2A Power supply?

[steveo]

John,
Are you aware of any sources for a 2A 12VDC power supply with the correct barrel size and polarity? I'm running 4 servos and a vMusic on my Prop2 now, and when more than 3 servos are under load at the same time (with the vM2 on as well) I'm getting erratic results. I'm thinking this is due to current load on the 1A power supply.

[gadget-evilusions]

Before anything you might want to check the load with a meter before getting a bigger power supply. If your load is under 1000ma you'll know it's something else before going and getting a new supply.


http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=380155

That is a 2amp power supply with the right connector.

[steveo]

Each servo can suck up 250mAh so 4 under rotational load plus the vM2 module is pointing me in this direction.

[JonnyMac]

The 5v supply on the Prop-2 is only capable of 1A -- so a 2A supply will not help you.  If you can find a 7.5 volt, 2A supply you could run the servos safely from V+ and have all the current you need. 

[steveo]

Thanks Jon. I think I'll just be a little more clever with how many servo's are working at any given time.

[menehune]

Jameco has a 7.5V, 2.93A power supply (p/n 38008) for $15.89.  It has a barrel connector so you probably will have to cut it off to connect to the three pin (BRW) cable on the servo.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=380008

[JonnyMac]

If you use an external supply for the servos make sure that you connect that supply's ground to the GND terminals, and DON'T use the red wire from the normal Px connections.

[steveo]

Good advice to be sure. I just re-animated it so the servo's weren't under a hard load at any given point in the sequence. It came out about as smooth as I could expect, given that I couldn't independently control the speed or repeats for each servo within each line of animation. Now I need to add code for a drop panel (which will turn OFF the solenoid on activation, then send it to his animation) and trigger it via a home brew break beam that you can make for under $5.00.