Hello,
I'm very new to Arduino, in fact, I just got my board yesterday and I have a question about the power supply. Now, I'm probably going to be asking something that sounds completely stupid so please disregard the stupidity of my question. 
Alright, well, I currently am only able to power the board by what power runs through the serial USB cable from my computer and I wanted a way to power the board without having to use that cable. I thought about connecting a 9v battery but I don't have the right pieces to connect it all up and so I thought of another idea. I was wondering if it is possible to plug the serial USB cable into an adapter and from there plug the cable into my Arduino? I figured this probably wouldn't work and result in my board getting toasted but I thought I'd ask anyways.
Thanks!
Actually powering your Arduino with a USB power cable is perfect.
Actually powering your Arduino with a USB power cable is perfect.
Yes, but make sure that you put 5V (NOT 9V) on the USB cable.
You can connect 9V to the arduino external power in connector. If you're CAREFUL you can also connect 9V (or anything from 8 to 12V) to GND and VIN.
See pinouts and info HERE:
If you can't find a connector ( available from places like Jameco )
you can always solder wires directly to the jack connections
on the board.
Do make sure to only put 9V at the jack and not
other places on the board.
The plus lead is the center pin of the jack.
There is also usually a pin called VIN that can be used as
an input but as I recall, it has no protection diode from
reverse voltage.
Dwight
terryking228:
Yes, but make sure that you put 5V (NOT 9V) on the USB cable.
You can connect 9V to the arduino external power in connector. If you're CAREFUL you can also connect 9V (or anything from 8 to 12V) to GND and VIN.
See pinouts and info HERE:
Do they have usb chargers that operate at anything other than 5v? I've never seen a 9V one.
ChrisTenone:
Do they have usb chargers that operate at anything other than 5v? I've never seen a 9V one.
no but is suspect the op was thinking of making his own lead
You might have an old scrap wall wart around with the
right sized plug.
It is a common size.
It is a 2.1mm ID x 5.5mm OD D coaxial plug Philmore #210
Dwight
Boardburner2:
no but is suspect the op was thinking of making his own lead
I see. I took from the OPs, "...plug the serial USB cable into an adapter and from there plug the cable into my Arduino...", to mean that a usb cable would be plugged into a (standard) USB adapter. Given some other things said in that post I now see some ambiguity.
None-the-less, to the OP, powering your Arduino with a standard USB charger, and a standard USB cable, plugged into the USB port of the Arduino, is an excellent way to do it. Especially when you are learning, and just want reliable power. After learning more about the Arduino and how it works, you can start on power management.
I was confused before and it was so clear and hilarious once I realized the answer. Thanks for the help, everyone!