Ok, so i have some basic experience with arduino and recently purchased a 2wd platform, a motor shield, and a ping sensor along with a bunch of stuff i already have and i want to build an arduino wall avoiding robot. The problem lies where once i plug the motor shield in on top of the arduino it has no female header pins, how do i plug anything else in? I have seen people who do this before but cant figure it out. Thanks guys,
TheWAVe
This guy did it with my same motor shield... how?
Hey. I had the exact same problem.
Where are you? im in the UK, Oomlout.com have headers with extra long pins. replace the motor shield pins with these headers and you can stack to your hearts content.
Im tempted to put them onto my arduino, so that i can stack it the otherway up, ie: motor shield permenantly mounted onto the robot, arduino sits on the top of it, but can be removed for other projects.
http://www.oomlout.co.uk/stackable-headers-8-pin-x2-6-pin-x2-10-pin-x1-p-240.html
here they are.
wherever you get them from, make sure they have the extra long pins, not just plain female ones.
Also, you maye have this already but it took me a while to find.
the motors and servos use specific, fixed pins on the arduino.
you can only use certain pins for "other tasks".
here is the link you need:
Per that video he has the ping sensor and servo connected to pins at the top left of the motor shield, approximately above the USB jack of the Arduino. Those are connected to D9 and D10. I also see that analog channels 0 to 5 are brought out on that shield as well at the bottom right.
For a general approach I would suggest using "protoshields" which can be placed between the Arduino and motor shield with no need to modify either. It's not an easy task to remove the existing header pins from an Arduino without causing damage.
"It's not an easy task to remove the existing header pins from an Arduino without causing damage."
i did wonder this, which is why i haven't actually done it.
Mmmm, how do I say this? You need the official Arduino motor shield which does stack and has the female headers.
You can get (in the UK) M/M F/F and M/F leads which should allow you to connect things up.
Mark
Another solution is to use the stacking connectors on top of a "Sensor Shield" or a modified Arduino design like YourDuino Robo1 which has added 3-pin connectors for most I/O.
If you look at these stacking connectors: http://goo.gl/le5aq
and click on the "View Larger Image" you will see an example where 3-wire I/O cables come off the YourDuino in the area of the stacking connectors and another shield (Ethernet in that photo) plugs on top.
Also, look closely at the motor shield (example: http://goo.gl/zVeik Click on "View Larger) and you will see that there are 6 3-pin holes that you can solder pins into and then you can run 3-pin cables with Voltage, Ground and Signal to other devices. See more about cables here: http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/Cables
The stacking connectors can solve several problems..
DISCLAIMER: Mentioned stuff from my own shop...
Chagrin:
Per that video he has the ping sensor and servo connected to pins at the top left of the motor shield, approximately above the USB jack of the Arduino. Those are connected to D9 and D10. I also see that analog channels 0 to 5 are brought out on that shield as well at the bottom right.For a general approach I would suggest using "protoshields" which can be placed between the Arduino and motor shield with no need to modify either. It's not an easy task to remove the existing header pins from an Arduino without causing damage.
Ok, i already have a protoshield, would this mean i solder from the motor shield to the protoshield?
OllyR:
Hey. I had the exact same problem.Where are you? im in the UK, Oomlout.com have headers with extra long pins. replace the motor shield pins with these headers and you can stack to your hearts content.
Im tempted to put them onto my arduino, so that i can stack it the otherway up, ie: motor shield permenantly mounted onto the robot, arduino sits on the top of it, but can be removed for other projects.http://www.oomlout.co.uk/stackable-headers-8-pin-x2-6-pin-x2-10-pin-x1-p-240.html
here they are.
wherever you get them from, make sure they have the extra long pins, not just plain female ones.
Ok so this looks promising but i dont understand how this will solve my problem? What do i plug the male end into? The arduino? Ok so if i do that all i have is some more space between the motor shield and my arduino...How does this help? Sorry... Im just kinda confused. Thanks thouugh
So the current motor shield jst has pins, which go into the arduino. But because of this it blocks the spare pins in the arduino when it is installed on top.
Replace the pins on the motorshield with the long headers, and you have long pins on the bottom, and female sockets on the top. This means you can still plug jumper cables or wires into all the arduino sockets, via the new sockets on the top. Just bear in mind that some of the pins are used by the motorshield already, depending on what you are doing (ie: if you use the servo outputs on the motor shield, you cannot use pins 9 & 10)
I re read your query. You REMOVE the pins from the motor shield. And REPLACE them with the long headers. The socket sits on top, but the long pins protrude through the board out the bottom allowing it to be plugged into the arduino. Imagine the sockets like those on your arduino, have long tails on the bottom. Except as mentioned, the motor shield is quite robust and could take the resoldering, the arduino probably wouldnt.
OllyR:
I re read your query. You REMOVE the pins from the motor shield. And REPLACE them with the long headers. The socket sits on top, but the long pins protrude through the board out the bottom allowing it to be plugged into the arduino. Imagine the sockets like those on your arduino, have long tails on the bottom. Except as mentioned, the motor shield is quite robust and could take the resoldering, the arduino probably wouldnt.
Ahh. Thank you, i will look into this. Do you have any sources where this has been done before? I've only soldered once.
TheWave:
Chagrin:
Per that video he has the ping sensor and servo connected to pins at the top left of the motor shield, approximately above the USB jack of the Arduino. Those are connected to D9 and D10. I also see that analog channels 0 to 5 are brought out on that shield as well at the bottom right.For a general approach I would suggest using "protoshields" which can be placed between the Arduino and motor shield with no need to modify either. It's not an easy task to remove the existing header pins from an Arduino without causing damage.
Ok, i already have a protoshield, would this mean i solder from the motor shield to the protoshield?
The protoshield I have linked has extra-long pins on the female headers. Does yours have the same? If so, then the solution is to use those female headers and solder them to the protoshield, then stack the protoshield between the motor shield and arduino.
If you need to desolder headers from any board the only practical way is to cut them apart so that they are single pins. You can then remove them pin by pin. I think you'll find it to be a difficult process on any board; it's very easy to screw it up and rip out the hole plating on the board or otherwise damage the traces.
I did my pins in complete strips, but it was difficult.
i would reccomend breaking the links between the pins before hand if you are not confident.
you will need; A soldering iron (obviously) and a solder pump/tool/remover
http://www.1topstore.com/en-gbp/desoldering-desolder-solder-pump-remover-removal-sucker-p11892.html
(first one i found on google, maplins your looking aound 12 GBP
heat the solder, and then once its molten, use the pump to slurp up the liquid solder.
once youve cleaned all the solder off all the pins, the components (in this case the pins) should drop right out.
dont force it, if its still tacked on in places keep removing solder. if you tug on it, you can pull the copper off the board.
your current pins will be soldered on top of the board probably.
replacement long pin headers need soldering on the bottom of the board. Im sure you can work it out though 