Hi, I'm currently working a project involving the use of 1 servo motor. I'm thinking of using 8 AA rechargeable batteries (NiMH) to power the project since I'm will need to power 4 "6V motors" as well. I'm wonder if my servo (rated for 4.8V to 7.2V) will work under the batteries (1.2V * 8 = 9.6V). I'm using the old "V1 motor shield" and I am suppling the power on the Motor S from the 2 "EXT_PWR" pins. Does the motor shield have a regulator to lower the voltage? (sorry, I'm a noob)
kclark:
Hi, I'm currently working a project involving the use of 1 servo motor. I'm thinking of using 8 AA rechargeable batteries (NiMH) to power the project since I'm will need to power 4 "6V motors" as well. I'm wonder if my servo (rated for 4.8V to 7.2V) will work under the batteries (1.2V * 8 = 9.6V). I'm using the old "V1 motor shield" and I am suppling the power on the Motor S from the 2 "EXT_PWR" pins. Does the motor shield have a regulator to lower the voltage? (sorry, I'm a noob)
No, don't use your servo powered from 9.6V.
I you linked to the shield you're using we could probably give an answer about the 5V regulator.
I'm guessing it doesn't have one. Some shields have a trace you can cut an power the servo from a separate source but you have to provide this source yourself.
You can look at the circuit, where can you find the regulator?
You need a 6V regulator for your Servo.
Thanks for posting the schematic BillHo.
I'm pretty sure the "VCC" on the servo section comes from the 5V line on the Arduino.
If one threw caution to the wind (and possibly the Arduino in the trash bin), they could power the servo from the Arduino's 5V rail.
In the "V2" shield product video they mention there's a trace to cut on the bottom of the board in order to use external power with the servos. I don't know if the V2 board is different than the V1 board in this regard.
Thanks for the help. I'm using the old V1 shield (from adafruit?). Also how is the power supplied to the motor. I thought the external power pins worked, but you mentioned:
DuaneDegn:
In the "V2" shield product video they mention there's a trace to cut on the bottom of the board in order to use external power with the servos.
So will the external power work?
kclark:
Thanks for the help. I'm using the old V1 shield (from adafruit?). Also how is the power supplied to the motor. I thought the external power pins worked, but you mentioned:So will the external power work?
The external power for the motors is not routed to the servo connections.
On the V2 board, there's a place to add external power for the servos. When external power is used with the servos, you need to make sure the external power isn't fed into the 5V regulated line on the Arduino. On the V2 board, a trace had to be cut in order to protect the Arduino from the external servo power supply. I don't know if there's a similar trace on the V1 board.