Power for Wireless Camera

Lynxmotion Rovers, Sumo, and Tracked
1

I am thinking of attaching a wireless camera (Foscam, etc.) to my 4WD rover. Most require 5 Volts at about 1 amp; Can I take this directly from my BB2? If not, any suggestions for an additional power supply? I am currently running the BB2 off a 7 Volt rechargeable battery pack.

                          Thanks,
                              DPT
2

The “about” 1 amp is important. I would recommend you test the current draw with a meter to see what it actually is. The regulator on the Bot Board is only a 500mA regulator. The processor will take about 60mA, the rest is available for external devices. If the camera has IR LED’s then it could draw that much. If it’s just a simple camera it should not draw anything close to 1 amp. If it really does draw that much I would look into a BEC, preferably a switcher, not a linear one.

3

Go on ebay and search for UBEC to find the voltage converters. More efficient than regulator chips, and usually settable for 5v output.

4

A BEC could work, as mentioned, or just put a 7805 regulator (probably on heat sink) and run it from that off of your battery (separate wire back to battery).

I Have a Foscam, and it works great! Have you put it on your local net and on the internet yet?

Alan KM6VV