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Migration from the project board — Parallax Forums

Migration from the project board

prodigy467prodigy467 Posts: 5
edited 2009-08-09 19:29 in BASIC Stamp
Thanks in part to this forum, I just finshed development of my project on the Board of Education. I'd like to transfer the project onto a plain board where I can solder my connections and add some nice connectors. I'd like to avoid buying the Carrier or Super Carrier boards, and just do everything myself.

My main concerns are the input voltage. My project consists of a few sensors (all powered by the BS2 output) and an actuator which up until now was powered by a separate DC source.

My goal is to power both the BS + sensors and the actuator with one power supply (which will be the 12v 2A supply that ive been using just for the actuator).

After reading the BS2 FAQ, it looks like the VIN pin can take 12V (not sure if it can handle the 2 amps or no though). So my question is, can I hook this power supply up directly to the VIN pin and use the VDD to power the sensors I have? I would also be splitting the output of the powersupply before it gets to BS, to power the actuator.

If no, I assume I need a voltage regulator. Is there anything else I should be concerned with?

Comments

  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2009-08-09 00:23
    You should get an external regulator (or two, depending on the current). It's much better than the tiny amount of current the BS2 built in regulator can handle.
  • prodigy467prodigy467 Posts: 5
    edited 2009-08-09 00:27
    Ok, so I can pickup a 5 volt regulator. How many amps do I need to throttle it down to for the BS2? I can't seem to find it on their spec sheets.
  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2009-08-09 01:30
    It's the voltage which is critical. The BS2 will only take as much current as it needs to work.
  • steambcsteambc Posts: 11
    edited 2009-08-09 11:19
    allanlane5 said...
    It's the voltage which is critical. The BS2 will only take as much current as it needs to work.
    True that. I always prefer, on any project, to have more current available than called for, just in case the power supply is a little weaker than it's rated for. No harm will come as components only pull what they·need.
    Voltage, not so much. That's where you never want to exceed the the specs.
  • dev/nulldev/null Posts: 381
    edited 2009-08-09 19:29
    Some newbie Q's:

    If you have a battery, say standard alkaline 9V, how much ampere comes out of it if you have a near-zero resistor connected? What is the driver behind the amount of ampere in a current source?

    How can you have a current source without a voltage source? How will current flow if there is no voltage?

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Don't worry. Be happy
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