I am trying to run motors using a PICAXE and an L293D motor driver.
I have no choice to use a PICAXE, as this is for a exam project.
I assumed that since the motor driver relies on logic to control the motors, then I would be able to connect the PICAXE outputs straight to the motor driver inputs. This cause me lots of problems, and I assumed it was because the motors were causing the voltage to drop. When I tested this with an oscilloscope, I found that was a problem. I used a capacitor across the voltage rails to smooth the voltage, and it kind of worked, however the PICAXE was still crashing. I tried connecting the motor driver to a different power supply, so that it wouldn't cause any interference with the PICAXE supply.
This still didn't solve the issue, so I assumed that the logic inputs of the motor driver were taking too much current from the PICAXE outputs. I didn't understand why this would be the case, as the inputs of the motor driver aren't what are controlling the motors. I tried putting a voltage follower inbetween the output of the PICAXE and the input of the motor driver, and this kind of worked a few times, but... then it didn't work
I've run out of options to try, and I still don't understand why it's not working. The way I see it is that the inputs of the motor driver are just logic inputs, so shouldn't need much current at all, and shouldn't be causing the PICAXE to crash.
Just to make this post even longer, I have tried testing the logic using an oscilloscope when the motors weren't connected to the motor driver, and the logic worked perfectly. There was nothing wrong with how it was working, until I added the motors back in.
Sorry that the post was long, but hopefully there's enough information and someone will be able to help me fix this problem.
I have no choice to use a PICAXE, as this is for a exam project.
I assumed that since the motor driver relies on logic to control the motors, then I would be able to connect the PICAXE outputs straight to the motor driver inputs. This cause me lots of problems, and I assumed it was because the motors were causing the voltage to drop. When I tested this with an oscilloscope, I found that was a problem. I used a capacitor across the voltage rails to smooth the voltage, and it kind of worked, however the PICAXE was still crashing. I tried connecting the motor driver to a different power supply, so that it wouldn't cause any interference with the PICAXE supply.
This still didn't solve the issue, so I assumed that the logic inputs of the motor driver were taking too much current from the PICAXE outputs. I didn't understand why this would be the case, as the inputs of the motor driver aren't what are controlling the motors. I tried putting a voltage follower inbetween the output of the PICAXE and the input of the motor driver, and this kind of worked a few times, but... then it didn't work
I've run out of options to try, and I still don't understand why it's not working. The way I see it is that the inputs of the motor driver are just logic inputs, so shouldn't need much current at all, and shouldn't be causing the PICAXE to crash.
Just to make this post even longer, I have tried testing the logic using an oscilloscope when the motors weren't connected to the motor driver, and the logic worked perfectly. There was nothing wrong with how it was working, until I added the motors back in.
Sorry that the post was long, but hopefully there's enough information and someone will be able to help me fix this problem.