MovieMaker
Resolved by Rich!
I have now two 12v batteries on my Sunshine robot. I plan to hook up the EZB4 which will allow the 12vdc to go to the bus. Then I will regulate EACH individual device. They will also get the same 12v which will be regulated to the 6 or 7 volts they need to operate. I have them already wired and ready to receive the EZB 4.
I plan to move the servos and then park them at a place and release the juice going to them.
Hope that will work. I have her brain ready to go now.
I will then add sensors. She is hooked to the 10 servos now, but no sensors. I have to figure a way to get the camera on top of the head. That is what I liked about the wireless camera on EB 3. It was easy. Just find a digital port and hook it up to turn it on. Now the other situation has me a little bit concerned. I did not build the robot to take apart. In fact, I barely got it together as it is. There is NO room to work in the head. So, that is going to be a challenge, I suspect.
I have many sensors, IR,PIR,Ultrasound, Compass, microphones for direction, photo sensors, and many more.
I plan to operate the wheelchair motors through the recommended Sabertooth on the EZB 3.
I wonder if I can hook the camera up wireless without having to run the ribbon cable to the camera.
I guess you understand what I mean.
Wish me Luck!
Mainly the way I have it wired.
I have a camera question in there.
and also would like advice on routing the wires.
Thank You very Much!
Two 12v batteries run in parallel to provide 12v to each of the EZ-B V4s? Or is each supplied by one battery with a common ground?
What's powering the EZ-B V3 you mentioned?
Every device connected to the EZ-B V4s are going to have their own regulator?
What is supplying the voltage for the wheelchair motors and sabertooth?
The EZ-B V4 camera cable can be extended however either requires you to cut the cable and join it with some extension wire between or build an extension cable. Currently there is no wireless camera (even when they do release the wireless camera it will require a power source)
What are the voltages of the sensors? Are they going to have a regulator each or one for multiple sensors? What voltage is the regulator? How many amps can they handle? What demand do the sensors have? What are the recommended voltages for the sensors? (note, a lot of sensors will work on a voltage range i.e. 3.3v to 5v but give more accurate readings when supplied with the correct voltage)
Perhaps if you are unsure of if it will work you should take some time to work out the schematic for the entire robot. It's a time consuming exercise but is worth doing. It will help flag up any issues you may have and it is a record for if you want to add, upgrade or replace any parts in the future. Here's an old version of Melvin's schematic which proved invaluable on more than one occasion.
Melvin has since gone through a lot of changes and, with the V4 now being used in him there are more which will come. Using this schematic I can easily see which bits I can remove, which need regulators etc. With the additional information included on the PC version of the schematic it also tells me the load of each servo, load on each regulator, required voltage at each point etc. I could even go as far as to calculate the voltage drop at each device if I expected issues with the voltage drop (I don't since the mV per Amp per Meter drop of the cable I am using is very low and lengths are short)
So basically, my advice is to draw a schematic. There are many free programs that can help you. Express PCB for instance, AutoDESK Circuit.io is another choice and I am sure there are a lot more out there. Or do it by hand, the old fashioned way.
You gotta do all that you're doing to make sure everything gets what it needs and works. You can plan and calculate but In the end ya never really know if all is well till you flip the switch. That's the real test.
Same two batteries in PAR supplying +12v to Everything.
From the EZB-3, +5v to some sensors.
EZB 3 supplying control of Saber-tooth and two wheelchair motors.
don't know the voltages of the PIRs yet, Seemed to work on the Analog port ok before EZB 3 burnt up. Now I will use a different EZB 3.
I will continue to update this thread with information as I know it.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE GREAT INFORMATION!
The PIRs I expect are +5V
Just be aware of the load of the sensors, if you load up an EZ-B V3 with sensors which have a large load they may cause brownout issues. It would take a lot of sensors as I believe most sensors draw only mA so it would take a lot to push past the 5A limit of the V3.
If you need help with the schematic I'm more than happy to help when I have the time but it should be pretty simple.
Well, I spent one hour. I only got the two batteries, a Diode and a couple of terminal strips made. Then, I could not print it or save it. So, it was useless to me. I will try some other method.