Customer:
I need advice on powering a robot car that I plan to control with a joystick and two Dasduino ConnectPlus boards using ESP NOW communication protocol. I recently purchased four DC motors with wheels and a DC motor driver. I plan to power the motor driver with 6 rechargeable AA NiMH 1.2V batteries (instead of 18650 batteries shown in diagrams). Will this be sufficient for 4 motors plus logic, or does the Dasduino need separate power?
From your tutorials, I see that the driver can provide 5V from pin 5V for logic power. Which pin do I connect this 5V to on the Dasduino, since it has no VIN pin? Should I use the BAT pin or something else?
I plan to power the second Dasduino (connected to the joystick) with 4 AA 1.2V NiMH batteries and control the car via ESP NOW. Will this work with the Dasduino, and do I also connect to the BAT pin?
I’m interested in answers to these questions or other battery power advice for the Dasduino.
Original message (Croatian)
Trebao bih savjet vezan za napajanje robot autića kojeg planiram upravljati joysickom i dva Dasduino CONECTPLUS i putem ESP NOW komunikacijskog protokola. Kupio sam kod vas nedavno četiri DC motora sa kotačima i DC motor driver. Elementi su mi složeni kao na slici s time što planiram napajati motor driver sa 6 x punjivih AA NiMH 1.2V baterijama (umjesto na slici prikazanim 18650 baterijama). Za početak dali će to biti dovoljno za 4 motora + logika ili bi Dasduino trebao posebno napajanje ? Kako izčitavam iz vaših tutorijala sa drivera i pina 5V povlačim i struju za napajanje logike – dasduina. E sada me zanima na koji pin spajam tih 5V s drivera, s obzirom da nema pina VIN na Dasduinu? Pretpostavljam da onda na pin BAT ili možda ne ? Drugi Dasduino koji će biti povezan sa joysickom , planiram napajati sa 4 x AA 1.2V NiMH baterijama i putem ESP NOW upravljati autićem. Dali će to odgovarati Dasduinu i dali se tada isto spajam na pin BAT ili ……..? Zanimaju me odgovori na ova pitanja ili možda drugi savjeti vezani za napajanje baterijama Dasduina. P.S. Na kraju nisam uspio zalijepiti sliku spajanja motora i drivera u ovaj upit ali nadam se da je jasno što me zanima i bez slike.
Originally submitted via email support on 14 January 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
The BAT pin is the connection point in both cases.
For the receiver Dasduino: you can use those batteries, but you need a converter to step down from 7.2V to the voltage the Dasduino expects, which is around 4V - it’s designed to work with Li-Ion batteries which operate at that voltage.
For the joystick Dasduino: the same applies - you need a converter. It would be best to use a Li-Ion battery with the correct connector on the board.
The project looks interesting. I learned about ESP NOW from this discussion, which I hadn’t personally used before. A colleague also informed me that this protocol consumes a lot of current during operation, so make sure to limit its use in your code to only when necessary - this will extend battery life.
Original message (Croatian)
konzultirao sam se sa timom i rekli su:
Za prijemni dasduino - možeš koristiti te baterije ali moraš imati neki konverter da ih spusti sa 7.2V na napon koji Dasduino očekuje, što je oko 4V - jer, kao što sam napomenuo, napravljen je da radi sa Li-Ion baterijama koje su oko tog napona Za joystick dasduino - ista stvar, trebao bi ti konverter, i najbolje bi bilo koristiti Li-Ion bateriju za koju imaš točno konektor na pločici Pin je BAT u oba slučaja
Projekt izgleda zanimljivo, i evo preko njega sam saznao za ESP NOW koji nisam osobno do sad koristio. Kolega me isto informirao da taj protokol troši dosta struje pri radu pa pripazi na to da ga u kodu ograničiš da se koristi samo kad je najbitnije, to će ti produljiti battery life.
Customer:
Thanks for the reply, but to drive 4 DC motors through an L298N driver, I need a voltage higher than 4V - which is why I have 7.2V. I thought the 5V output from the driver would provide appropriate voltage for the Dasduino logic. I’m not an electronics expert and additional converters create more problems for me. Regarding the joystick Dasduino power, I thought 4 batteries = 4.8V wouldn’t be an issue, since I assumed the BAT pin has an integrated 5V regulator mentioned in the Dasduino specifications.
Original message (Croatian)
Hvala na odgovoru, ali za pogon 4 DC motora preko drivera l298N moram imati veći napon od 4V ( dakle tih mojih 7.2 V ) a mislio sam da izlaz s tog drivera 5V šalje odgovarajući napon za logiku Dasduina. Dakle bez tog dodatnog konvertera. Nisam baš ekspert za elektroniku i sad još neki konverteri su mi samo još dodatni problemi. Što se tiče joystick dasduino napajanja mislio sam da one 4 baterije = 4.8 V nisu problem, jer sam pretpostavljao da i taj BAT pin ima integrirani 5V regulator koji se spominje u specifikacijama Dasduina.
[name removed]
Soldered Support:
Regarding Dasduino and battery power: the BAT pin expects a voltage of approximately 4.1 to 3.7V, because it’s designed to connect a Li-Ion battery that gradually discharges. The VCC pin on the Dasduino ConnectPlus expects a constant 5V, which then goes to the 3V3 regulator (which powers the ESP32). If you have a constant 4.8V, you can try using that pin. If it drops below 4.8V, you may experience unpredictable behavior, which is why it’s important to use a battery charging circuit. Technically, this approach is not recommended.
Motor power supply is often different from microcontroller power supply precisely because of these voltage requirements. Look into ‘buck converter’ or ‘linear voltage regulator’ circuits, for example LM317.
Original message (Croatian)
što se tiče Dasduina i baterije, BAT pin očekuje napon od oko 4.1 do 3.7, jer je napravljen da se na njega spoji Li-Ion baterija koja se postepeno prazni. Pin VCC na Dasduino ConnectPlus-u očekuje stalnih 5V koji onda idu u regulator za 3v3 (koji napaja ESP32). Ako imaš konstantnih 4.8V možeš probati s tim pinom. Ako padne ispod 4.8V možeš imati nepredvidivo ponašanje, zbog toga je bitno koristiti strujni krug za punjenje baterije. Ovo tehnički radi nije baš preporučeno.
Napajanje za pogon motora je često različito od napajanja za mikroupravljač upravo zbog tih naponskih zahtjeva. Pogledaj ‘buck converter’ ili ‘linear voltage regulator’ sklopove, npr LM317.