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Powering PING))) Sensor with what battery? — Parallax Forums

Powering PING))) Sensor with what battery?

jonarmanijonarmani Posts: 5
edited 2011-07-20 15:33 in Accessories
I found the spec sheet for the PING))) sensor, saying that it uses +5 VDC and 30mA [35mA max]. What I need to know is how to power this external to my board?

I'm using an Arduino Uno and the +5V is already taken by another component.

I'm quite terrible at electronics as far as splicing circuits with resistors, etc, to get the proper voltage/current. For example, using a 9V battery but designing a circuit to limit the power and current to what I need.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Comments

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,255
    edited 2011-07-19 22:21
    Ain't got no Arduino Unos here. WELCOME TO PARALLAX! :)

    Assuming that your board really supplies 5V, you can probably hook up your PING to that same 5V supply. Even if it's "taken", the PING's 30 mA isn't much and shouldn't cause a problem as long as there's a decent voltage regulator on the board.

    So you'll hook your Ping's red +5 wire to +5V on the board (AKA Vdd or Vcc), and the black ground wire to your board's ground connection (AKA Vss), which usually goes directly to the negative side of the battery.

    Feel free to come back when you have some more Parallax-related questions!
  • jonarmanijonarmani Posts: 5
    edited 2011-07-20 13:29
    You misunderstand; My question is not Arduino-related, it is Parallax-related because I want to power the PING))) sensor without using the Arduino (its +5V is taken, like I said). I'm asking a battery question on how to power the Parallax PING))) sensor.
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-07-20 15:16
    What erco is saying is that you can use the 5v from your Arduino board for more than one device, as long as you don't overload the power supply. The Ping probably won't cause any problems.

    Assuming you are using something like an Arduino Uno, it only has one "socket" for you to plug a wire into to get 5v. But that does not mean you can only connect to one thing.

    Are you using a solderless breadboard? If so, you can connect a wire from your 5v "socket" to one of the rows on the breadboard (or one of the power bus strips). You can then run two wires from there, one to the Ping and the other to your other component. You could also do something like this with a proto shield if you can solder.

    Basically, all you need to do is split the 5v output into two or more connections. If you can solder, you could even just take one wire and solder two other wires to one end of it - essentially creating a wire with 3 ends. Plug one into the Adruino and use the other two ends for your devices.

    If you really want to power to the Ping separately, you will essentially need to duplicate the power supply circuit on the Arduino to get 5v. You will not find 5v batteries. It is possible that 4 NiMH batteries in series will give you close enough to what the Ping needs (4 x 1.2v = 4.8v).

    I'd recommend splitting the 5v out from the Arduino and using it for both the Ping and your other component. You can do the same with the ground connection (although the Arduino does have two ground "sockets").
  • jonarmanijonarmani Posts: 5
    edited 2011-07-20 15:33
    I gotcha. Well, I'll do the 3-ended wire trick you mentioned. Thanks
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