Which H-Bridge Chip is the most versatile?

For your first outing in this domain, consider an L293D, good up to 1 amp if heatsinked. Beyond that, the LMD18200 and LMD18245 are good to 3 Amps and 50 volts. If you want more power still, you should consider using a driver chip with discrete mosfets.

Thanks Clifford,

I'll look into it.

JP

for a prebuilt hbridge board udsing a L298

maybe to large for a small bot

L298 datasheet

for smaller motors maybe a L293 chip

Check

We also have something similar but just for driving 2 DC motors, for about the same price (ok: 5 cents more). It's much more compact, and offers a 5V regulator, indicator LEDs and terminal strip connectors to boot.

(restart the SB browsing session from a new window if you want to order

- we're still fighting with frames!)

Regards, Dave

JP, if your motor current reqs are under 1 Amp, which it sounds like, you might take a look at my BOT40 board. Has layouts for the 754410 h-bridge which is same pinout as the L293D but more current - 1 Amp vs

600 mA. Plus, it will mount the '877 chip. You can get just pcb, or with parts.

Just so you know, the L29x/754410 chips aren't as efficient as some of the other h-bridge chips, but they work for battery voltages as low as

4.5v, and most of the other chips will not work below 8-10v or so. A lot of small motors uses the lower voltages.

- dan michaels =======================