Step by Step guide to Micro Magician robot controller (Arduino compatible)

The Micro Magician from DAGU is a low cost Arduino compatible controller designed especially for beginners wanting to build a small robot. The board has a number of useful accessories built in so that in most cases shields are not required and external wiring is minimized.

This controller has built in, reverse polarity protection so that if you accidentally connect your battery or power supply the wrong way then the board will not be damaged. To make everything as easy as possible for beginners, a library of useful functions has been written for the controller.

A robot can be built by simply plugging in a few motors, servos and sensors. Using the Arduino IDE and supplied library, relatively little code is required to make a functional robot.

Hardware:

Small PCB size (30mm x 60mm).
Reverse polarity protection and built in power switch.
Atmega168 or ATmega328 running at 3.3V, 8MHz.
Built in miniature USB interface using CP2102 interface IC.
IR receiver provides 128 virtual buttons via universal TV remote.
3-axis accelerometer detects angle, impact and free fall.
Dual 1A "H" bridge with electronic braking and stall detection.
8x servo outputs with selectable voltage.
ISP and Serial communications headers.
Indication LEDs for Power, TX, RX, D13 and IR signal detection.

Firmware:

Arduino Pro (3.3V @ 8MHz) bootloader pre-installed.

Software:
The Micro Magician is fully compatible with the Arduino IDE.
The supplied MicroM library provides functions and sample code for the following:-

Dual DC brushed motor: Speed, direction and braking.
Single stepper motor: Full step, half step, direction, low power.
3-axis accelerometer: Impact detection, direction and magnitude - eliminates the need for bumper switches.
SONY IR decoder (SIRC): Provides up to 128 virtual buttons using SONY compatible IR remote controls.

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Step 1: Power

The Micro Magician will work on voltages from 4.5V to 9V. Do not exceed 9V otherwise the Dual "H" bridge IC will be permanently damaged. An on-board 3.3V regulator supplies power to the processor and is available as Vcc to most I/O connectors.

The use of 4x NiMh rechargeable batteries is recommended as this combination will power 5V sensors if required and can supply high currents for servos and motors.

The Micro magician can be powered directly from the USB cable for programming and testing however servos and motors will not be powered from the USB cable.

There is a 4 pin male header that is your power IN and a 4 pin female header that is your power OUT for external circuits. The input pins from top to bottom are:

GND (battery -V)
LINK
LINK
VIN (battery +V)

The two pins marked as LINK are joined together on the PCB and provide a means of joining two small battery holders together in series. Two other power configurations are possible depending on your battery connector as shown in the photos.

The power OUT header pins from left to right are:

GND (battery -V)
GND (battery -V)
VCC (3.3V regulated)
VIN (battery +V)

The power OUT header is controlled by the power switch however, when powered by the USB cable, the 3.3V supply will be available regardless of the switch position.