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How would I go about connecting an electric motor to the Boe-Bot? — Parallax Forums

How would I go about connecting an electric motor to the Boe-Bot?

greasygreasy Posts: 2
edited 2014-03-14 17:39 in BASIC Stamp
Hi everyone, I just purchased an electric motor rated at 6V DC. If I wanted to connect the motor to the battery pack powering the Boe-Bot (4 1.5V alkaline batteries), would I connect the motor's positive terminal to vin and the negative terminal to vss? I'm not completely sure and I don't want to fry the electronics.

Im talking about the vin and vss in the X1 section of the circuit.

Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-03-11 17:40
    Yes, that would work. The motor will run all the time that the power switch is on, of course. Is that what you want? OTOH, if you want to control the motor with the BASIC Stamp, more circuitry will be required.

    I would recommend 0.1uF caps between the two motor leads and between each motor lead and the motor's metal housing. 'Best to solder them on right at the motor itself. This will help to reduce noise on the power leads.

    And, BTW, welcome to the Parallax forum!

    -Phil
  • greasygreasy Posts: 2
    edited 2014-03-13 13:25
    Thanks for the reply. Do you recommend the caps in parallel to the motor to even out voltage fluctuations?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,257
    edited 2014-03-14 17:39
    Motors make a lot of noise that can cause problems in electronics, especially micros. Filter caps help reduce that noise. One cap across the motor leads is a minimum requirement. The 3-capacitor configuration which young PhiPi mentioned (AKA delta filter) is one of the best. See the three capacitor description at http://www.beam-wiki.org/wiki/Reducing_Motor_Noise
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