I had a similar problem with my MiniB project using the RAD base. I had to go to a higher amp motor controller.

I'm not sure that I can do anything with the 2.5 amp controllers so I ordered another controller the Pololu Qik 2s12v10 http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1112 Does anyone know how to connect it to the ezb? Can I just use one of the hbridge controllers? How can I control the PMW on that controller?

Use the button switch on the motor controller to ensure it is using the power from the battery and not eZ-B

Interesting idea DJ. But the button switches are pressed on both controllers, but I'm still getting the same torque from all motors (but again if I will connect the motor wires directly to the battery it will be very strong and hard to stop with hand) Unless there is something wrong with the wiring. I used the video tutorial for the setup but the only thing I changed is to connect all the signals wires/5v/ground together to the same ports on the ezb (D15-D19). The 12v from both controllers are connected to each other and directly to the battery. I must get this thing up and running for an important presentation. I should get the new controller soon but I'm not sure if this will add to the complexity. Help...

I will post more pictures and hopefully video soon.

That thing is really creepy and really neat! Very interesting design, i like it

1. I'm unsure which direction the switch is supposed to be. I always forget

2. The motor controllers may not have supply enough power for that dude. You can most surely use a Sabertooth 2x12 or something, that will be enough. I have not heard many good things about the R/C Sabertooth versions, so beware of those. But the 2x12 or 2x25 in Serial Packet Mode is how we natively support the Sabertooth.

Other HBridges that provide more power will work also. I have found a few on ebay that support 50 amps per channel.

I'm certain your issue may be a limit to the 2.5 Amp Motor Controllers.

1. If the switch is pressed on one of the controller or both will make it move, but if both switches are unpressed then no power to the controllers. Should it provide power in both positions?

2. I already ordered a new controller the Pololu Qik 2s12v1 http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1112 how can I make this one work with the ezb?

Ok so I got the Qik 2s12v but I'm not sure how to connect it to the ezb. The Qik 2s12v have the following connections: Vin (out), gnd, err, rst, tx, rx, 5v (out), gnd , sin, gnd (rs-232), baud1, baud2, crc I think I need to. Connect the tx and rx to the ezb but I'm not sure where. Also, how can I control the pmw to the controller?

I've never seen that controller before. For less price, the Sabertooth comes with heatsinks - where that does not. It doesn't look like a controller that I would recommend. But, it sounds like you already have it in your posession. So i'll try and help you.

1. It looks like the device uses a BAUD of 9600.

2. You will connect RX to a digital pin on EZ-B. You will connect GND to a GND pin on the EZ-B.

3. Power comes from your battery maybe? Through Vin

Use this example project... EZScript-Examples-PololuQikMotorDriver.EZB

I don't know if that exactly will work perfectly out of the box, but it's an example i put together from their arduino sketch. The number 127 in each SendSerial() is the speed. It can be a number between 0 and 127

You can technically use a variable for the speed, and adjust it.

How much does that robot weigh?

Thanks DJ But now I have a new problem .. the ezb controller is dead. I can turn it on and connect to it, and everything looks alright but. I cannot do anything with it. I'm not sure if it's something in the EZB firmware or failure of one of the components. I checked the fuse, run the EZB diagnostics and checked all the connections, but still no power to any of the servos.

The robot weight around 7-8 kg It's mostly made out of foam so it's very light for his size.

Check the fuse on the ezb and do diagnostic test with a digital meter. I've done it myself.... Killed a ezb with static because I get over confident with handling the board and connections. Worse case you can replace the chip for a really low cost but let's take the other diagnostic steps first. The diagnostic video is under videos/ tutorials. - Josh Starnes

So the fuse and ezb diagnostic are all good but still so eink is wrong with my ezb. I can connect to it but I cannot do anything with it. No power to any of the servos or getting any signals back from the ultrasonic or infrared. What could it be?

Do you get a Bluetooth pair and connection with solid light?

Yes.. Usually when you connect a new servo to a good ezb the servo will move slightly but now it will not do anything.. So I suspect it's something with power or something like that

Sounds like the LM1084 voltage regulator is dead. You will need to get an EZ-B PCB without chip and bluetooth. Just the board, and swap your components over. To get that, you'll need to Contact Us.

DJ, i think you are right. I also believe that it's the LM1084. Can i just get a new LM1084 and replace it with the defective one? Also, what will make the LM1084 to fail? It was working fine for some time and then suddenly it failed during programming.

Could it be that the 12v 12ah battery was too much for the EZB?

Ok, so nothing has changed after replacing the LM1084 voltage regulator with a new one. I can connect to the EZB board (even upgrade the firmware) but I cannot send any servo movements nor get any feedback from any of the sensors connected to it. Any idea what else I should replace to make the EZB alive again?

By any chance do you have some LEDs sitting around? Connect your ezb and you should have solid led on the board and bluetooth status lights. A quick way to test your signal pins is to use a servo ext cable and solder long lead to pos and short to neg. Plug it into a port on ezb and then use the pwm slider. Choose that pin number and turn the slider up , if it blinks faster till it gets solid as you turn the slider up then that port is working properly. Test all your digital out pins this way.

Also I would delete the Bluetooth profile for the ezb and uninstall then reinstall ARC just in case the software interface had been corrupted by a bad sector on your hard drive just to be sure.

Thanks for your LED suggestion. I will give it a shot. The EZB is connected directly to the computer with a USB TTL cable. I have tried different computers but got the same results. I will remove it and connect the Bluetooth again to see if it changes anything.

So, after replacing the LM1084 a few times, checking every component and putting back the Bluetooth module, the EZB is still dead. After tracing every part i realized that there was no voltage passing to any of the digital ports. So my conclusion is that there is a problem in the PCB connection somewhere between the layers. By creating short-circuit and connecting the 5V directly I managed to successfully bring the EZB back to life. Finally I can continue with the development. yahhhayy

Well I'm glad to hear you got it back up and running!

yep, thanks for you help

Great bit of fault finding I must say. However be careful as I would say you have burnt out a land somewhere on the EZ-B board and as DJ said it looks like the EZ-B was providing power to the motor controller not the batteries.

Can you post a diagram of your wiring?

Sure, I will make the wiring diagram. I still want to make this monster turn on a carpet.

Good in the meantime dont stall the motors with your hand you may overload something again. I take it they are geared motors on the wild thumper chassis?

yes, its the Thumper 4wd

This is my wiring diagram, I don't see how the EZB will be damaged by this setup unless I'm missing something here. It is functional. However, it's very weak and cannot turn on carpet even with new indoor wheels. If I will just connect the battery directly to the motors it will make it work very hard with plenty of torque, it's like the h bridge is not providing the required amps to the motors.

I didnt realise you had 2 H bridges? others can comment if they are wired correctly I only have 2 motors on my H bridge

I would disconnect the 5Volt supply from the EZB but make sure there is a ground wire back to the board and see what happens then. If its taking power from the EZB and not the 12 Volt supply nothing will happen. Then you can check the setup of the H bridges.

Also try just one H bridge by completely disconnecting the other one

Hi Robotdude,

I have the Thumper 4WD and I am using the same setup as you with the 2 H-bridges from the EZ-Robot store. It works fine for me, but I don't have anything heavy loaded on mine. Just some sensors. I usually run the H-bridges at 50% of power to get a reasonable speed for indoor use. Did you make sure that your batteries both have a common ground?

Also, can you post a diagram of the other wires you are using for the digital connections from the EZ-B?

Finally, what "indoor wheels" did you buy? I am trying to find some for mine.

With the big outdoor wheels I found that turning on a carpet was very difficult. In order to execute a turn I had to use a custom Movement Panel and set the speed on one side equal to about 20% of the speed on the other. For example, to turn right, I set the right-side wheels to 10% power and the left-side wheels to 50% power. That seems to work best.

Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike, My robot weight around 9kg and everything is connected to the same 12v battery so there is a common ground. I wired the digital ports similar to https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/2745 So I combine the wires together to save ports on the EZB I used a very simple kid's bicycle training wheels with some small modification to make it fit into the motors. Are you sure that the 2.5 amp h bridge are enough for the Thumper 4wd? Why if I connect the battery directly I will get more torque? That shouldn't happen if the h bridge is strong enough no?

I think the main difference between my Thumper and yours is the 9kg of load on yours. I can assure you that I only need 50% power with the h-bridges to go pretty fast around my house. But I have almost zero load. So I haven't tried it with a large load .

What wheels did you buy for inside use?