stepper controller...need help

[DragnsBane]

I have been looking here for awhile and have found alot of good information. I need help on building a board from scratch as cheaply as possible. I have quite a few circuit boards and components around from old radios. vcr's, computers, etc. Is there anyway to identify any of the components on the boards? I would hate to buy something and find out I already have it on one of the boards I have.

Also I do understand some of the schematics for the boards but if they get to complicated I can't read them. Is there any place I can find a simple schematic with pictures of a completed homebuilt board to start from? I do have some time on my hands and want to use this as a learning experience to possibly go further into building my own circuit boards.

If someone could please explain the writnig on the side of a capacitor I would greatly appreciate it. If someone could even reccomend a good book or site for those begginers like me in would be greatly helpful. What does the 16V 1000uF on a capacitor mean? How do the different capacitors affect the output of the driver board. Some of the capacitors I have go up to 50V 2000uF?


Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[arvidb]

The voltage markings on the capacitors is the maximum voltage they can take. Apply higher voltage and they will get hot, start to leak or even explode!

The x uF (microfarad) markings tells you how much energy they can store. The more energy, the less voltage ripple you will get from your power supply (if that's where they are used). Capacitors have many different uses; it's not always better to have a higher F (farad) value.

Arvid

[DragnsBane]

arvidb,

Thanks for the reply. I went to the local B. Dalton today and found a book called The Robot Builder's Bonanza by Gordon McComb. It is, of course about basic robots, but it explains alot about the circuits used to control the stepper and servo motors. I still have to read some more of the book so I can understand it more in depth. I'll try to keep all posted if I have anymore questions.