Dagu Rover 5, Motor Controller and Netduino+ questions

Hi there,

First of all, I am a novice at this so I apologize if I have questions too basic.

I own a Netduino+ and I want to buy the Dagu Rover 5 (the one that comes with quadrature encoders). My idea is to use my Netduino+ as “the brain” and to delegate “the two motors low level issues” to a dual channell motor controller able to deal with the rover motors…
Summarizing: Netduino+ <–> Motor controller <–> Dagu Rover 5

So, my questions are:

  • Could it be possible to link a Netduino+ to some motor controller you sell? It would be great to be able to send commands from my Netduino+ and also check statuses as with Micro Maestro Servo controllers…
  • Which motor controller could be the most suitable one for my project? Please, bear in mind that since I want to control the speed and position of the rover all the time, I’m going to need a controller that could be able to deal with quadrature sensors. As far as I’ve seen, the RoboClaw is the only one that has quadrature decoders but I’m not so sure if it will work in my case.
  • Maybe this question is out of topic (sorry about that): How much weight can the Rover 5 endure?

As always, your reply will be highly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance!

Nico.

Is there anybody out there? :frowning:

Hello.

Your Netduino+ almost certainly has a serial interface, so you could connect it to any of the motor controllers we sell because they all have serial interfaces. Since you want to read the encoders, the RoboClaw 2x5A is probably the best choice for you.

We do not have any information from the manufacturer about how much weight a Dagu Rover 5 can hold, but keep in mind that it is a plastic chassis intended for small robots, so anything over a few pounds is probably pushing it.

–David

Hi David,

Many thanks for your reply.

I was thinking about RoboClaw as my best option but first I wanted to be pretty sure about my choice and the most important thing here: I don’t want to burn anything out! :frowning: Are any extra stuff I would need for avoiding such issue?
Just for clarifying… How about Pololu TReX Jr? I know it doesn’t decode quadratures but you still recommend it on the Dagu Rover product details. (I think that I’d be able to “manually decode” the quadrature by using my Netduino+).

Thanks again!

Nico.

Yes, the TReX Jr would work if your Netduino can handle the encoders.

–David