The X2’s quickstart manual says “The Orangutan X2 power is controlled by a pushbutton; push it to toggle the unit on and off. Because the power switch is operated by a pushbutton, many buttons can be used in parallel, allowing for external power buttons in cases where the main unit is difficult to access.” This does not seem to be correct. If I have the X2 on and switch the power off externally and then back on externally, I still have to press the X2’s power button to get it to turn on. I have three X2’s and they all do this. Being able to switch the X2 externally is essential to my project. Is there something I am missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Aside from how you connect and disconnect power from the Orangutan X2, you can wire up an additional pushbutton or momentary toggle switch in parallel with the on-board power pushbutton which will allow you to toggle the X2’s solid-state power switch on and off as if you were pressing the on-board pushbutton. Just about any normally open, momentarily closed button or switch will do, it doesn’t have to conduct much current at all.
If you like you can leave your power source permanently connected to the Orangutan X2, but unplugging or switch-disconnecting power when you’re not using it is a good idea if you’re using the mating motor driver board, which connects directly to the power bus, not through the X2’s solid state power switch.
So I think your saying I have to solder a pushbutton in parallel with the existing on-board pushbutton? I tried connecting a switch in-line with the power supply, does that not work? What I really want is for the board to turn on any time there is power applied to it, is there any way to do that?
You can set up your X2 to power on immediately when you connect power. Just below the power button are two plated holes meant for soldering wires for another parallel power button (the letters “PWR” are printed in between these two holes). You can solder a short piece of wire permanently connecting these two holes (as if you were holding down the button). With the wire in place, the X2 will power up when you switch the power on.
If you like, you can even still shut down the power circuit by driving the “off” pin high. The X2 will turn back on after you cycle the power.
-Adam
P.S. I had a similar question when (here) when Pololu released a standalone version of their pushbutton power circuit.