Week 4

Last Friday, the group received most of the parts needed for the Quadcopter, including batteries, motors, wires, etc. As of today, 4/23/13, Patrick and Casey have begun work on wiring the motor and motor controller to the stellaris launchpad so that I (Zach) can begin thrust testing. Unfortunately, the motor cannot be connected directly to the battery because it is controlled via PMW or pulse width modulation. Basically the motor controller sends pulses that switch between a high value and a low value. When high the motor will turn on, and when it is low, the motor will turn off. By modifying the width of each pulse, you can control the speed at which the motor spins.

This picture demonstrates Pulse Width Modulation. When set to 0% of total power, there is no pulse,  but when set to 50% the pulse extends halfway from one green line to the other.