Question about DFRobotShop Rover V2 (RB-Rbo-33)

[nfysekis]

Hello all !

I am considering buying a DFRobotShop Rover V2 but I need some information.

I would like to ask if the 3.7 1000 mAh LiPo battery suffices to power up the whole robot (both board and motors) ?

If not, then I guess that the (not included) 4xAA pack is required to power the motors and the LiPo will power just the board. Is this correct ?

Finally, does the LiPo battery charger have micro-usb port? Can we use micro usb to charge the battery directly from a USB port of a computer ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS. I have to say that I am an absolute beginner so please pardon me if the questions are a bit dumb…

[ocdtrekkie]

Ah, that answers a question I had. I was curious how you could charge the LiPo if it was a big no-no to use a barrel plug and a JST at the same time. It’d be nice if a future iteration of the rover had the ability to charge the LiPo from the barrel, along with the rover being able to have both plugged in, preferring one over the other in cases where both were present.

[cbenson]

Completely agree. For part of the solution, RB-See-21 is perfect, and you can adapt a barrel connecto to JST.

[cbenson]

I would like to ask if the 3.7 1000 mAh LiPo battery suffices to power up the whole robot (both board and motors) ?

Yes - there is an onboard voltage regulator which increases the 3.7V to 5V for the microcontroller. This means it can provide power to the microcontroller via the regulator, and directly to the motors via the motor controller. Note that it’s intended to power smaller sensors via the microcontroller and nothing “too big” like a large servo.

If not, then I guess that the (not included) 4xAA pack is required to power the motors and the LiPo will power just the board. Is this correct ?

The AA pack works well, and the motors work a bit faster (since it’s 4.8V or 6V rather than 37V). Note that you need to remove the LiPo jumper if you use this option. Just like the 3.7V pack, the 4xAA pack powers both the electronics and the motors.

Finally, does the LiPo battery charger have micro-usb port? Can we use micro usb to charge the battery directly from a USB port of a computer ?

The LiPo pack is charged using the same mini B connection which you use to upload code to the board. The pack takes a few hours to fully charge.

The DFRobotShop Rover was designed for people looking to get started with mobile Arduino projects.

PS. I have to say that I am an absolute beginner so please pardon me if the questions are a bit dumb…