Questions tagged [power]

This tag is for questions regarding powering and/or power consumption of Arduino systems.

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1 vote
2 answers
874 views

Will the 3.3V regulator on an Arduino Leonardo work when powered from USB?

Will the 3.3V regulator produce 3.3v when the Arduino is powered from the USB port?
1 vote
2 answers
116 views

What does the datasheet information for a switch mean?

I'm clueless when it comes to the information on datasheets for switches. When I see a datasheet for LEDs or servos, I'm used to seeing a fairly straightforward call out for the required volts and ...
2 votes
1 answer
593 views

Arduino power consumption issues

I'm working on an Arduino project involving an UNO. I'm powering a 20x4 LCD screen and I am using all the ports on the Arduino, to the last. All but four of them are pulled high at any given time, ...
0 votes
2 answers
262 views

What is Vin for the EthernetPOE board?

I am working on a project that needs to drive a relay board. I'm looking at the ETHERNET board with PoE and according to the documentation here (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardEthernet) the ...
1 vote
3 answers
380 views

Arduino on battery getting unstable if temperature falls

i am building an outdoor sensor with a combination of a custom Arduino board and a battery (+solar charging). I experience strange behavior when the temperature falls below a certain value (i can ...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does Leonardo need a separate power supply?

I'm currently using an Arduino Uno (R3), but want to switch to Leonardo for the USB-ability. The Uno can work from the USB's 5V. Looking at the Leonardo's schematic it seems the only input to the ...
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

where to syphon off voltage from a 25 pin serial? [closed]

I have a mircocontroller that's looking to be powered by a 5v source. I am trying to 'cypher off' some of this power from a 25 pin serial port, which is being powered by a constant power source. Are ...
1 vote
1 answer
469 views

Power consumption issue. I made project using atmel-328p

I made project using atmel-328p. I want to run it over a year. I am using power_down mode & 5500 mAh li-ion battery still battery discharges in 1 day. I am using standard code as explain on ...
2 votes
0 answers
2k views

Controlling multiple LED strips with arduino

I want to control several (undecided) cut strips of these led lights:here. I want to be able to turn the LEDs on and off from the arduino, but I know that the voltage is too high to work with with ...
6 votes
1 answer
385 views

Powering 5V Accesories

I'm using an Uno to control NeoPixels LED strips (60 per metre). These are powered with a 5V DC supply. Now, when using USB to power the Arduino it works lovely. However I want to move the Arduino ...
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

Is the supply voltage made available anywhere on the Arduino Uno Board?

I need to power an OpAmp based circuit that will be connected to my Arduino Uno input. Since I have a 12V adapter for the Arduino board, I want to draw power from it for this opamp(LM358). Does ...
2 votes
0 answers
1k views

Driving stepper motors adafruit motor shield v2

I got an Arduino Uno Rev3 and Adafruits Motor Shield V2. I also got two RepRap stepper motors: Frame size 42 x 42mm - NEMA 17 1.8 degree step angle Length 47mm Holding torque 44 N.cm (4.4kg.cm, 62oz....
1 vote
1 answer
7k views

Two 300RPM 12V DC motors connected to arduino motor shield r3 power supply

I have two 300RPM 12V DC motors connected to arduino motor shield r3 that is mounted on arduino uno board. Problem is my motors runs very slow some times not even running. After googling I found I ...
27 votes
2 answers
10k views

Arduino USB Power vs External Power Supply

Why is the Arduino able to accept ~5V from the USB, but requires a min of 7V when using an external power supply?
1 vote
0 answers
2k views

Power servo with external power using a hacked USB cable

I want to use a servo motor and control it by an Arduino Duemilanove (or a Leonardo). It seems to work fine when I connect it directly to Arduino's VCC, GND and an PWM pin. But I am a bit worried if ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Controlling flexinol with an arduino board?

I am looking to wire up 16 pieces of flexinol (http://www.musclewires.com/MWFlexinol.php) using an arduino board. Ideally I would like to be able to activate them independently, meaning that they ...
1 vote
3 answers
233 views

Why does the battery eliminator connected to the wall provide a better spin to my dc motors than my battery of the same voltage?

Using a H-bridge, I've connected my DC Motors to an Arduino. When I accept the external power source from a wall, using a 9V battery eliminator, the motors spin well and consistently. However, when I ...
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

Driving power MOSFET from 3.3v or lower Arduino Pro Mini

I want to control a low voltage (hobby class) motor with a 8Mhz/3.3v Arduino Pro Micro. I'd like to power both from 2 alkaline cells. The motor draws approximately 1 A @ 3V with new batteries. I ...
0 votes
3 answers
845 views

Arduino uno + XBee Shield Not transmitting when under battery power?

I have a few Arduino's along with XBee Shields communicating with one another. The problem I'm having is that, when all the Arduinos+XBee Shields are powered via USB(PC) they seem to work fine and ...
1 vote
1 answer
712 views

LCD display under power saving mode

To make LCD display, Pro Mini and ATMega2560 to run on one set of battery for months, appreciate idea and comment. Which LCD to use? Which LCD chip controller chip (hide inside the LCD) has better ...
0 votes
1 answer
375 views

Attiny84A and IR Sensor

I have a GP2Y0A21YK0F Sharp IR Analog Distance Sensor 10-80cm + Cable, Arduino Compatible and its is connected to my Arduino. All works well and I can read the analog data with the following code: #...
1 vote
2 answers
883 views

Is it ok to share the same power rail for the arduino and a shield?

I have a two amp 5VDC power rail. I have configured a motor shield to use external DC (by moving a jumper.) Is it ok to share the rail between the arduino's 5V and Gnd pins, and the motor shield?
1 vote
1 answer
3k views

Budgeting Power for 5V Arduino Pro Mini

In my low power project, I'm using a Arduino Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz, ATMEGA328) and a low wattage 3W power supply. Everything else on the system other than the Arduino uses a max of 1.98W. How much ...
1 vote
2 answers
6k views

Can I power an Arduino with a computer's motherboard?

I was thinking of using my Arduino to turn on and off a computer remotely. I would like to know if the 5v header pin on a computer's motherboard (which I’m using instead of a USB because the 5v pin ...
3 votes
1 answer
5k views

Curious: What would happen if you connect 5V and GND port directly with a wire

Has anyone ever accidentally or inadvertently connected connected the supply port with the ground port with a wire? Does Arduino provide internal safety to prevent the circuit board from shorting ...
0 votes
3 answers
3k views

What's the best way to control a USB-powered desk light

I recently bought a USB-powered desk light. Is it possible to control (turn on/off) it with the Arduino Uno? The desk light has 3W so needs 600mA. Should I connect the USB wire with the 5V pin of the ...
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Leonardo (32u4): ways to brick it programmatically

When the Leonardo was introduced, I think, I've read some articles about being cautious to do some things, that could cause it to not load any new sketches any more, so one has to rewrite the ...
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Running an LCD keypad shield from a separate power source

I need to use a motor shield and an LCD keypad shield simultaneously hooked up to a single Arduino Mega Board. Since I can't physically stack them, I decided to reroute all the pins used for the LCD ...
1 vote
2 answers
405 views

Mega 2560 powered with 7V don't work correctly

I have an Arduino Mega 2560 with a GPRS seeedstudio shield and an USB Host CircuitsAtHome shield which work fine when powered with USB or with an adjustable voltage regulator set at 8V. When I set ...
0 votes
1 answer
579 views

MCU fuses used by Pro Mini and ATMega 2560 and power down

In context of Pro Mini and ATMega2560 Fuses, as documented in chip factory doc are complex topics (I have not really used it before), appreciate pointers and advises, to narrow down those that are ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Using multiple laptop battery packs to power everything

I'm working on a medium sized robot project with multiple arduinos to control stuff. I've been planning on using a lead-acid battery pack, but then I was given 10 working and identical Asus laptop ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Can I use this pinhole camera with arduino?

The pinhole camera is a 420TVL, 3.7mm Passive Infrared Detector Color Covert Security Camera. Can I use this camera with an arduino creation? Things I don't know to answer the question: Does the ...
1 vote
3 answers
7k views

Externally Powering a 3.3V device (nRL24L01+) with a 5V Arduino Pro Mini?

I have seen several references where the solution to interfacing a 5V Arduino with a 3.3V nRF24L01+ was to power the nRF24L01+ externally. How do I do this? The ground of the nRF24L01+ is connected ...
2 votes
0 answers
128 views

Can I use the SVG headers on the SainSmart Uno to drive servos?

I am working with a Sainsmart Uno with SVG header pins. This header is really convenient for hooking a servo to directly, so I have two servos connected to it on D9 and D10 and a 9v battery supplying ...
2 votes
0 answers
160 views

Olimexino (32u4): power down

I want to power down my Olimexino as much as possible and only wakeup on a pin-change interrupt. I removed the 3.3V/5V jumper (so the processor does not get power) and 3µA were displayed, so the ...
1 vote
2 answers
944 views

External (pin change) interrupt and power consumption

I want to write a lipoly powered arduino device that can be launched from sleep mode by pressing a certain key that is connected to ground. Usually, when no in sleep mode I enable the internal pull-up ...
2 votes
1 answer
850 views

Why does arduino work on usb power?

The arduino website states that the operating voltage of an arduino is 7-12V. Why does the arduino work powered on just usb then? As usb only outputs 5V and 500ma. Is it preferable to say run the ...
6 votes
1 answer
7k views

Can I use an external power supply and still communicate with my computer over Serial?

I read the following online: If you plug in both USB power (say from a pc) and external power via the 2.1mm jack, the Arduino chooses power source automatically. If the external 2.1mm DC is providing ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Autonomous Quadcopter power distribution and sensing concerns

I've been programming and testing an Arduino based quadcopter for the past 4 months. Until now I did not need to use an external power source for my sensors. Now I want to use the 'BEC' power from my ...
1 vote
1 answer
719 views

Efficient periodic wake up for sensor reads [duplicate]

I've been tasked to do an initial design for an Arduino setup that needs to run very infrequently. Basically, I'd like the system to wake up daily to take some sensor readings and report them back to ...
0 votes
1 answer
567 views

What is the smallest microcontroller capable of running Arduino? [closed]

I'd like to know which is the most powerful, lightest, and perhaps least expensive micro controller capable of running Arduino.
1 vote
1 answer
858 views

DC-DC converter with Arduino not working

I've got a program running on the Arduino that is supposed to turn on and off a pump. currently, I am outputting the reads of the components that need to be read and it shows when the port (port 13) ...
1 vote
4 answers
10k views

Can I turn off a device using the 5V and analog pins?

Could I connect a device that requires minimum 5V 1A from the 5V Pin to the Ground and somehow turn it off inside a sketch? edit: I'm using a Due based boad, the digix http://digistump.com/wiki/...
3 votes
1 answer
844 views

Arduino Uno + Ardumoto + BT robot works from USB but not from baterries

My Arduino UNO board is part of a small robot that works when connected to the laptop by USB but it does not when plugged to the batteries. The baterries plug seems okay, it outputs 7.8 V. My UNO is ...
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

What will happen if I give my Arduino Uno more or less than 5 volts? [closed]

Will it still run on less than 5 volts? Will it break?
4 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to switch an external circuit with Arduino?

I have an object with a series of led and I want to turn on and off these leds from my Arduino. The input of the LED circuit is 24v DC 100mA. What I've done is the following: I've cut a wire of this ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

How to power Arduino externally for long term? [closed]

For a robotic project, I need to keep an Arduino powered up for a long time in an outdoor environment. What can I use to power the board? If battery is the only solution, can the device tell me ...
15 votes
3 answers
8k views

Why is the regulator very hot?

We have an LED strip connected to output 6 and is powered by the Uno board itself. Shouldn't be drawing too much current, only have 10 elements on the LED strip. While this LED strip is connected to ...

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