Simple power questions

I’m a total noob, just building my first hexapod from a LM kit (maybe 60% through the build)

What do people generally use for powering stuff (boards and servos) in the lab. I can imagine charging batteries all the time would be a PITA, do most people use a regular bench power supply or something?

I’m more of a software guy so this is mostly new territory for me :slight_smile:

Actually one more thing - most of the battery packs I see at hobby shops and whatnot are 7.2V but I notice some of the Lynxmotion batteries are 6V. I know the SSC-32 doco says 6V-7.2V - what is the practical difference between using 6V and 7.2V to power servos (apart from 1.2V)?

I now regret not ordering a battery pack with my LM kit, but it was kicking the shipping cost up a serious notch and it was already a pretty decent investment in a new hobby :smiley:

On some test setups I use the normal batteries on others I use the wall warts, like: lynxmotion.com/p-753-regulat … 33amp.aspx

The difference of the 1.2V is many servos don’t like 7.2V, which can cause them to fail. You also have the option of using a switching voltage regulator to output 6V from a higher voltage battery. Things like: dimensionengineering.com/SportBEC.htm I have done this on a Rover as the motors run on 12V…

Kurt

Ahh I just came across something related to the 7.2V support in the SSC manual.

Thanks Kurt.