Just an update. Sorry for the late reply. The LEDs turn on and off. This is done already. I used a Python library to make my GPIO-LEDs work. I just tested it again. The volts go from high to low very quickly. I can catch it w/ the human eye but it is rapid. Then, it just rests on low voltage.
…
Seth
P.S. Oh and Sink1 is in an amount of “chaos” when I apply the multimeter to it. The amount of Volts jumps high and low uncontrollably for now. I have my GPIO on 0-off-low.
OK. The speed that it switches from HIGH to LOW is not important. You’d need a scope to measure this but as I said, not important. What is important is that the transistor is working so there is no reason your motors should not be working if you connect them to the board.
Are they still not working? Can we see the board and motor all connected up?
like last time, make your code turn the thing on, waits 30 seconds, then turns it off. Then waits 30 seconds, then repeats. It’s a simple thing that should be very clear to the human eye and even a multimeter.
Sure, I will post a photo and some connections to and from the motors. Please give me a week or two. I may get to it easier in time. I am just posting to let people know I am not giving up.
Seth
P.S. Thank you for your reply. I have not been able to get the motors up and running yet. I have a couple of ideas on software, which have worked elsewhere, that I can produce w/ ease. I will update everyone w/ software and photos of connections soon
Please stop calling me sir - I’ll think there’s a police officer sitting behind me !
Take your time - we will see there’s a new post from you whenever you get to us. We are not waiting for your call
You are trying to test this out to see what works and what doesn’t - I’m trying to help you to understand the test behaviours that you should try to embrace so you can start to nut these things out on your own. The behaviour I want you to see here is an endless loop, of a simple task - on then off - in a repeatable way, that you should be able to see visually and measure electrically with a multimeter. Then, you’ll want to play with the durations - for example, change to 20 seconds on time, 10 off. The important thing is to get your code in a state that you should be able to “see” the results and have that match your expectations, so if it goes on and off only every minute not every 30 seconds, that’s not explained from code so you need to dig in to that problem… Hope that’s helpful - think through these things and explore, in ways you can see that your code change had the desired effect
Here is the software to use. I used it and I can see my GPIO-LED light up for an amount of time and then turn off for another amount of time.
import Adafruit_BBIO.GPIO as GPIO
import Adafruit_BBIO.PWM as PWM
import time
MotorOne = "P9_42"
GPIO.setup("P9_42", GPIO.OUT)
GPIO.output("P9_42", GPIO.LOW)
#SinkOne =
while True:
print("making LEDs work for the Multimeter")
for i in range(1):
GPIO.output("P9_42", GPIO.HIGH)
time.sleep(25)
print("multimeter working for 30 more seconds")
for i in range(1):
GPIO.output("P9_42", GPIO.LOW)
time.sleep(25)
Okay…
So, I think I have the multimeter up and running for Sink1 w/ the GPIO pin HIGH and then LOW. I will attach the motor soon and get back to you w/ the photo of the motor and new software.
Seth
P.S. The one thing that is confusing me is the motor for the LoadCape. Should I use PWM for motor output or should I use another form of communication? Anyway, the GPIO pin is “P9_42” but I saw that a “negative SInk1” is possible. I hope I am making sense here. I looked online and found BeagleBoard.org online via their GitHub.com page for Capes. There is actually a Sink1 and -Sink1 that has a value of P9_42a and P9_42b, respectively.
Seth here. I got the LoadCape up and running. Thank you everyone for insisting on providing additional support to my “hacking” of this new Cape from you and the BBB.io people.
Seth
P.S. I got one motor working on Sink1. I will inevitably figure out how to make that motor move in reverse w/ -Sink1 (I think).
Hello…I was told to plug in the MotorCape w/ the vdd_5v instead of the sys_5v like on my older Capes. I tried the same thing w/ the LoadCape and yep. It worked!
Seth
P.S. So, I had to set up a service instead of communicating directly from user space. But that did it.
Seth, pardon me for saying so, but I think you have very little knowledge of wiring and electronics so you should use extreme care to avoid damage. Your battery can output high current if wired wrong.
You can use the same power supply to drive the motors if the voltage is the same 5V and as long as you can supply enough current.
YOU MUST ALWAYS connect your motor supply + terminal to VIN so that the diodes are properly connected so that you don’t risk damaging the drive transistors.
You don’t have to stuff all the wires into VIN, just one from the motor + supply. The other wires can come direct from the motor supply to the motor + terminal.
If your motors are higher voltage than 5V, say 12V, you connect the + of this to VIN and the motor + terminals. The - terminal of the motor goes to the driver output on the cape. The 12V - terminal goes to the GND connection on the cape.
If you follow this procedure, it will all work. You have already confirmed that the LED’s work so your only issue is in understanding the wiring.
