My Rover 5 has become quite heavy (2.5 kg), and the engines are not powerful enough to run it smoothly. I would like replace the motors for somewhat stronger motors. Does anyone have experience with it? Will this goes well with the encoders and the gearbox? Or is it better to switch to a different chasis? And if yes, what would you recommend me?
My configuration is as
My configuration is as follows:
- brain: Uno
- all 4 motors are individual controlled: 2 x "2 channel Motor Shield 2A"
- Lipo3S, 3100 mAh
- no encoder feedback implemented
This short movie gives the impression of current speed.
This is full speed 
What do you think, is it indeed possible to go faster?
For example, by implementing encoder feedback?
I was not accurate my
I was not accurate my previous post . I use the 3S for my project in conjunction with a 6V voltage regulator. The motors and the “rest of the system” are powered at 6V ( Uno , Motor controllers, electronics ). The 12V is only used for my PFV system ( transmitter and camera ) .
What 's wrong with the motor controllers? I can’t find the max / stall current of the motors in the datasheet , but is 2A per channel really not enough?
I followed Bajdi 's suggestion and measured the output voltage of the motor terminals voltage at the motor shield => 4.3 V @ 255 PWM . I also measured the input voltage of the shield => 6V @ work. Is the measured 4.3V indeed to low ? Should it be closer to 6V? I wired the system with " “.
@ Bajdi . My Rover indeed is very similar to yours . Looked often at your site in the period that I worked at it. Hope you do not mind it . I have added extras (speaker , FPV system , Wii cam , SD card , pin expander , voice control [ not implemented yet ] ) but despite that it indeed still looks like “the little brother”. Project became less fun because Rover was became relatively slow . Therefore I started a new project , the " mecanum Bot " .
In this post we also discuss alternative chassis . I am currently making my own (aluminum) chassis for my mecanum project. I could make it more universal, so that it is also possible to equip it with tank tracks. What do you think of that? The Rover wheels / track are a possibility but an out of the box “track kit” is also a good option, for example http://nodna.de/Robo-Tank-Track-Kit-Tamiya-Gear-Box_1 . Do you have experience with " track kits” ? What could you recommend me ?
Hook up wire specification
Hook up wire specification was scambled in previous post. I used “22 AWG solid Red hook up wire” https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8023.
This is learning the hard
This is learning the hard way, it is over 25 years since I graduated (technical university, but I haven’t done something seriously technical since ;-). So far the excuses.
I want to have the Rover faster but it should certainly not be race car. If I get the speed that I see at the videos of Duan and Bajdi I am happy => try to get more out of my Rover.
You gave me some clues. Seems that another motor controller will give the greatest boost (since the L298 I use is not recommended due to the huge voltage drop) . Most obvious, I think is to go for the the Dagu-controller because it’s dedicated developed for to the Rover (E25). Problem is that is physically not fits my current chassis (currently very crowded on top). I would prefer to use one or two shields that I can stack on top of my Uno (like now). So looking for a “motor controller shield”. A this moment I am investigating “Pololu Dual MC33926” for my current mecanum project (also available as shield). It seems a bit oversized for the Rover and is certainly more expensive (2x E30), but I am willing to take that for granted. What would you do? Can you recommend an other controller that meets my needs, or should I go for one of the two above mentioned options?
Next time when “I have the Rover open” I will replace the wires: AWG16 instead of 22AWG.
The voltage regulater can deliver up to 10A. I believe it can be configured, so I can upgrade it to 7 a 7,5 V.
I will later look into “use the right gear.”
Have you connected the
Have you connected the L298N directly to 2S Lipo?
Hoe much dropped your voltage?
SOLVED Rover is a lot
SOLVED
Rover is a lot faster now. I am satisfied with its current performance. I have changed the power of the motor controllers.
Input voltage was 6V, after the voltage drop 4,3V remained for motor controller@ PWM 255 => slow Rover.
Have now connected the motor controller directly to the 3S lipo and reduced maximum PWM-value to 120 (!) => 7.5 V at the motor terminals and my Rover fast as hell;-) Post a video @ YouTube soon.
Thank you all for your inputs.