where to get 5v with xbee shield

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
1

Hello all,

I am diving back in Arduino after years of neglecting it due to a lack of time :slight_smile:
I am using an xbee shield in a theater setup where one arduino acts as a remote for another one. Now i am wondering, when the xbee shield is sitting on top of the Arduino the power header of the Aurdiuno is blocked by the shield and there is no easy way to get to 5v, GND is also available amongst the digital pins so that is no problem. How do you power your sensors and actuators when using an xbee shield?

2

I am using an xbee shield

There are many variations on XBee shields. A link to the one you have would be most useful.

3

I got it here: www.antratek.nl/Shields.html
and they refer to http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoXbeeShield
So I am not entirely sure which specific model this is.

4

I've got two of them. A really crappy design, in my opinion.

When mine are installed, there is a gap between the shield and the Arduino, caused by the length of the pins used on the XBee shield.

That gap allows you to have wires running to the header that the shield covers, if you are careful to bend the wires close to the header.

The newer designs move the XBee inboard, so that there is room for pass-through headers.

5

Yes, indeed not a very smart design... I tried using the 5v on the shield itself , it is labeled 5v and comes from the icsp pins but that seams a bit unreliable.

6