Which to use, L298N H-Bridge or the A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier?

Support Motor controllers/drivers and motors
1

We’ve been adapting Jay Dosher’s code (https://github.com/polyideas/Raspberry-Pi-Solar-Tracker/tree/master/Software%20(File%20System%20Root)/usr/lib/cgi-bin) to work with our solar hot water heating system project (http://www.appropedia.org/Parabolic_Solar_Hot_Water_Heater) and have gotten to the point where we have purchased a Nema 23, 24 Kg.-cm., 4 wire (https://www.circuitspecialists.com/nema_23_stepping_motor_57bygh310-d.html) motor to move the parabola. We already have an L298N H-Bridge and would like to know if this H-Bridge will be a good fit for our purposes or would the A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier be better? The motor does not need to move rapidly, only 10 - 15 rpm would be sufficient.

Hope you can advise and - have a great afternoon! :slight_smile:

Edit: We’re using a Raspberry Pi B

2

The L298N is old and very inefficient technology and and won’t work with high current, low resistance motors like yours, as it does not offer current limiting.

Unfortunately there are no stepping motor drivers on the hobby market that will allow you to drive that motor at its full 2 ampere/winding rating (ignore misleading advertising). You can use this product: https://www.pololu.com/product/2970 without additional cooling as long as you set the current to 1.8 amperes/winding or less.

If you really require the full torque of that motor, you will need an industrial motor driver.