Reddit reviews L298N H-bridge Motor Controller, DROK L298N Motor Driver Board DC Dual H Bridge Robot Stepper Motor Regulator and Drives Module for Arduino Smart Car Power UNO MEGA R3 Mega2560 Duemilanove

I actually didn't know what I wanted to build first, I'm a software engineer so I was exited to actually write some software and see an object moving hahaha, so eventually a Car came to mind, since it's fun to see it go and move around.

So, to start I looked in amazon for a chassis and wheels and I found this kit that looked pretty simple and functional, so I got that, and then since it only brings 1 motor, I got this to be able to move to the sides, at this point I had no idea how to make that work, but I just figured stuff up on the go, I didn't know how to move the motor so I searched for youtube videos and found out that I needed a motor controller again, amazon was my best friend haha, I also got this battery.

After that I was able to make the Car run, the problem was, I needed some kind of way to guide it, because randomly moving around wasn't that fun, so I came out with the design of the robot looking around I found this module and it was just what I needed, I had a few servos and other components from a mix kit that I got with the Arduino, and I used that (and my girlfriend's help with deciding where to put the pices to make them look nicer) to build the robot that you saw on my first post and then I used this BT module to build the manual mode that you can see in my second post and you know the rest of the story, I'm not sure if I missed something, but let me know and I can answer any question :)

You'll want a motor driver such as this between the motors and the arduino, as the arduino is not equipped to supply the current the motors need.

we are currently using this for our project. It is capable of controlling up to 2 motors but we are just using it to control 1 for now.

What's the goal of the workshop? To introduce programming? To introduce electronics? Does your target audience already have these basics down and you just want to cover some advanced control system topics?

(From experience these things tend to forget scope and leave attendees confused or bored. Or both.)

If budget isn't an issue and you don't want to focus on hardware buy some Pololu 3Pis: Arduino compatible they can work with C, C++, graphical programming and many languages.

Most of the time budget is an issue. If you're EE, take a look at the Harvard AERobot and build a few, they're pretty simple and cheap. (Or buy some: store link) They came from the Afron challenge:
http://robotics-africa.org/2014-design-challenge

No money and PCBs are too much work? Arduino + scrap electronics. CD drives, computer fans, etc. Or try this chassis, use a cheap motor driver design. I've done a similar workshop with cardboard robots, Arduino derivatives, motors pulled from scrap or surplus and simple IR reflectors bought in bulk (TCRT5000 are 10/$1 on ebay). Using a DC motor, a rubber band and food skewers in plastic straws you can make pulley systems that are cheaper than gearboxes. But these are neat. I didn't want programming to be a drag so we used Ardublock.

[Also: your Facebook group is closed, I couldn't see posts to make more accurate recommendations]

I use these motor drivers with an arduino all the time. Stepper motors are stepper motors - basically read the specs and you'll be happy. Not sure what youre referring to regarding breakout boards.

PWM'ing and swapping polarity is bad news for trains with onboard control computers, but I might not fully understand the setup you're describing.

This will work for any system that uses two rails to power a motor. I'm sure there are some exceptions out there but any model train that runs when you put DC voltage across its wheels is probably a good fit.

FWIW here's the H-Bridge I bought. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CAG6GX2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes!

Raspberry Pi

[RC-CAR] (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11592253&camp=PLAPPCG-_-PID10226513:TRUS&cagpspn=plat_10226513&eESource=CAPLA_DF:11592253:TRUS) I would NEVER spend 40 on this, My wife got it for 15 at target.

Blue Tooth Adapter

WiiMote

Dual H Bridge

These are the major components and there are a few Misc Components needed.

I have the raspberry pi 2 starter kit, so I used some spacers to connection the Dual H bridge to the top of the raspberry pi case.

You'll also need
Power Supply for PI
Power Supply for Dual H Bridge ( I use 11.1 3S poly battery)

Female to Female jumper wires

Any other questions I can go into as much detail as you want.

I have had to do this process for many steppers, so I will try to help you out.

1. If it has 6 pins/wires, this means you have unipolar stepper motor. If you look at the link, you will see the layout for the wires. It is easier to use bipolar with the arduino, so you need to wire the motor as a bipolar, here is how.
   
2. Find which wires connected using a multimeter. Particularly with the continuity and resistance function. Use the continuity function to find the two sets of three wires that are connected to each other.
   
3. When you find the two sets, use the ohms function to fine the two wires in each set that have the highest Ohm value. These two wires are your bipolar leads. Do this for each set. (going back to the unipolar picture, this are lead numbers 1 with 3 for the blue and red sets.
   
4. When you find these 4 wires, MARK/TIE the Pairs together to make sure you remember.
   
5. Next, you need an H-Bridge.
   
6. You are going to wire up each pair to the two pairs of outputs.
   
7. Wire the Arduino pins 8,9,10,11 to the H-Bridge inputs. Wire up power/GND/5V.
   
8. Follow this code.
   
   You may have to switch the input wires around till they are in the correct order, but this should get you started.

H-Bridge (for the UNO there are also shields)

Sensors e.g. this / that though you can also get tctr5000 modules for cents elsewhere.

And note that if you are not set on a line-follower, the kit you've chosen already includes the ultrasonic distance sensor which is nie for robotic projects as well :-)

Do you have a soldering iron and multimeter? Even a cheap $4 multimeter is fine for low-current & low-voltage tasks, and makes your life easier (checking voltages, connections, resistor values...)

As for a soldering iron, even a $1 will do (if it doesn't burn down your house ;-) ) - but an adjustable temperature one will be more worthwhile. Even a $20 soldering station will do to get started if you don't want to spend $80-$100. I tried to avoid soldering for years, and it was a big mistake. It's actually easy and useful.


And another note: The 2wd and 4wd chars will not always go in a straight line. Motors don't run 100% in sync, even at the same voltage.

With a rotary encoder you can ajust the speed in software. You can use one of those IR reflective sensors modules, or a gap sensor, or even a hall sensor... example


You can also get 2wd kits example, but overall, they aren't as great of a value (and as you can see, they just include the standard modules)

A "sensor shield" like in that kit is nice though as it reduces the wiring chaos a bit :-) They cost $1 for the UNO at Aliexpress, probably more expensive at Amazon.