Running Arduino mega on 5V power supply

Question

I'm wondering if I can run Arduino mega on 5V power supply, even though it's recommended for 6-12V. USB has only 5V right, will it be a problem? I expect to draw quite a lot of power from the 5V pin too so could it be a problem?

Answer 1

Here's what I did for my project:

I used a high current regulated 5V supply. I took a USB cable with the square connector that goes into the Arduino and cut it in half. I attached the red and black wires to +5V and ground on my regulated power supply. I then drove the high current components in my project directly from the 5V supply.

If you use this approach you should probably also add filter capacitors between 5V and ground at both the Arduino and the high current load. Those will help smooth out the voltage variations as the high current load switched on and off.

Answer 2

The 6-12V range applies only to the onboard voltage regulator(if you provide power via Vin or the barrel jack). The Arduino itself runs on 5V and the regulator needs a bit headroom above that to do the regulation.

You can run the Arduino via USB, since it has 5V, just as needed by the Arduino

And you can provide power directly to the 5V pin (with a voltage of 5V or course).

If some of your components draw a lot of power, you should never draw that current through the Arduino. You need to connect the power supply in parallel to your components and the Arduino, so that the high currents can flow past the Arduino, not through it.

Answer 3

If you connect it from the USB port on your computer to the USB plug on the Mega, you'll do fine. What you can't do is connect a 5v source to the barrel jack; that goes to the board's voltage regulator which needs ~ 7v minimum to provide 5v out.

"Quite a bit of power" is a rather vague specification. A USB port can supply 500mA unless the device in question negotiates for more current and the port in question is capable of supplying it. What is probably more concerning is if you're trying to pull a lot of current through the Mega, you risky overloading its pin-drivers or its PCB tracks. The Mega's pins are spec'd for 20mA; 40mA Absolute Max, briefly, to not damage it. The total current budget is 200mA max. If you're planning to approach either of those levels, you should consider powering some of your devices separately. That might include powering from the same or another USB port, as long as you don't pass it through the board, and you observe the USB ports' maximum currents as well.

Answer 4

Yes, you can run the Arduino Mega off of a 5V supply. Instead of connecting the voltage to the DC jack, instead feed your 5V into the +5V pin on the Arduino header. (it is one of the red pins in the image below).