Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 13-8:
he Gertboard
connected to a
Raspberry Pi
Perhaps the most important feature of the Gertboard is the protection it ofers to the Pi.
Using a 3.3 V regulator, the Gertboard is designed to prevent the Pi's GPIO port from receiv-
ing voltages it cannot handle. Like the Slice of Pi, it also attempts to restrict access to the six
pins labelled Do Not Connect as well as the 3.3 V and 5 V pins to help prevent accidental
shorting. Although care must be taken while wiring up circuits, following the instructions
included in the Gertboard's user manual guarantees the Pi's safety.
he motor controller functionality of the Gertboard makes it easy to integrate the Pi into a robot-
ics project. It's suitable for motors of up to 48 V at 4 A, which is easily powerful enough to drive a
small robot vehicle. Sadly, the motor is not included as standard with the Gertboard. Instead, you
are asked to supply your own controller—with the L6203 package being recommended—if
motor control forms part of your project. With the motor controller soldered into place, the
Gertboard can be used to control surprisingly powerful motors either through instructions
received from the Pi itself or from the optional Atmel microcontroller module. Figure 13-9 shows
an example circuit that's using the Gertboard to drive a 12 V motor from a battery pack power
supply.
