Boe Bot for Arduino Question
lotsofdotts
Posts: 7
Hello! I'm new to the forum and I recently got The Boe Bot kit for Arduino. I started some of the tutorials for the kit and I'm on Chapter 2, Activity 6. Here's the problem I'm having:
Right now, I have 2 LEDs plugged into the mini breadboard. There is a switch on the Board of Education Sheild that has three positions. Position 0, is for OFF, Position 1 will supply power to the breadboard only, and Position 2 supplies power to the breadboard and servos. When I plug in the battery pack, the LEDs turn on right away even though they shouldn't because the switch is on 0, and the LEDs are connected to the power supply via the breadboard. The servos I have connected don't turn on right away, so the switch isn't completely malfunctioning.
I'm hoping that somebody here can answer my question; Is this what is supposed to happen with the LEDs, or is the switch on my Board of Education Shield partially broken?
Right now, I have 2 LEDs plugged into the mini breadboard. There is a switch on the Board of Education Sheild that has three positions. Position 0, is for OFF, Position 1 will supply power to the breadboard only, and Position 2 supplies power to the breadboard and servos. When I plug in the battery pack, the LEDs turn on right away even though they shouldn't because the switch is on 0, and the LEDs are connected to the power supply via the breadboard. The servos I have connected don't turn on right away, so the switch isn't completely malfunctioning.
I'm hoping that somebody here can answer my question; Is this what is supposed to happen with the LEDs, or is the switch on my Board of Education Shield partially broken?
Comments
Can you provide more detail about how the LEDs are connected?
I think position 1 turns on power to the headers right above the breadboard but the other digital pins could have power (depending on what program is running) as soon as the Arduino is plugged in.
A picture is usually helpful in cases like this.
BTW, Welcome to the forum.
If you click the link, there is a picture of how the LEDs are connected to the board. My LEDs are connected exactly the same way.
Thanks for the link. That explains a lot.
No, there's nothing wrong with the switch (at least based on the current information). The switch turns on the power to the header above the breadboard. The header labeled "DIGITAL" connects directly to the Arduino's pins.
The switch doesn't turn the Arduino on and off. The "DIGITAL" pins will be in the same state for all positions of the switch.
It would be kind of nice if the switch could control the Arduino but doing so would require the BOE shield to have its own power connector. The Arduino's power buses don't allow a switch to be added without cutting traces on the Arduino's PCB.
IMO, it would have been nice if there were some sort of jumper on the Arduino to allow one to easily add a switch.