Question about Arduino UNO supply

Hi guys,

I'm currently working on a vacuum cleaner project, which can be triggered wireless through GSM shield module.

Main components that I'm using are:

- Arduino UNO
- Two DC geared motors. (draws 0.1A each)
- One micro Servo. (draws approx. 0.2A)
- One turbine fan. (draws 0.1A)
- One GSM shield. (draws 2A for transmitting burst)

For the power supply, I'm using a 5V 2A power bank.

So, is the supply sufficient? Because I've heard that the USB cable can only draw 0.5A at max.


Current Progress

When I was just testing for the robot part (without GSM module), everything is working & fine.

However, when I assembled it with the GSM module, the servo is not responding after a signal is received, but the DC motors are moving.

Hence, I don't think that there's any problem with my wireless triggering code.

Is it caused by the insufficient power supply ? As I was planning to use a more powerful supply such as LiPo battery.

Thanks guys ~ appreciate for your help. ;-)

No22Ben said:

So, is the supply sufficient? Because I've heard that the USB cable can only draw 0.5A at max.

Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean - is the power coming thru an USB cable? USB hardware should be able handle > 0.5A
The USB specifications [at least version 2] says the source power [to be expected] max is 0.5A

I would say it is a bad idea[in this case] to use USB as a power connector/cable.

Did you allow for peak current drain? Inrush current can be 10x average, so perhaps the worst case total peak power drain can be 2A+2A+1A+2A

Yup, I'm currently using a power bank & USB cable to supply my robot.

Is it not appropriate to do so ?

Another ques : Is there any significant difference by using LiPo battery & power bank ?

If the peak current does not last too long then a large (>1000MF) capacitor at the remote end of the cable might just hold the voltage up enough for the device(s) to work correctly.
Frank

I am not sure but it could be because of the power..
I had worked on one project which used GSM based messages to control outputs.. also send back SMS or even a ringer.. I did the assembly of the board, but I occasionally had this problem that controller would not respond after getting SMS, or sometimes it would not receive the SMS just because its heat sink was getting hot.. so I had to use a bigger heat sink with a small cooling fan.. also, I used external adapter as alternate power source. this helped..
make sure that you are receiving SMS by connecting your GSM module to PC via serial cable and read message bank using HyperTerminal with AT Commands....you can see unread SMS separately, if there are any.. if not, then your controller is receiving and reading SMS