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Topic: Motor shield info (Read 933 times) previous topic - next topic



Is it possible to power motor with an aother source than the arduino board?



If you mean : is it possible to control a motor from an Arduino board and power the motor from a seperate powersupply, then the answer is yes. Actually with most motors this is required since the Arduini board can only source a very limited amount of current. Muc less than most motors will need.

Check this example : http://www.tigoe.net/pcomp/code/category/code/picbasic-pro/62

Its not Arduino but the setup is exactly the same for Arduino use.


Apr 06, 2008, 04:28 pm Last Edit: Apr 06, 2008, 04:33 pm by AVRman Reason: 1
Here is a simple example of serially controlling a fan motor with PWM. The code is posted in the code tab.


The schematic is also shown there too. It's amazing how easy it is.


Yes, but can i do that with the arduino motor shield v1.1?



Yes, that is how it's supposed to be done.  On Ladyada's shield for example, the power input is the 2 terminal block on left corner of the lower side.


But on this shield http://mcukits.com/?p=15 ? Is there connection for external power supply?


I'm pretty sure that's the power terminals at the bottom center of the board, and from the schematic, that seems to be the case as well.


The squiggly shaped motor driver (which is referred to as the Arduino/Freeduino motor driver) doesnt have a dedicated power connection for a motor. You'll have to cut the 9V pin and one of the grounds at the bottom there and connect a wire from your seperate power supply. Otherwise you'd be powering the Arduino from that voltage.


Thanks ladyada (Ilium?)

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