Getting Started With Tamiya Twin Motors / Driving

Hi there!

I'm working on my first ever robot, and I'm afraid to move forward and potentially destroy the parts I have.

I don't even know how to read the wiring schematics / diagrams, so it's very hard for me to understand how to move forward in my project. I would appreciate any links to tutorials online that would help an absolute beginner understand the basics of resistors, etc and why I would need them.

I have purchased an OSEPP Arduino Basics 201 Kit, which came with a bunch of great things for getting started.

I also purchased and assembled a Tamiya Twin Motor Gearbox and attached it to the Tamiya Universal Plate and attached the Truck Tire Set.

Aside from these Tamiya products I just listed, the only parts I have are what was included in my Arduino Basics 201 Kit.

I want to start controlling these twin motors, but after reading many forum posts about it, apparently you have to be very careful not to give them too much or too little power. The general consensus seems to be that a single 9V battery will not be enough to power it properly, which is what I currently have. I'm also having trouble understanding what else I need to connect in the circuit between the battery and motor in order to keep the power level correct / safe as to not destroy the motor. The salesmen at my local electronics shop sold me an L293D motor driver, but I don't understand how to use it, or if I still need to purchase more components to make it work safely.

As a side note, I have successfully set up an infrared receiver on my breadboard to turn a light on and off with a remote, and I figured as a basic start to driving, I could turn the motors on and off with the remote.

I apologize for my lack of understanding, but I'm open to learning. I just figured someone here may be able to point me in the right direction. I've searched a lot for this and couldn't find information that made sense to me.

Thanks in advance!

Tamiya

I used the Tamiya dual motors on a small bot I built to demo the LIDAR. You should be able to find the review by searching my projects on LMR.

1. You might want to study some basic electronics. Battery voltage is not the only parameter you need to control. You will also need to understand current and power.

2. Batteries are specified at a rated voltage, current, and time. A 9V 200mah battery can supply much less power that 4 1.25V 2200mah AA batteries. Recharagable batteries seem to be much more powerful than Alkalines.

3. There is NO way a CPU I/O pin is going to power a motor. You need a driver circuit oftem times called an h-bridge.

The tamiya motors are 3V.

The tamiya motors are 3V. However the L293D also has a (quite large) voltage drop meaning you’ll loose about 2V already. So you will need an battery voltage that is about 5V. You can use 4x1.2v battery for example.