Capabilities of Adafruit 16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Driver

[d7x]

I've just ordered one of these and was wondering if there is anything special about connecting to an Arduino. I'm assuming that I would just connect to A4/A5 as with standard i2c components.

1) is there's anything else that I would need to account for that differs from conventional i2c connections like a sensor?

2) I know you're working on a tutorial right now but looking at the board, it seems like the pins and the C2 capacitor would need to be soldered. Is there anything else that needs to be done in terms of prep work?

3) Also, I've heard that when running multiple servos, it's a good idea to use a different power source than the one used for the microcontroller (Arduino in my case). What is smartest way to provide power in a mobile format? I'm building a project for a mini Maker Faire so it's going to have to run about 9 hours.

[adafruit]

1) its just like any other i2c device
2) you may or may not need a capacitor depending on how many motors, power source, etc. any electrolytic 10V+ will do
3) V+ is the 'motor' power, VCC is the 'logic' power. they are separated. see the back of the PCB photo. AA battery packs work very well

[d7x]

3) V+ is the 'motor' power, VCC is the 'logic' power. they are separated. see the back of the PCB photo. AA battery packs work very well

So I would connect VCC to the 5V Arduino power and then V+ could just go to a AA battery pack. Would the AA battery pack be sufficient for running 6-8 standard servos or would I need to use a 6 cell AA pack? If I needed to use the 6 cell pack that you sell, how could I wire it to keep the power at 5V (which I believe is what I would need for the servos)?

[adafruit_support_bill]

So I would connect VCC to the 5V Arduino power and then V+ could just go to a AA battery pack.

That's right.

Would the AA battery pack be sufficient for running 6-8 standard servos

It should be. They can supply a lot of current. If they will be seeing heavy use, you could size up to a C-cell pack.

or would I need to use a 6 cell AA pack?

6 cells is too much for most servos. Most servos like to run at 5-6v. A 4-cell alkaline pack will give you 6v. A 5-cell pack of rechargeables will give you 6v also.

[d7x]

I have a bunch of questions concerning how to connect this board.

1) I would guess that addressing the onboard pins consists of writing to an address ending in 0-15. How do you address each servo that is attached?

2) Is there a library at this point for the PCA9685 or would the servo library be used as though one were writing to a standalone servo?

3) Connecting the PCA9685: I understand where to connect GND, SCL, SDA, VCC and V+. What is OE used for?

4) Are the duplicate sets of connections (GND - V+) on the left and right simply to provide an alternate means of connections?

5) How would one chain multiple PCA9685s together?

6) Does the PCA9685 come with a capacitor?

Thanks for all of your help on this. I'm sure that when the tutorial is done, it will answer all of these questions and a whole lot more

[adafruit_support_bill]

I don't have one in my hands yet, but there is a library, and it is currently the best source of documentation. A read through the example code will answer a lot of your questions.
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-PWM-Servo-Driver-Library