which shield should I use for 4 servos

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gruant2000
 
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Joined: Wed May 27, 2015 2:06 pm

which shield should I use for 4 servos

Post by gruant2000 »

***dangerously new person here
I have an Arduino Uno R3.

Here is my details...
- 4 servos(none purchased yet, still investigating)
- only 1 will ever be powered at once

loop logic...
have array [1,2,3,4] <-- 1 for each servo
arduino pick random number from that array
then arduino move that servo to 90 degrees... hold for 5 seconds ... then move back to 0
...loop start over

I can probably work through the logic code, have been watching lots of tutorials.
I have been watching tutorials on multiple servos and people are using diodes and capacitors and all that.... that is where I get lost.
I don't get that at all, so I figured I would try to idiot proof this and use a shield(s).

Not sure which of these shields would fit my situation better.
.1.. Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit - v2.3
.2.. Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Shield - I2C interface

motor shield approach .... the logic seems easier for me to follow, but I don't understand how to stack them as the servo headers would be in the way...right?? plus it uses pin 9&10 ...right? So how would I program those pins if I stacked 2 of them?

16 channel approach .... that looks to be pulse control...not move to 90 degrees and stop.....right??

lastly.... power supplies for both approaches. I was hoping to hook up to a 9v battery just for the simplicity for servo power. This is where I starting reading about regulators ... my head hurts ..lol . Are regulators "built in " to the above shields? can I just hook up a 9v and go to town or do I need to get a 5v battery pack?

sorry for the book

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: which shield should I use for 4 servos

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You could use the servo shield or 'roll-your-own' using a proto-shield. Programming for the proto shield is the same as for the motor shield.

The motor shield servo headers are a straight pass-though of pins 9 and 10, so the shield doesn't really add anything other than the convenient headers. And, since they are a straight pass-through, stacking motor shields doesn't give you any more servos. You can build a 4-servo shield yourself in 15 minutes on the proto shield.

9v batteries are probably the most expensive and least efficient way to power servos. You can go with a 4xAA (6v) battery holder and get much more run time and power.

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