Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
2021-07-26 3:05 pm
😀 I consider myself a "Jack of All, Master of None" when it comes to stuff in general. I was once told that my hobby was "collecting hobbies". I have my hands into a bunch of projects at all times and sticking to working on them vary due to outside temperature in the workshop (No AC) or weather, where others get pushed to the side when I start a new project. I have a large shop full of projects and work and when it's too hot out there, I work on other stuff in the house. I almost need to build another smaller workshop so I can properly set up my electronics and 3D printer bench in the converted single car garage. I love to fix things too. But found out the more you know how to fix things, you will spend all of your time fixing things. 🙃 But what brings me here is I am starting out with stepper motors and drivers and came across the DroneBot Workshop on YouTube as there were some very relevant videos on what I was working with. Of course with new knowledge comes new questions that need to be answered so . . . Here I am. 😋 I will ask in the appropriate area but I will mainly (for starters) be interested in Arduino UNO, NEMA 23 Steppers, and the StepperOnline brand digital stepper drivers.
Thanks for having me,
Voltage
Thanks,
Voltage
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2021-07-26 10:15 pm
I almost need to build another smaller workshop so I can properly set up my electronics and 3D printer bench in the converted single car garage
Ha! That's classic, and I hear you. I also relate to having a lot of projects going at one time. I sometimes think I work for the Partial Products Division. You know, you could start a Youtube channel on how you manage all your multiple projects and . . . .
Anyway, welcome here. I'm no expert on motors, but I do have one comment on getting to know Arduino. I would use Arduino Nano for just about everything. It hits the sweet spot as far as cost, ease of programming and using, widespread documentation and community acceptance, etc. I do realize the rationale for teaching and recording a video using the Uno; it's everywhere, so everyone is used to it. I do have an Adafruit Metro, which is, I believe, pin compatible and the same size as the Uno. I learned a lot from it, even bought a motor "shield" kind of daughter-board. However, most of the time, I considered it too large to be practical, and so by extension, the Uno is also too large. Your mileage may vary 🙂
In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different.
Voltage reacted
Topic starter
2021-07-27 1:24 pm
The worst part is I already have a large workshop but it would be too expensive to air conditioning it unless I won the lottery.
On the Arduino choice, I have a bunch of UNO's that are the original "Made in Italy" versions although I know that doesn't really matter. I got a deal on them. Now I am using them with a screw shield and an LCD shield (16x2) for speed control output with a stepper on a welding positioner. When you get older sometimes big is better so you can see what you are doing. LOL That said, I assume with the NANO you can get all the same shields as with the UNO and do the same thing, right? Amazon has a pack of 3 aftermarket NANO's for about $15 so I guess that would be a good place to start. But I also noticed no 5V input on the NANO and I use that in my builds so far with a 9-12V 1-1.5 amp wall wart. But I guess they make a wall wart charger with USB3 huh? Does the NANO use the same coding language the UNO? Thanks for the welcome.
Voltage
Thanks,
Voltage
2021-07-27 3:51 pm
On the Arduino choice, I have a bunch of UNO's
Ah, excellent point. The best module is always the module you already have.
For the Nano, shields, no. Not as far as I know. I guess this is a personal choice. I got the motor shield for my full size Uno compatible, the Adafruit Metro, and it worked. I followed along the little tutorial, and got the motor to spin. But I felt I wasn't learning as much. Although I liked the idea of all that capability in theory, in practice it kind of overwhelmed me. I kept learning a little bit at a time, with separate H-Bridge modules as in the Controlling DC Motors with the L298N Dual H-Bridge and an Arduino video created by Bill. That's just me personally.
Perhaps for you the shields are the way to go. It does seem to eliminate the need for an extra breadboard or perfboard-plus-soldering that my Nano projects require.
But I also noticed no 5V input on the NANO and I use that in my builds so far with a 9-12V 1-1.5 amp wall wart
Mmm, not sure that's true. I believe that's what the VIN is for. If you plug in the USB then that pin is 5V because it comes straight from the USB source, and that voltage is the standard. However, you can also just supply 5V input directly to that pin.
I use this diagram to try to figure out which pin to use; functionally it is the same as the full size Uno, though it has one extra PWM output.
Actually, I made a circuit showing exactly this
Skill Builder - Perfboard for LED control
Now, the layout leaves much to be desired, the soldering is, well, beginner level, and the circuit doesn't do much but blink some LEDs, but other than that, it's great. 😮
The main purpose was to practice layout, perfboard and soldering, so I included a little screw terminal for powering via wires instead of a USB cable. I hadn't actually tried it, but will do so today, and report back.
Does the NANO use the same coding language the UNO?
Yes, identical as far as the language. You do have to pick the board with the Board Manager command under to Tools menu, but you need to learn to do that regardless, since there are many nice boards using the Arduino IDE, including ESP32.
In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different.
Voltage reacted
2021-07-27 4:17 pm
Anent supplying 5V to the Arduino Nano without using a USB cable, the answer is yes. I just tried it on that small circuit mentioned above. Cheers, John.
In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different.
Voltage reacted
Topic starter
2021-07-27 5:23 pm
Thanks John, I read the whole post and although I have plenty of UNO's I will buy a few NANO's just in case they are all I need. I use the LCD shields currently just as a visual RPM readout. I think I found an adapter for the NANO that would allow shields too. I also ordered some motor controllers based on some of Bill's videos. 😀 Looked at your other project and realized I learned how to wire wrap a very long time ago when I was young. At the local telephone sub station (don't know what they called it) an installer from Tennessee was looking for a part time helper and I took the job. We installed the equipment (line finders) to automatically switch calls and eliminate the need for operators. The wire bundles had a bunch of smaller bundles and a hundred different colors and stripes etc. He explained the colors and the pattern we needed to follow and he was on the other side of the building doing the same thing as me with a wire wrap gun. It was electric or battery (I forget) and made an excellent connection. When we were done we had to test (yell back and forth) and moving a probe to verify we were in sync. I made zero mistakes although with his Southern accent and him calling one wire color slate (it sounded like he was saying slight) I quickly assumed he meant gray. 😛
Thanks,
Voltage
2021-07-27 5:31 pm
@madmisha Thanks for that. I'm the first to admit I still get confused by this, especially by "In" that I thought were just "Out". Specifically, I think of the 5V as an output, to power other sensors, LEDs, whatever, from the Arduino.
And for the VIN, I thought it was whatever is provided to the USB port, which I think would be 5V. On the other hand, the pinout diagram I linked to above actually says Vin is "DC Jack Input Voltage". Except that my Arduino Nano clones don't have a barrel jack, so I assume it means the USB port (mini-USB). See why I'm confused? 🤔
This post was modified 3 years ago by jBo
In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice, they're different.
2021-07-27 5:39 pm
Yeah. Vin is tied in before the voltage regulator. Directly in-between the that and the USB jack/DC barrel connector(if there is one). USB and the DC barrel are tied together.
5V pin is after the regulator and is just a bus to the chips and other 5V pins.
This probably does not apply to 3V boards though, but I am unsure.
jBo reacted
2021-07-27 5:49 pm
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.