Freenove Control Board - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: klassicsam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 04:33:28 am
content: Hey everyone,I have recently purchased a Freenove Ultimate Starter Kit with UNO which is pretty cool for newbies, it basically has a programmable control board, however I notice that to power it, I need to connect it through USB to my computer, although I see a power jack on it, but it doesn't seem to work. Does anyone know if I want to power my project with batteries how should I do it? I searched online and in their website but it doesn't seem to be covered!I hope someone out there has the answer to this

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 07:32:05 am
content: The Uno should work when powered thruogh USB. If not the Uno may be defective.The power jack will take 5VYou can power the Uno with batteries via the power jack. The Uno should be ok because there is on board voltage regulator.

author: klassicsam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 06:13:24 pm
content: Thank you for your reply! The UNO works with USB input, but I need to have the board away from any wired connection, so battery is the ideal choice. However I have no idea where you can buy a 5 volt battery and also what the amperage of the battery should be. Unfortunately there isn't enough info on these boards.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 06:44:58 pm
content: The power jack on Arduino is connected to a linear voltage regulator, so you should provide a bit more than 5V to it (9-12 V should be fine, with 9 V being the better option), since there is some voltage drop in the regulator.Also, be mindful about the polarity of the barrel jack. Positive should be on the center pin. If your power supply has negative on the center pin, Arduino will not work since there is a series diode to protect the device from reverse polarity.As for amperage of the battery, well you'll have to figure out that yourself by adding up all the stuff that will consume power. Generally speaking, unless you are using very small batteries, this should not be a problem, since most batteries can provide quite a bit of current.You'll also need to figure out the capacity of the battery, which will depend on how long you expect the battery to be capable of powering the circuit.

author: klassicsam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 07:24:50 pm
content: Thank you so much for your input! I will try it tonight!!

author: klassicsam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 04:43:31 am
content: Thanks again! It worked! Issue was polarity!

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 05:46:38 am
content: Glad to hear that.I try to remember to check all my new devices (including power supplies) for barrel jack polarity. Center positive has become almost universal, but only almost, so I make a point of checking it and clearly marking the exceptions, since wrong polarity can lead to some head scratching and even magic smoke release.

author: klassicsam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 02:58:39 am
content: While I love electronics and find it fascinating, being newbie at building things, it can be mind bugling should something go wrong. Coding for Micro-controllers is the easy part, however I always wanted to learn the analog side of things, like how transistors work, how you calculate voltage distribution in a complex circuit and many more.