Hi friends,

I need to connect multiple sensors to a microchip or a pre-made pcb board with a MC. All my sensors works with 5V input voltage. How should I power them efficiently? Is it possible to feed their power from a single USB source? What might be the interface required to do some?

Thank you!

 

I would imagine you want a pre-made board to avoid soldering one together yourself. That is a good choice for someone starting out, even if you are have great soldering skills. Have you chosen a board yet? If so, which one?

A USB source can supply at least 100 mA of power, and up to 500 mA of power if the device request using more power. Such a request may be denied in some cases (if the PC can't drive that). So together your micro controller plus all the sensors need to fit in this power range.

"How" a sensor would connect depends on what the sensor is. What are you going to use?

Your questions so far have been very general, so all we can suggest are general things. The more detail you supply the more specific our answers can be.

Here's what I think someone beginning with Microchip devices should know.

 

I would imagine you want a pre-made board to avoid soldering one together yourself. That is a good choice for someone starting out, even if you are have great soldering skills. Have you chosen a board yet? If so, which one?

A USB source can supply at least 100 mA of power, and up to 500 mA of power if the device request using more power. Such a request may be denied in some cases (if the PC can't drive that). So together your micro controller plus all the sensors need to fit in this power range.

"How" a sensor would connect depends on what the sensor is. What are you going to use?

Your questions so far have been very general, so all we can suggest are general things. The more detail you supply the more specific our answers can be.

Here's what I think someone beginning with Microchip devices should know.

Thank you for your response! I am thinking of using Ardunio Duemilanove. And my sensors are an intertial mesurement unit (CHR UM6), two gyroscopes (ENC-03J), two accelerometers (ADXL 203), and a force sensing resistor with its circuit additionally built.

Is it possible to wire multiple power source to the Ardunio board just to supply the power to my sensors? Or is there any more effective ways?

Thanks

 

Since I don't use the Ardunio I cannot comment on that. I peeked at the sensors (none of which I have seen before either) they seem to have several analog voltage outputs that need to be converted, I would guess the Ardunio can handle an analog to digital conversion, someone else would have to tell you how.

One sensor does have a serial output, this is received the same was as an RS232 signal would be, except you don't need the level conversion.

I believe all the sensors can run off 3.6V so that may be the sweet point for the system supply voltage, if that Ardunio works off that.

That's one complicated system you're working on. Most people start with a blinkie LED.

 

Since I don't use the Ardunio I cannot comment on that. I peeked at the sensors (none of which I have seen before either) they seem to have several analog voltage outputs that need to be converted, I would guess the Ardunio can handle an analog to digital conversion, someone else would have to tell you how.

One sensor does have a serial output, this is received the same was as an RS232 signal would be, except you don't need the level conversion.

I believe all the sensors can run off 3.6V so that may be the sweet point for the system supply voltage, if that Ardunio works off that.

That's one complicated system you're working on. Most people start with a blinkie LED.

thanks! I have another naive question. So I want to power an amplifier with say +- 5V Vcc. How can I achieve a -5V from a USB powered system?

 

thanks! I have another naive question. So I want to power an amplifier with say +- 5V Vcc. How can I achieve a -5V from a USB powered system?

An easy way is to use a 34063 in inverter mode. This is the same chip that you may find in some of those cheap USB chargers but configured for inverter instead of step down configuration.

There are probably better choices but the 34063 is very easy to use, has been around a long time and there are lots of sample circuits out there on them.