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RoboPi with Parralax 360 Servo question — Parallax Forums

RoboPi with Parralax 360 Servo question

I have the RoboPi board from Mr. Henning, and a Raspberry Pi 3, and I am going to power the RPi3 from a rechargeable micro USB power pack. The RoboPi (as far as I can tell) gets its power from the RPi, which would be 5V.
The new Parallax 360 servos look like they need 6 - 8V to run well from the specs. So is the best way to do this maybe purchasing a 5 AA battery holder from Parallax and then power the servos from that and not draw from the RPi/RoboPI power source?
Thanks for any tips.
My goal is to hook the lidar up to the RPi and have the Propeller chip on the RoboPi do the servo motors and other sensors.

Comments

  • I would look at a couple of battery packs.

    https://www.parallax.com/product/28989

    or

    https://www.parallax.com/product/28988

    depending on the area you have.

  • OK, thanks. But this is the best way to do it, I mean separate power source for the servo motors and the electronics? Or do most of you just use one source for all?
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2017-10-03 21:20
    Normally you want to keep servo power separate from the electronics because of surges and spikes induced in the servo power supply line.

    Yes, a dual supply line is best.
  • Thanks so much, I'm putting in another order to Parallax today, so I really appreciate the timely reply! :)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    I'm running a Boebot with two 360 servos, just using the stock 6V (4xAA) battery pack. Working fine, and I'm well beyond the bench demo below, running on the floor. Of course a heavier bot may well need more power.

  • @Erco - thanks, I'll have to look at my design I was going to do again, and figure out where I want to put the second power pack since the motors need a separate power source than the RPi3/RoboPi combo. Good to know they will work off 4AA if that's all that will fit! :)
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