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problems with power supply — Parallax Forums

problems with power supply

czetieczetie Posts: 7
edited 2009-11-08 17:25 in BASIC Stamp
Brand new Boe-Bot/BASIC Stamp user here with a pretty fundamental problem.

I just unpacked my kit, and it seems that the 6-9VDC battery power input isn't working (no power LED, board not detected by the PC), although the 9V seems to work fine. Before I spend valuable playtime trying to determine whether the problem is in the sled, the power plug, or the power socket (there are no obvious wiring breaks): does this matter at all? Am I losing/risking anything if I just forget about using the 4xAA sled and just use a 9V alkaline battery?

H/W is a BS2 rev G on Board of Education rev C.

TIA,

Carl "Virginia Virgin"

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-11-07 22:21
    Do you have a multimeter? RadioShack sells a simple but useful one for about $20 that's good to have on hand.

    Can you measure the output voltage of the AA battery holder at the power plug? What is it?

    A 9V alkaline battery has very little capacity and really can't supply power to servo motors for more than a few minutes. It can power the Stamp for long enough to do some of the experiments, but can't run the motors.
  • czetieczetie Posts: 7
    edited 2009-11-08 01:41
    I don't have a multimeter (yet... I suspect it's going to be very useful once I start getting into any reasonable projects) but I do have a 9V DC power adapter with, coincidentally, a tip of the right size, and that seems to work fine. So I guess some sort of problem with the sled... Me off to Radio Shack tomorrow, I guess.
  • MSDTechMSDTech Posts: 342
    edited 2009-11-08 01:48
    I know it sounds simple, but from peronal "oops" I learned to make sure:
    1. The batteries are good.
    2. They are all in the holder facing in the the right direction
  • czetieczetie Posts: 7
    edited 2009-11-08 01:58
    @MSDtech: Never hesitate to suggest the obvious smile.gif If I had a dollar for every time I've done one of those two... and don't even mention the time I blew an EEPROM programmer by pulling a card while it was still powered up...

    I tried two sets of batteries so either they're OK or I was really unlucky. And they look to be lined up right (and to be the right way around wrt the springs). Oh well. At least I can play/learn until I get over to Radio Shack.
  • andrewmasonandrewmason Posts: 1
    edited 2009-11-08 09:37
    Mike Green said...
    Do you have a multimeter? RadioShack sells a simple but useful one for about $20 that's good to have on hand.

    Can you measure the output voltage of the AA battery holder at the power plug? What is it?

    A 9V alkaline battery has very little capacity and really can't supply power to servo motors for more than a few minutes. It can power the Stamp for long enough to do some of the experiments, but can't run the motors.

    You should have proper calculations before using alkaline battery in term of voltage and AA else it may ham full for your system. my suggestion is this.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Christian rings
  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2009-11-08 12:47
    A 9-volt DC power adapter with a tip of the right size should work fine.
  • czetieczetie Posts: 7
    edited 2009-11-08 17:25
    Problem resolved. Kinda...

    I went to Radio Shack (for a multimeter) and while I was there, for two bucks I picked up a holder that connects 4xAAs to the 9V battery snap. Easier than fiddling around trying to find where the break is in the original sled. Now I can get on with real stuff!
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