Basic Stamp & RC Car - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free

pianoman · 17th February 2005, 01:30 AM

Hey Everyone--

At school, We received a grant to build an autonomous sensor robot. Much to my dismay, they decided to use a basic stamp in a kit. But, we had extra money left over, so we bought another basic stamp, and since this was of my initiative, they are letting me use this one as I please. In this digital electronics class, we have remote control car kits, so what I plan to do is create a second robot, using bump switches, the RC Car chassis, and this basic stamp.

Here's the thing: How can I interface the basic stamp with the 12 volt motors that come with the car? Do I have to use a relay so I don't burn out the chip?

Thanks!

**Nigel Goodwin** · 17th February 2005, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman

Hey Everyone--

At school, We received a grant to build an autonomous sensor robot. Much to my dismay, they decided to use a basic stamp in a kit. But, we had extra money left over, so we bought another basic stamp, and since this was of my initiative, they are letting me use this one as I please. In this digital electronics class, we have remote control car kits, so what I plan to do is create a second robot, using bump switches, the RC Car chassis, and this basic stamp.

Here's the thing: How can I interface the basic stamp with the 12 volt motors that come with the car? Do I have to use a relay so I don't burn out the chip?

Thanks!

A relay would be one solution, but it's rather crude and only offers ON/OFF control. The usual method is to use an H-Bridge, and feed it with PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to give variable speed.

pianoman · 17th February 2005, 10:08 PM

Thanks for the reply. I don't really care about speed, at the moment. All I really need is a simple on or off circuit. So, if I set, in the code High Rear_Axle, and it produces plus five volts, is there any way for me to safely use that to power a 6 to 12 volt r.c. car motor? --preferably using just transistors, or easy-to-come-by components (available at a radioshack or something)

**Nigel Goodwin** · 18th February 2005, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman

Thanks for the reply. I don't really care about speed, at the moment. All I really need is a simple on or off circuit. So, if I set, in the code High Rear_Axle, and it produces plus five volts, is there any way for me to safely use that to power a 6 to 12 volt r.c. car motor? --preferably using just transistors, or easy-to-come-by components (available at a radioshack or something)

Yes, you can use a transistor to feed a relay, check the 'Hardware Extras' section of my tutorials for details.

pianoman · 19th February 2005, 12:42 AM

How does this circuit look? http://www.robotroom.com/HBridge.html (first one on page)

If this will do what I want, I suppose I could order the parts from mouser...

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17th February 2005, 01:30 AM	(permalink)
pianoman	Basic Stamp & RC Car Hey Everyone-- At school, We received a grant to build an autonomous sensor robot. Much to my dismay, they decided to use a basic stamp in a kit. But, we had extra money left over, so we bought another basic stamp, and since this was of my initiative, they are letting me use this one as I please. In this digital electronics class, we have remote control car kits, so what I plan to do is create a second robot, using bump switches, the RC Car chassis, and this basic stamp. Here's the thing: How can I interface the basic stamp with the 12 volt motors that come with the car? Do I have to use a relay so I don't burn out the chip? Thanks!

17th February 2005, 10:08 PM	(permalink)
pianoman	Thanks for the reply. I don't really care about speed, at the moment. All I really need is a simple on or off circuit. So, if I set, in the code High Rear_Axle, and it produces plus five volts, is there any way for me to safely use that to power a 6 to 12 volt r.c. car motor? --preferably using just transistors, or easy-to-come-by components (available at a radioshack or something)

19th February 2005, 12:42 AM	(permalink)
pianoman	How does this circuit look? http://www.robotroom.com/HBridge.html (first one on page) If this will do what I want, I suppose I could order the parts from mouser...