Advanced Power Management

Advanced options are available for customizing how your boards power themselves and their features.

Warning!

Take care with the information in this section, as you can damage hardware or create unsafe conditions when changing power configurations off of the defaults. Undertake these changes only if you have the skill set to understand the implications, can properly test, and can maintain proper supervision of the hardware.

For standard, supported use cases, you likely do not need to change anything about how the control boards use power.

Disabling Standalone Power Input Switching

On Bottango Solar and Impulse, you can power the boards using the DC servo power input alone. By default, these control boards will dynamically select between powering their logic components from either the USB connection or the DC input.

If both inputs are available, they will default to the DC servo power input. If the DC servo power input is disconnected or drops voltage too low, but USB power input is available, they will attempt to do a fast switch without resetting the board.

You can, however, disable this functionality. Use the LOG PWR switch on the back to choose between accepting logic power from either DC or USB input, or from USB only. The switch is available on both Bottango Solar and Impulse.

Bottango Solar

Bottango Impulse

Note

Why would you choose to disable powering logic inputs from either DC or USB input?

For one reason, sharing logic power with servo power may create a risk of resetting your board if your DC power supply is overtaxed. If you draw too much current for your power supply, your power supply may drop its voltage or enter a protection mode. By powering the logic and servos separately, you create more separation and make the system more robust against overcurrent events.

There are also more esoteric use cases where you may want to further isolate the DC servo power from the more sensitive logic circuits.

Standalone Power for Bottango Nova

When used as a show controller, Bottango Nova still needs to be powered. The easiest way is to use the USB-C port to provide a 5 V power source such as a standard phone charger, etc. You can also use the pin on the side header pins marked “VIN” to input 5 V power instead.

Warning!

Do not connect both VIN input and USB-C input on Bottango Nova at the same time. While inputting power via the VIN input header pin, do not plug anything into the USB-C port on Bottango Nova.

Do not connect Bottango Nova to your computer via USB while powering it via the VIN input pin.

8.4 V Servos

There are high-voltage PWM servos that use 8.4 V instead of the standard 5-6 V. By making some modifications to the boards, you can use these servos if you do so with care. However, it’s important to make these changes correctly so that 8.4 V is not connected to the sensitive logic circuits or damage will occur. Higher than 8.4 V is not possible.

Warning!

The logic circuits of Bottango control boards are not able to handle 8.4 V, and will be damaged if they are exposed to 8.4 V.

If you choose to undertake this modification and use case, you do so at your own risk of damage. You will want to use a multimeter to test with a 5-6 V input first after making changes to ensure that DC input is present only on servo headers and not being used for logic circuits.

Revision 1.9 or later Bottango control boards required.

Bottango Impulse

On Bottango Impulse, selecting the USB only side of the LOG PWR switch will prevent the DC input from being used for logic power, allowing it to be used only for the servo header power pins. Check with a multimeter with 5-6 V power input first to double check that the DC input is not powering logic circuits or the 3.3 V rail.

You will need to provide an additional power source for the logic components. A standard 5 V USB phone charger and USB input will be sufficient. The “logic in” pad on the back of the board is also a place to solder in a 5-6 V logic power input.

Warning!

Do not provide power to both the “logic in” pad and USB-C input on Bottango Impulse at the same time. While inputting power via the “logic in” pad, do not plug anything into the USB-C port on Bottango Impulse.

Do not connect Bottango Impulse to your computer via USB while powering it via the “logic in” pad.

Bottango Solar

Because DC input is used on Bottango Solar for both servos and the onboard amp, you need to:

1. Select the USB only side of the LOG PWR switch to prevent the DC input from being used for logic power.
2. Prevent the amp circuit from being powered via the DC power input.

Bottango Solar Logic Power Input

You will need to provide an additional power source for the logic components. A standard 5 V USB phone charger and USB input will be sufficient. The “Log in” unpopulated header pin on the back of the board is also a place to solder in a 5 V logic power input.

Warning!

Do not provide power to both the “Log in” header pin and USB-C input on Bottango Solar at the same time. While inputting power via the “Log in” header pin, do not plug anything into the USB-C port on Bottango Solar.

Do not connect Bottango Solar to your computer via USB while powering it via the “Log in” header pin.

Bottango Solar Amp Power Configuration

Desolder the 0-ohm resistor labeled “AMP VMOT SEL”, making sure that the pads are isolated from each other once the resistor is removed.

‘AMP VMOT SEL’ selects to power the onboard amp through the DC servo power input. By removing that resistor, you will prevent DC servo input from reaching the amp circuits.

After making these changes, check with a multimeter with 5-6 V input first to double check. You will need to provide an additional power source for the logic components. A standard 5 V USB phone charger and USB input will be sufficient.

However, the onboard amp will not have a power input with this setup. You can use line-out for audio, or if you need to use the onboard amp, you will need to solder a bridge on the AMP ALT SEL pads, and then solder a separate 5-6 V power input onto the AMP ALT pad, being sure to include a shared ground with this third power supply. Importantly, do not have both pads connected, select only AMP VMOT SEL or AMP ALT SEL.

Check with a multimeter with 5-6 V power input first to double check that the DC input is not powering logic circuits, 3.3 V rail, or the amp power circuit.

To go back to powering the amp via the DC power input, be sure to remove your solder jumper on AMP ALT SEL, and resolder a jumper back onto AMP VMOT SEL. Do not leave both jumpers connected at once.