SparkFun Forums

[ecorrales]

I'm new to SparkFun and Artemis. And Arduino. Plan to use the Redboard on a robot, 12VDC main power, some sort of 5VDC stepdown for a Raspberry, also a powered USB hub. Was going to connect from the Raspberry to the Redboard, either directly or through the USB Hub.

I assume the Redboard can be powered either through USB , or the barrel connector. What if both are used? Is that an issue?

I assume the expected voltage via USB is 5VDC ? But more flexible via barrel connector?

I think ideally I would want to power via barrel connector, and just USB for communications from Raspberry to Redboard

thanks for any help/ideas/suggestions

[TS-Chris]

Hello ecorrales, and thanks for you post!

I assume the Redboard can be powered either through USB , or the barrel connector. What if both are used? Is that an issue?

While you should be OK powering from both interfaces, we recommend sticking to just one to be safe.

I assume the expected voltage via USB is 5VDC ? But more flexible via barrel connector?

Yes, USB is always 5 volts. The barrel jack can accept 7 to 15 volts.

I think ideally I would want to power via barrel connector, and just USB for communications from Raspberry to Redboard

Since the board uses so little current, the preferred method of powering the RedBoard Artemis in your situation would be through your USB cable since you're using that for data anyway. (The Pi really won't notice the few mA's the board needs and it simplifies your wiring.)

[ecorrales]

hi.. thanks.. let me expand on the above and see if you still think I should go with USB power..... I ordered several of your sensors (acoustic, distance, lidar, IMU, etc,etc) i think I have a total of 12 sensors. I also have a powered USB hub (so I'm not worried about Raspberry powering anything directly)... but I was planning on using an Arduino (maybe) or Redboard for basic robot motor drive, and another Redboard for all the sensors, and the Raspberry for overall control plus webcams... I imagine with all those sensors... the current draw goes up?

[TS-Chris]

That would make the current go up somewhat. How much depends on the number of additional sensors you're using and how much current each needs but sensors typically don't need too much in the way of current to run. You're probably just fine with USB for power but I would suggest adding sensors a few at a time and testing just to be sure.