I lost $70 in two seconds when I inadvertently reversed polarity on one of my sabertooth 2 x 5 motor controller boards... Lots of blue smoke that day...

Not that I want to toot my own horn but I've never released any magic blue smoke... my secret is simple, read everything, understand it, then connect it up to the magic of electricity

LOL... @Rich... Knock on wood dude!... Have you checked Melvin? He could be going up in flames as we speak...

He's fine, his battery is removed (I don't trust him not to turn himself on and run riot in the spare room!)

They say a Carpenter measures twice and cuts once. Why not use the same rule in electronics

all the circuits and connections are available to you on the ARC manual,ask questions on the forum if you don't understand before you make that final power connection if you are unsure.Make it as detailed as possible even include a photo.

Smoke of various colours usually is a result of circuit overload or incorrect polarity.

Always use a fuse on any power circuit ,or if you connect first with a bench power supply and limit the current you may identify any possible short.

This will ensure you have a smokeless experience.

I smoked two TTL-WiFi boards of two brands trying to convert my EZ-b v3 from Bluetooth to WiFi.

Both were examples of trying to work on something when I was too tired and making silly mistakes.

1st was (I believe) mixing the ground and power.

2nd was giving 5 volts to a 3.4 volt board.

Lesson in these is to not work with delicate or expensive electronics when not in possession of all of your faculties.

Alan

This is sort of a repeat of Alan's (and others) sage advice: Check everything.
Resolve any ambiguities the diagrams or instruction leave you with. If you are not absolutely sure how the power is to be hooked up, ask for help.
Make sure you know what voltage each circuit needs. Check everything. If there is still some doubt - go do something else. Come back to the project with a fresh mind. Check everything. If you can, divide the project into smaller or simpler component parts Maybe, start out with only 1 servo connected. Check everything. A quick disconnect if something is wrong probably won't help. The blue smoke is much faster than you are. Check everything. When you are confident that the polarities are right and the voltage levels are correct, connect it up and enjoy! Also, DON'T plug anything into the system with the power ON.

Ya, whatever. I say if you haven't blown something up then your not doing much bot building. blush

I burned out a V3 EZB by draging an energized 5vdv power source over the digital ports. Didn't even spark so I didn't even have the consolation of seeing a blow. However then I turned a live pot past it's one turn limit and at least it had the dignity to shoot flames up into the air for about 3 inches. That was exciting. eek