Getting started with an arduino, A. what you will need – Pololu Dual VNH5019 User Manual
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3. Getting Started with an Arduino
As with virtually all other Arduino shields, connections between the Arduino and the motor driver are made via
extended stackable headers that must be soldered to the through-holes along the top and bottom edges of the shield.
This section explains how to use this motor driver as an Arduino shield to quickly and easily add control of up to
two DC motors to your Arduino project. For information on how to use this board as a general-purpose motor driver
controlled by something other than an Arduino, see
3.a. What You Will Need
The following tools and components are required for getting started using this motor driver as an Arduino shield:
• An Arduino. Using this product as an Arduino shield (rather than a general-purpose motor driver board)
requires an
This shield should work with all Arduinos and Arduino
clones that behave like a standard Arduino. You will also need a USB cable for connecting your Arduino to a
computer. We have specifically tested this shield (using our Arduino library) with:
◦
(both original and R3)
◦
◦
*
◦
◦ Arduino Duemilanove (both with ATmega168 and ATmega328P)
◦ chipKIT Max32 Arduino-Compatible Prototyping Platform (PIC32-based Arduino clone)
• A soldering iron and solder. The through-hole parts included with the shield must be soldered in before you
can plug the shield into an Arduino or before you can connect power and motors. An
will work, but you might consider investing in a higher-performance, adjustable
soldering iron if you will be doing a lot of work with electronics.
• A power supply. You will need a power supply, such as a battery pack, capable of delivering the current your
motors will draw. See the Power Connections and Considerations portion of
for more information
on selecting an appropriate power supply.
• One or two brushed DC motors. This shield is a dual motor driver, so it can independently control two
bidirectional brushed DC motors. See the Motor Connections and Considerations portion of
for
more information on selecting appropriate motors.
* Note for Due users: The voltage on the current sense pins will exceed the Due’s 3.3 V limit when the
current draw exceeds ~23 A. The Due should generally be able to handle this since the MCU’s integrated
protection diodes will clamp the input voltage to a safe value (and since the CS circuit has a 10 kΩ resistor
in series with the output, only a few hundred microamps at most will flow through that diode). However,
if you really want to be safe, you can use a 3.3 V zener diode to clamp the current sense output voltage to
a maximum of ~3.3 V. If you want to get the full range of current feedback while using the Due, you can
disconnect the shield’s current sense pins from the Due and then reconnect them through a voltage divider;
see
for more information.
Pololu Dual VNH5019 Motor Driver Shield User’s Guide
© 2001–2014 Pololu Corporation
3. Getting Started with an Arduino
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