I have purchased a 4WD PS2 rover kit. Its working well. I have one power issue. The competition I have entered limits onboard power to 14.4v. Between the motors powered by a 12v battery through the Sabertooth controller and the 6v battery required by the Bot Board, I am over the limit. Is there any way to take advantage of the 5v the Sabertooth board can provide for RC receiver controls for the Bot Board? Can I run the 12v motors with a 7.2v battery? Will that harm the 12v motors?
Thank you.
Hi Niko,
Personally I would double check the rules as the max voltage you have onboard is 12v. But assuming you can not continue with that configation.
I don’t think the 5v coming from the receiver will be sufficient. Also not sure about 7.2v for running your motors. My guess is that they would work, but at a much lower power output.
I have two different setups. My Rover uses 3 6v batteries, two in series to give my 12vs for the the motors. From what you are saying this is not allowed. My Tri-Track which is very similar to the rover uses just a 12v battery. To get the 6v to run the bot board and any servos I will add on, I use a switching regulator from Basic Micro: basicmicro.com/Zeus-3A-Switc … _p_26.html
I have also used the SportBEC from DimensionEngineering dimensionengineering.com/SportBEC.htm
Other members have used other BECs as well. Many times they use them to control LIPO batteries. I know some have had good luck with ones made by Turnigy. One such: hobbycity.com/hobbycity/stor … oduct=4319
Note: Many of these may come in different sizes, depending on what your power requirements are.
Kurt
You can buy 7.2vdc motors for the chassis as a last resort. 
Just get a 12volt pack and then us a voltage regulator to drop it to 6 volts for the controller…