{"id":5872,"date":"2019-04-18T15:21:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T19:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=5872"},"modified":"2019-04-21T10:47:18","modified_gmt":"2019-04-21T14:47:18","slug":"real-robot-007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/real-robot-007\/","title":{"rendered":"Build a Real Robot – Part 7 – Motor Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is the seventh is a series of articles about building a \u201creal\u201d robot, one that can carry a reasonable payload and is capable of machine learning. If you haven\u2019t seen the other articles you can <\/span>read the whole series here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

Today I put a few more final touches on the wiring of the DB1 robot, tested it and then hooked it up to an external power supply. Then I gave the motors a quick test to see if everything is working.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Along the way, I discovered a wiring error, which I corrected before applying power, and also found out that the robot has a bit of a weight problem. Not an overweight problem, more of a balance or underweight issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also wrote a quick sketch to test out the motors, the motor driver boards and the brand new Arduino Mega clone that has replaced the old one. \u00a0And I added a couple of spacers to the front wheel assemblies to move the wheels a bit further away from the robot body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Build<\/p>\n

Read on for more details. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wiring Changes<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the last installment of this series, I showed you how I wired the power distribution for the robot. \u00a0A series of wires, terminal strips and 3-pin connectors were used to distribute 5-volts and 12-volts throughout the robot chassis.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were a few items left undone last time, so I took care of them this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aviation Connector Wiring<\/span><\/h3>\n

One thing that I had not connected the last time we got together was the 4-pin aviation connector. As you might recall, this connector has two purposes:<\/span><\/p>\n