran the 27v through
As I suspected. Those are PP3 batteries designed for low current applications such as smoke detectors. They cannot supply enough current to power the Arduino and two motors. Have you tried measuring the battery voltage when used to power your project ?
Increasing the voltage input to the buck converter (power supply module) will not make them provide more current for a useful period. You would be better off, but not by much, putting the two batteries in parallel rather than in series
As to using 27V to power the buck converter designed for a max input voltage of 12V, I am not surprised that there were problems
Any suggestions on batteries or power supply I could use that would work? Also, forgive my ignorance but I’m just curious, doesn’t the wall outlet supply 120V? Why does that not cause issues with the power supply module
Since you have motors, I usually see 12v wall warts for just the motors and lots of choices for the board.
IF it must be all battery power, 4 to 6 AA in series for the board as long as the voltage is applied to a VR pin or the USB connection. For the motors, either a single 6v lantern battery or two, if needed, is a good choice. Other choices for motors are Lithium 18650's, 2 to 4 in series NEVER in parallel unless an external BMS is used.
I have the board and motors (from motor controller) connected to the same power supply. When using the wall outlet this still works fine so do you think 4 AA’s would still suffice?
Only for the board. The L293D needs 5v on VSS and 4.5 to 36v on VS. It will work with 5v also on the VS pin, BUT that will use a lot more current, but it looks like max motor current is only 600ma, so a handful of NiCads will work for some amount of time. Try 4s, and if you need more run time, then start increasing P until you get the runtime you need.
