Decreased output voltage in Board of Education + propeller choice

Project144

We have a Board of Education (Rev C) and we need your help!

We measured the volt output from the motherboard (I/O pin) to the battery (Vss) and got ~1.5 V. When we measured the volt output from Vdd to Vss we got 5V. We would like our propellers (used for flying a plane) to receive 5 V and at the same be able to control it with the motherboard. Is this possible and, if so, how do we do it?

Speaking of propellers, we need more of them. Does anyone know where we could order them? It's important that they are pretty small and doesn’t weigh too much. The ones we have now are salvaged from an old RC-plane. It's also important that they have their own motor.
(Is this maybe a possible propeller choice? http://www.mft.nu/?ProdID=207050)

Thank you.

LoopyByteloose

Forgive me, but I have to really guess much of what you want to do.

Is that approximately 1.5 volts output? What is the initialized state of the I/O pin (output high, output low, high impedance input). The BasicStamp microcontroller operates between 0 and +5 volts and the Parallax Propeller microcontroller operates ideally between 0 and 3.3 volts. There is about a half volt leeway to assure that these devices are rugged. To share with a BasicStamp's 5 volt environment the Propeller microcontroller, you would have to provide a 3.3 voltage source (usually a regulator chip) for the Propeller chip.

Or am I completely off in the weeds and you are referring real model airplane propellers driven by a toy 5 volt motor from the BasicStamp without and "Parallax Propeller" being involved in the project? (Hopefully you can understand that people here have a very different idea of what a Propeller is and what a propeller is.)

If you intend to drive a model airplane motor, you need a lot more power for flight than the BasicStamp alone can provide. R/C Airplane websites offer all the electronics and you can likely find a local club that will help you in your native language. Refer to R/C Electric Airplane sites for brushless electric motors, their rather large battery packs, and their motor controller devices that create 3 phase AC from a DC power supply. Motors and airplane propellers must be matched into to work properly. You need advice from someone that has a good working knowledge of both and can work with your budget.

Yes, the BasicStamp can control the motor, but Parallax's Propeller microcontroller has already created a project for electric airplane flight and it is a much better choice of an 'autopilot'.

Dr_Acula

There may be something lost in translation here. That link for a possible propeller choice is a link to a picture of a propeller for a model plane *grin*.