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Power concerns — Parallax Forums

Power concerns

Connor149Connor149 Posts: 25
edited 2010-10-20 15:46 in Accessories
This may be a bad question but i don't know the answer. If i am using a XBee PRO 60mW Chip Antenna (XBP24-ACI-001) to wireless control two 7.5v VDC motors and i have the 6 AA battery pack as a power, do i have to worry about over volting it or ruining it in any way, if that is a problem what can i do to avoid this?

Comments

  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-10-13 13:10
    Six alkaline AAs or six NiMH rechargeable AAs?

    Six rechargeable cells would make for 7.2 volts, which is perfect for the motors. The XBee will require a regulated 3.3v supply.

    Rich H
  • Connor149Connor149 Posts: 25
    edited 2010-10-13 13:23
    well i am honestly not sure, say i do go with rechargeable, how would i regulate the xbee
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-10-13 13:55
    Connor149 wrote: »
    well i am honestly not sure, say i do go with rechargeable, how would i regulate the xbee

    Your robot will need a brain of some form to receive the data from the Xbee, process it, and then control the motor drivers. If you use a Propeller based board then you just connect the XBee to that. The Propeller requires 3.3 volts so it's board will have an appropriate regulator on it.

    Rich H
  • groggorygroggory Posts: 205
    edited 2010-10-20 15:46
    Connor149 wrote: »
    well i am honestly not sure, say i do go with rechargeable, how would i regulate the xbee

    The same way you'd regulate any other IC...with a voltage regulator.

    If you're worried about inefficiencies you could even use a switching voltage regulator.
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