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Asked — Edited
Resolved Resolved by Steve G!

Adjustable Step Down Voltage Regulator

Hi I was wondering what is the best digital voltmeter displayed adjustable step down voltage regulator to use with the ezb v4 when powered by the ez robot 7.4 vdc lipo battery or battery's of a higher voltage. I am planning on buying the ez robot lipo battery but I plan on using higher voltage batteries later on for more power and longer life but I need the right regulator so I don't kill the ezb v4, sensors an servos. Any one know what I should buy? Sorry if I ask a lot of questions I just hate to blow up my equipment before I can us it. Im new to the robotics thing


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#2  
You can power the ezb up to 17v or so.... However, servos won't work at those voltages... It's best to use 7.4 lipos for any project with servos... If you absolutely need to use a higher voltage battery you will need to either power the servos separately with a 7.4v lipo or search eBay for a step down voltage regulator that can supply lots of amps... I suggest a minimum of 20amp adjustable bench regulator... Servos need power that's why it is just so much easier to stick with lower voltage LIpos or niMh when using servos in your projects...

You will always need a 5V regulator for sensors like pings no matter what size battery you are using....
#3  
@bborastero That regulator is only good for sensors like pings as it only outputs 1amp... Probably wouldn't even drive 1 servo....
#5  
bookmark this
page as reference, it explain powers requirements for the v4. I believe the V4 can go up to 16v. The problem is the power going into the v4 will also get distributed to any device plug into it. The safe Voltage for the V4 with components will be a 7.4v. If you are working on a larger project that require more voltage etc. You will need a voltage regulator for the components (sensors, servos, LED's etc). I personally use this

Voltage regulator. It work well for me.
#6  
1amp would be ok for micro servos, but I doubt 1amp would be enough for even 1 heavy duty ez robot servo...
Gibraltar
#7  
@PJ_Dtechy nice i like it and will be ordering a few thanks
#8  
@PJ_Dtechy That voltage regulator is only rated at 2amps... Again, the problem is it can't supply enough power for a robot that has many servos... For example, when you first boot Six the inrush of current of 12 servos will exceed 10 amps... It would probably blow that regulator....
United Kingdom
#9  
@Omegaproject.

As has been mentioned, you need a good supply of amps to power periffrals, especially servos. There aren't many regulators/ step down buck converters that will supply the amps you will probably need (as Richard mentioned, 20 amps is a good number to go for). The very few high amp regulators that there are will cost a small fortune.

A better and cheaper option you could use with the correct long lasting voltage and amperage you need, would be to use two (or even three) 7.4 LiPo batteries and connect them in parallel. That way it would cost you less than a high amp output regulator, you still get the same voltage output, and the mAh would be greatly improved giving you longer run times between charges.

Hope that helps.:)
#10  
Thank you all very much It hate that I don't know much about robotics I was originally going to take it in high school but life had other plans. And if I use the online 5v regulator perfirile with the hd servos continus and sensors it should be ok then with the two lipo a rite, becuase the reason why I've been asking this question is becuase I am building a tall standing bi-pedal robot that will be either the same size or maybe taller that the XLR- One robot. So far I have estamated that I will have up to 23 hd servos, 14 pressure sensors distributed from the hand and feet, 1 mini 100ft distance sensor for each hand from robot shop and 3 ultra sonic ping sensors from 1 in the chest and two between the toe areas of the feet and I plan on putting a inboard touch screen computer in the upper chest but I'm going to seperate the pc to a seperate power source. I want it to be a family harloom
United Kingdom
#11  
@Omegaproject

Just to clarify, ideally what you need to do is to hook up a 7.4 LiPo battery (or two in parallel) directly to the EZ-B (no regulator needed). That 7.4v will power the servos. Where you need to use the 5v regulator is with 5v sensors or motor controllers.

The red pins on the 24 digital ports will deliver the voltage/amps that the battery supplies, 7.4v in this case. Attaching the 5v regulator from the online store to these pins, will drop that voltage to 5v and supply a miximum of 1 amp.
#12  
@Omegaproject Not sure why you gave the credit to Steve... Anyway, as I was saying you need lipos for that bot you want to make... They are light, have the right voltage and can produce tons of current for servos... Perfect for a biped...
#13  
Awsome thank u Guys as sry I was gonna put credit to all but I only allowed one for some reason I guess their isn't a credit all opion but I honestly give every one who has commented on this post credit if it wasn't for every ones input I would be clueless and I think I see what ur saying on the 5v regulator but I'm not exactly sure how to hook up 2 lipos in paralle would I just use a dual wire connector for both powers and both grounds or is there a specific wire connector to combine the two batteries together. I really fill stupid rite now lol I just really want to make some thing unqinue and one of a kind that I can pass in to my future generation and that my family can be proud to have in the family
#14  
Here is the bi pedal in which I got my inspiration of making my robot closest in resemblance with. I have always loved E-102 gamma and the name for him came from gamma's later version E-123 (Omega) i even plan on making weapon attactment adapters like his left hand cannon or even hiden weapons inside of his body panels for home defience and shooting range purposes, of course they will be airsoft and nothing lethal lol and that is why I am doing as much research and asking for as much imput as possible to insure Omega's success.
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United Kingdom
#15  
@Omegaproject

I have to agree with Richard. I'm not sure why you gave me the credit either. He gave you a good answer of using LiPo batteries and sufficient amps needed. I was just adding to what was already answered. But to answer your question to how to connect batteries in parallel, join the batteries Possitive wires together and ground wires together then a single possitive and ground wire from the join to the EZ-B. Here's a quick diagram...

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#16  
Thank you I thought that's how to do it but I wasn't sure and I guess next time I should give credit to all in my comments instead of the credit giver thingy lol thank you all so much
#17  
If you use the EZ-Robot batteries with the Deans connectors, one of these is what you need to parallel them together.



Parallel Adapter
#18  
If your looking for a way to to drop voltage from between 25v to 5v to a Selectable Output between 4.8 - 9.0V I found a great little Bec 10A 6S Switching Regulator by Castle Creations. It's super small (only about 1 inch x 1/2 inch), programmable output voltage (With an extra unit you have to buy), runs cool because it a switching regulator and will handle up to 10 amps draw. Here's the specs:

Code:


*1.2" (30mm) x .6" (15mm) x .4" (10mm) , Weight: .4oz (11g)
*Input voltage: 5V to 25.2V (2S to 6S LiPo)
*Current output: 12 volts input = 7 amps continuous, 10 amp peak
*Current output: 24 volts input = 5 amps* continuous, 7 amp peak
*Selectable Output: 4.8 - 9.0V via the Castle Link (sold separately), Default voltage is 5.1V


www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MXAR12/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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