Running PING))) Sonar Sensors off of VDD

unteer

Hello All,

I was just wondering, is it possible to power four Parallax Ping))) Sonar Sensors off of one BS2 or BS2p or BS2sx VDD pin? I am new to all of this, and do not understand enough about electricity to figure out the equations. I think each sensor draws .1 Watts of power, but I do not know how many Watts the VDD pin outputs.

So again, can I power four sonars off of one VDD pin?

Cheers!

Mike Green

Read this FAQ: www.parallax.com/tabid/385/Default.aspx. There's one item on how much current the on-board regulator can supply and it describes this for each of the Stamp modules. The PING))) draws 35mA max. (read the documentation for the PING))) and about 20mA idle. You can't power 4 PING)))s that are all active, but you could power 3 idle PING)))s and one active PING))) with a BS2p/pe/px module, but have little left for anything else (like driving external logic or LEDs). This also depends on the supply voltage. The main limiting factor is the power dissipation of the regulator which has no real heatsink. With a supply voltage greater than 7.5V, the regulator would overheat with this kind of load.

I suggest you take the time to learn basic electricity, particularly the power equation (Power (Watts) = Voltage (Volts) x Current (Amps)) and Ohms Law (Voltage (E or Volts) = Current (I or Amps) x Resistance (R or Ohms). If you have questions, read a Wikipedia article (Google for "Wiki Electric Power" and "Wiki Ohms Law").

unteer

Thanks for such a speedy response Mike. Thankfully I know Ohm's law at least, but sometimes I get flustered when trying to find out which information from the product specs is what I need to plug into the equations. I will rig up a power connection from my Li-Pol instead. I just need to calculate the necessary resistance now [noparse]:)[/noparse] But I think I can handle that one...though if not I may be posting again soon.

Chris Savage

If you’re using a non-regulated power source for the PING))) you may damage it. A resistor is not a safe way of reducing the voltage going to the PING))). You should have a regulator. You could use an LM2940-5 or a 7805 regulator for both the BASIC Stamp and the PING))) if you want.

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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support