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Comments by Patrick
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New revision of the Dual VNH5019 motor driver shield for Arduino
- 1 April 2024Hello.
The Pololu Dual VNH5019 Motor Driver Shield for Arduino should be a good choice for powering two motors like the ones you are using, though the motor's current requirements might start pushing the boundaries of what the driver can do as you approach the 16V maximum operating voltage for that motor. Keep in mind that as the operating voltage increases, the motor's current draw increases proportionally, so the approximate current draw will be around 2.7 times higher at 16V than at 6V (which is the likely operating point for the current specs you copied since that is listed as the nominal operating voltage).
The best thing you can do to avoid damaging your motor is to just not subject it to loads beyond what it can handle. It might help to limit the supply voltage (or the maximum PWM duty cycle) and implement acceleration/deceleration limiting to avoid sudden impulses. You might also consider using the VNH5019's current sense feedback to monitor the motor's current draw and signal to reduce power or turn the motors off if the current gets too high. A good rule of thumb is 20-25% of the stall torque/current. However, that advice can be at odds with the objectives for a Sumo competition, so it is ultimately up to you to assess the risks and benefits of how you try to protect your motors, and to what degree.
- Patrick
New longer-range Pololu distance sensors
- 27 March 2024Hello, John,
The sensors use a 940 nm laser (Class 1).
- Patrick
New product: VL53L8CX Time-of-Flight 8×8-Zone Distance Sensor Carrier
- 25 March 2024Hello.
We do not currently have any MicroPython example programs for the VL53L8CX, but if you are interested in working on that, ST's API (application programming interface) should be a useful reference. You can find a link to that as well as other documentation on the product page under the "Resources" tab.
- Patrick
New Pololu distance sensors with digital and pulse width outputs
- 20 November 2023Hello.
A target does not need to completely overlap the cone projected from the sensor's FOV for the sensor to work, but it does need to reflect enough light back to the sensor's detector for it to estimate the distance accurately. So, the combination of maximum range and minimum target size will depend on external conditions like ambient lighting and target characteristics (e.g. color, size, shape, texture, and reflectivity). That typically makes it hard for us to say with certainty whether or not our sensors will work in a particular application, but I think it is very unlikely for a grain of rice at a distance of 20 cm to reflect enough light for these sensors to work reliably.
- Patrick
New longer-range Pololu distance sensors
- 20 November 2023Hello.
A target does not need to completely overlap the cone projected from the sensor's FOV for the sensor to work, but it does need to reflect enough light back to the sensor's detector for it to estimate the distance accurately. So, the combination of maximum range and minimum target size will depend on external conditions like ambient lighting and target characteristics (e.g. color, size, shape, texture, and reflectivity). That typically makes it hard for us to say with certainty whether or not our sensors will work in a particular application, but I think it is very unlikely for a grain of rice at a distance of 20 cm to reflect enough light for these sensors to work reliably.
- Patrick
New product: USB 2.0 Type-C Connector Breakout Board
- 25 July 2023Hello.
The usb07a boards use 0603 resistors (imperial units). Can you tell me why you are asking? In case it is helpful, we have a 3D CAD model of the board that shows the resistors on the product page under the tab.
- Patrick
New Pololu distance sensors with digital and pulse width outputs
- 14 June 2023Hello.
The output should be able to source or sink a few milliamps. There is a 220 Ω resistor in series with it, so it is unlikely to be damaged by overcurrent, but you will see a significant voltage drop or rise if you try to source or sink too much current respectively.
- Patrick
New Pololu distance sensors with digital and pulse width outputs
- 7 February 2023Hello, Sean.
The 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm Pololu Digital Distance Sensors are identical except for the configuration of the surface-mount jumpers, near the mounting hole on the front side of the board, which determine the sensor’s operating mode. You can find more detailed information about this in each sensor's product page description under the "Jumper settings (irs16a)" header.
- Patrick
New Pololu distance sensors with digital and pulse width outputs
- 24 October 2022Hello, Jim.
Both the Sharp sensors and the Pololu Distance Sensors depend on infrared light reflections, which will be affected by ambient conditions and target characteristics. That makes it hard to know for whether one of the Pololu Digital Distance Sensors will work better for sure, but I think there is some hope that they could be better. If you decide to try them out, I would suggest testing the version with the longest range that will work in your setup since the longer range sensor should be more sensitive for a given distance.
- Patrick
New D24V150Fx 15A step-down voltage regulator family — our highest-power regulators yet!
- 20 May 2022Hello, Yiannis.
We have tested these regulators at their maximum input voltage, but to the best of my knowledge we have not observed ourselves or heard of anyone else observing behavior like what you described, so there might have been a problem with your setup or that particular regulator. The comments for this blog post are not a good setting for troubleshooting discussions, so please email us, and we would be happy to help figure out what might have gone wrong. In your email, I recommend including a reference to your comment here, your order information, and some pictures of your board and setup.
- Patrick