I've just started playing around with an Arduino Uno and I have substantial programming experience but little to no understanding of electronics. I am trying to build a small robot which can drive around and avoid running into things. I wanted to start by simply connecting the motors (based on this starter project: http://lemasney.com/consulting/2014/10/12/arduino-starter-kit-project-09-motorized-pinwheel/), but when I switch it on it just stays put.
The basic way I connected everything looks like this, could anyone tell me what I may be doing wrong? I am trying to power everything using a 9V battery.
The robot itself currently looks like this (feel free to mock my soldering):
This Tutorial should help:Using Transistor as a Switch
It is necessary to know what transistor you are using and what motor.
In programming it's syntax and logic, in electronics it's component spec's and math.
LouisPhilippe:
I am trying to power everything using a 9V battery.
Often when people say that they mean one of the little PP3 style 9v batteries. They are quite unsuitable as they cannot provide enough current and in any case will only last for a short time.
A 6-pack of AA cells should be fine. NiMh rechargeable cells can provide much higher currents than non-rechargeable cells.
I had replied yesterday but for some reason my reply didn't come through apparently:
@Hutkikz: Thanks for the article, it has cleared up a lot on the precise working of electronics, it appears that I'd better read a little more about the basics of it all before starting to solder everything together!
@Robin2: I was indeed trying to use a PP3 style battery to power it all. I had a 4-pack of AAA cells lying around and when connecting that at the right place in the circuit the motors do come alive. Maybe I'll add that as a power source for the motors and use something else to power the Arduino itself.
