*unofficial* FIRST IR module driver released

[billbo911]

Originally Posted by Phil Mack

Powering a micro controller with an unregulated supply off of the V battery that will be driving motors and firing relays will be unreliable and possibly damaging.
To power this device while attached to the robot, it would be wise to design a power supply.
~Phil

According to the "The board contains an IR sensor, a CMOS microcontroller, a 5V voltage regulator,...."

No additional power supply should be needed. That is why section 6 states,

"6 Operating Voltage, Output Current
6.1 Operating voltage range
The onboard voltage regulator needs at least 7 volts DC, and can accept more than 15 volts. To avoid
problems, a reasonably clean voltage source is recommended to power this board. Avoid having any noise
glitches on this supply that go below 7 volts DC."

I would agree, running it from the main +12 V battery may be a little risky, but running it from the 7.2Vdc backup adds an additional load to that battery that will need to be accounted for. So, how do you handle this???
As long as the rules will allow it, use a large mAh battery for the backup, say 1500mAh???