can u use a 6v 500mA wall pack or adaptor to power my bot?
Im running 12 hs645 hitec servos, SSC23 and ABB2?
There are others who can answer this better than I can, but I am pretty sure that will not work properly. I believe 1 hs645 can use up to about 450mA of power so 12 of them on 500mA is way underpowered.
Kurt
way underpowered at 500mA. you want 2A at least, and even then you want to make certain you run the VL to the BB2 and SSC-32 on a separate 9V rect. battery.
You really should at least provide a good clean 6V@15A if you’re running twelve 645MG servos…
You will probably not be able to find a wall-mounted AC to DC adapter that can source this much current. most likely it will be in a metal box…
Alternatively, you can find a bunch of 12V 20 to 25A supplies out there for cheap (I got mine at Radio Shack for under $100 for my RC Car batt chargers)…
If you’re using 12V, make sure to put on some step-down BEC or something to regulate the voltage down to 6V for your servos and logic…
You can find some good cheap step-down BEC like the Turnigy 15A 5V/6V BEC that Zenta uses on his Phoenix…
500mA is barely enough to power a handful of 645MG when it’s holding with a load…
Rule of thumb for me on the power supply, at least source the equipment with 1.5 to 2 times the amount of max current it will draw, otherwise, you’ll start getting voltage sagging…
thanks for the replys.
the intention is not to hold load. i will only be using it what testing and reprogramming the chip. would this still work.?
I had my servo behave strangely using a wall pack that provided 300ma at 6v.
@ 500ma no load it might work fine for moving a servo for testing but not under load I don’t think.
Here’s the best advice…
Use 2 of the wall packs. One on VS1 and one on VS2 and remove the VS1=VS2 jumpers. Then install 6 of the servos on one side, and 6 of the servos on the other side. Power the VL’s from a separate 6-9vdc supply. Remember to remove the VS=VL jumpers as well. This will provide the best chance if it working for you.
Great thanks i will try this. 8)
been looking at a way to do something like this too.
You should be able to find 2A or 3A wall warts as well! A lab power supply with current and voltage limiting is a really good investment also.
“Splitting up the packs” should get you some additional range on the current. Makes using multiple batteries easier as well.
12 '645 is only 3A per side. And that’s at running current. Too bad we don’t have a better profile of the current required to run a 'hex or 'quad at various rates.
Alan KM6VV
thanks for repys.
i will see how it goes.
Batteries or Powersupply? It really depends on what your bot is ultimately is…
If it’s an arm where the base is stationary, I would power it with a powersupply.
If it’s a walking/crawling/roving bot, I would definitely invest in some batteries because one day, it will start to walk/crawl/roam around and batteries are the only way to let it roam free without tether…
For me, I got this for my robot:
Two Rechargeable 9V (for the logic power, VL)
Six 5xAA battery rechargeable battery pack (assembled it myself, or you can go to LM’s store for some, they sell some good stuff)
One 5xSub-C pack (this one was salvaged from my 6-cell pack for my RC when one of the cells went bad).
LRP Pulsar 2 NiCd/NiMH Competition charger (for my RC mainly, but works great on any NiCd/NiMH)
LRP Pulsar 3 NiCd/NiMH/LiPo Competition charger (again, for my RC, but I’m getting ready for LiPo technology when my NiMH gets thrashed and it’s time for new battery packs)…
Both the Pulsar 2 and 3 can act as a DC power supply, using the “motor run-in” feature found on these two chargers… However, I just use them to charge my batts and just mount their batts when I’m programming and testing my bots…
Each full charge of the 9V and my 5-cells lasts for quite a while. I have multiple packs so that if I’m on a roll in programming, it doesn’t get interrupted…
I just switch the power on when I’m about to flash the robot with my code or when I’m testing it and running it. I just turn off the switch while I’m hacking and bashing my keyboard…