Arduinos and Motors Part 3

Tonights post is a chance to formulate some thoughts for tomorrows meeting of the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group, where well be talking about Arduinos and motors, and maybe motors with MCUs in general.

Tomorrows meeting will be reviewing issues related to Jeremy Blums Arduino Basics #5 video tutorial. I didnt progress on my first MCU-controlled motor exercise from video #5 yet. Didnt have a chance today to figure out whether either of the two standard DC motors I have are suitable for use with the transistors I have available. That will likely get figured out either at the meeting tomorrow or sometime this weekend.

So here are a list of questions about MCU-controlled motors for tomorrows meeting, if theres time to get to them. If theres not time, Ill research the answers on my own. If you have other questions, let me know, and Ill try to make sure they get brought up at the meeting.

1. When do you use a motor shield instead of just a transistor?
2. Has anyone in the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group ever built a motor shield?
3. What are the features of a motor shield for projects people in the group have done?
4. What are some of the applications for Arduino-controlled motors?

The main applications I know of that Id work on for Arduino-controlled motors are 3D printers, robots and moving Halloween props. Im hoping the others at tomorrows meeting have a few more ideas, especially smaller and less expensive projects where I can get some experience on practical applications for the motors without having to spend too much time or money on the project. Maybe I can find open source plans for a micro quad copter that uses an MCU and doesnt cost too much for the components.

Tomorrow night, June 12, is the third meeting of the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group. Well be meeting from 6 to 8 PM at 1385 8th Street in Arcata, California, USA. People interested in microcontrollers or Arduinos are invited to join us -- the event is free, you dont have to know how to program microcontrollers, and theres no need to be a member of anything to participate.

So if you live in Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville, Fortuna, Trinidad, Blue Lake or any of the other fine parts of the Humboldt region, you should consider participating in a new activity in the area -- the Humboldt Microcontrollers community.

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