ATmega-Man

I had a minor fail with the battery and I've managed to blow the motor controller, I'll get another one and try again. In the mean time I have some ultrasonic distance sensors to play with.

Hi Stefan, Just a quick update on my diag process. I ran the code at half speed - same problem Built and ran the code on my arduino mega - same problem Arduino mega at half speed - same problem Arduino configured to use seperate H Bridges - same problem Alternate motors - same problem Now i dont know the draw on other motors as they are inside a broken toy car of my sons but it ran on 4x 1.5v AA batteries in usual situe. So it cant be that much ampage, im guessing theyre 1.5v considering the other functions required from the 6v. I'm going to dismantle the battery today and see if running it on 3c 6v instead of 6c 12v is the solution. And i may try 2c if it improves slightly. If that doesnt work then i can only asume i have a dud board. Unless you can think of any other ideas?

Sounds like a plan, as I mentioned before, I did that too.

You could also get motors that match more the rest of the equipment in specifications (the H-bridge chip and the battery)

the only issue with that is getting one that fits the tamiya dual gearbox as thats whats driving the chassis.

I'm also gonna bite the bullet and set this up on the Arduino and see if the issue persists. that way i'll know if its power/shield related and it will be easier to check if running one motor per H Bridge is any better

ripping the battery appart isnt a massive issue as its just a string of NiMh cells bundled up and taped, as for the current drain I really dont know what to do. if I run the same code but disconnect one of the motors it runs fine. would it be worth lowering the speed in the code to see if it runs at half pace?

I can dismantle the battery im using down to lower V's and A's as its just a laptop battery I pulled out of its casing and taped up. what sort of levels would you suggest? its a 6 cell