Hello!
I wanted to know if I can power and control the 2 DC motors in the mini rover kit AND power 1 small servo (the one in the Arduino basic kit) from it.
I have noise problems when activating the servo (a lit led is flickering) . The servo is currently powered by the Arduino, as per the Arduino Servo example. I tried to plugin-in a capacitor (100uf) to avoid the problem. However, when I do so, the servo acts erratically.
So, I wanted to avoid the problem by powering the servo over the 3.7 volts battery that powers the tweo DC motors instead of the Arduino.
Cheeers,
Kadersin
Normally an RC servo won’t operate at 3.7V, so you’ll need a step-up voltage regulator such as:
robotshop.com/ca/en/step-up- … 7v7f5.html
If the servo is under load, it’s possible the Arduino’s pins simply cannot provide enough current.
Thank you!
On the DFRobotShop Rover Mobile Robot Shield, there are 2 empty power connectors. What voltage are they providing? Unregulated 3.7 volts from the power pack?
Yes. Those are just alternatives to the JST connector and are really intended as inputs rather than outputs. The shield is really designed for use with a 3.7V LiPo pack though.
Hum. OK.
So basically, the only power outputs provided by the shield are the 3.7v ones that are used for the 2 DC motors? No other?
There is the standard 5V output pin which can provide some current and might be the best option for a servo, but keep in mind if you have a number of motors and additional devices, the onboard voltage regular can only handle so much current. You should be able to use an analog pin to connect a standard servo provided it does not consume too much current.
Thank you very much!
So this 5V is coming from the battery (through the Shield), not the Arduino, right?
The shield’s onboard regulator is providing 5V via the 5V pin; this pin is also powering the Arduino, and the maximum current it can provide for the entire system is ~1.1A.
