Can I power my arduino with my minimaestro?

Hello,

My apologies for this basic question.

I was planning to have 2 different sources of power for my mini maestro 18 channels and for my arduino nano which is also 5V. For some space restrictions, I will be forced to feed my arduino either for my current battery of 6V which I will use for my mini maestro or worst case, the arduino will need to be plugged to my usb computer.

My question is if there is an extra pin from the mini maestro to feed voltage to my arduino. I will be using the 18 channels so I don’t have any channel left.

Would it be suitable to use my Vin pin from the Mini Maestro to feed my Arduino? Or this pin is only to feed the Mini Maestro exclusively. For the Mini Maestro I will be using the terminals with screws to secure my power cable.

Thanks!

Hello.

The voltage from the 18-channel Mini Maestro’s servo power rail is available on all the pins highlighted in red in this diagram:

If you are powering the Maestro servo rail through the terminal blocks and all of the servo channels are used, the pins just above the terminal blocks are probably a good option. If you have the VSRV=VIN jumper installed to power the Maestro from the same power supply, that voltage is also available at the VIN pin; however, please note that the trace to the VIN pin cannot handle as much current (but it should be fine for just powering an Arduino though).

By the way, the recommended input voltage for the Arduino Nano is listed as 7-12V, and the absolute minimum is 6V, so you should be aware of that in case it starts causing you problems.

Brandon

Thank you Brandon!

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