The HW-130 Motor Control Shield (often identified as the L293D Motor Driver Shield) is one of the most popular and versatile expansion boards for the Arduino Uno and Mega. Designed to handle the high current demands that microcontroller pins cannot support directly, it simplifies complex robotics projects by managing up to four DC motors or two stepper motors simultaneously. Key Technical Specifications
The HW-130 is built around two L293D quadruple half-H bridge chips and a 74HC595 shift register to minimize the number of Arduino pins used. Specification Motor Driver Chip 2 x L293D Operating Voltage 4.5V to 25V DC (Motor Supply) Output Current 0.6A per channel (1.2A Peak) DC Motor Support Up to 4 bi-directional motors Stepper Support Up to 2 stepper motors (Unipolar or Bipolar) Servo Support 2 dedicated 5V hobby servo headers Protection Thermal shutdown and internal kickback diodes Understanding the Pinout & Layout
The shield is designed to be plug-and-play, mounting directly onto the Arduino Uno. However, it uses specific pins for internal communication via the shift register:
Motor Control (via Latch): Digital pins 4, 7, 8, and 12 drive the motors through the 74HC595 serial-to-parallel latch. PWM Speed Control: M1: Digital Pin 11 M2: Digital Pin 3 M3: Digital Pin 5 M4: Digital Pin 6 Servos: Digital pins 9 (Servo #1) and 10 (Servo #2).
Available Pins: Analog pins A0-A5 are completely free for sensors or other inputs. Power Management: The PWR Jumper
One of the most critical components of the HW-130 is the PWR Jumper:
The HW-130 Motor Control Shield is a popular L293D-based expansion board designed for the Arduino Uno and Mega. It is functionally identical to the original Adafruit Motor Shield (v1) and is often referred to as a "clone". Core Specifications hw 130 motor control shield for arduino datasheet better
Driver Chips: Two L293D motor driver ICs and one 74HCT595 shift register. Motor Capacity:
Up to 4 bi-directional DC motors with 8-bit speed selection. Up to 2 stepper motors (unipolar or bipolar).
Up to 2 "hobby" servos (5V) connected to the Arduino’s high-resolution timers.
Output Current: 600mA constant current per bridge (1.2A peak). Voltage Range: Supports motor voltages from 4.5V to 12V.
Protection: Thermal shutdown protection and internal kickback protection diodes. Hardware Layout & Pin Mapping
The shield uses a shift register (74HCT595) to save Arduino pins, requiring only 3 digital pins to control 4 DC motors. Arduino Pin(s) Used Servo 1 Digital Pin 9 Uses Timer 1 (Uno) or Timer 2 (Mega) Servo 2 Digital Pin 10 Uses Timer 1 DC Motor 1 / Stepper 1 Digital Pin 11 PWM for speed control DC Motor 2 / Stepper 1 Digital Pin 3 PWM for speed control DC Motor 3 / Stepper 2 Digital Pin 5 PWM for speed control DC Motor 4 / Stepper 2 Digital Pin 6 PWM for speed control Shift Register Control Digital Pins 4, 7, 8, 12 Used for direction control of all motors Powering Your Motors The HW-130 features a PWR Jumper. L293D Based Arduino Motor Shield The HW-130 Motor Control Shield (often identified as
The HW-130 Motor Control Shield is a popular L293D-based driver designed to mount directly onto an Arduino Uno or Mega. It is a versatile "all-in-one" solution for small-scale robotics, capable of driving multiple motor types simultaneously with minimal wiring. Key Specifications & Features Hw 130 Motor Control Shield For Arduino Datasheet Better
HW-130 Motor Shield (often based on the chipset) is a versatile, plug-and-play expansion board for Arduino Uno and Mega. It is designed to drive multiple inductive loads like DC motors, steppers, and servos simultaneously. 5.imimg.com Core Technical Specifications L293D H-Bridge drivers 8-bit shift register. Motor Voltage (VSS) : 4.5V to 16V (some variants support up to 36V). Logic Voltage (VCC) : 5V (powered by the Arduino). Output Current : 600mA continuous per channel (1.2A peak). Thermal Protection
: Built-in thermal shutdown and internal kickback protection diodes. 秋月電子 Drive Capabilities Adafruit Motor Shield
The HW-130 Motor Control Shield is a popular, low-cost expansion board for the Arduino Uno and Mega, designed to drive a variety of motors simultaneously with minimal wiring. It is technically identical to the classic Adafruit Motor Shield v1 design and is powered by dual L293D dual-channel H-bridge drivers. Technical Specifications
According to data from Matha Electronics and iFuture Tech, the core specs are: L293D Based Arduino Motor Shield
The L298N chip loses ~1.5V to 2V under load. If you feed it 6V, your motor sees only ~4.5V. For full performance, use 9V or 12V batteries. Truth #1: The L298N voltage drop The L298N chip loses ~1
The shield has a terminal block (usually green screw terminals) labeled PWR.
When you look at the HW-130, you see a sea of green screw terminals and jumper caps. Here’s what each landmark does:
To write your own code without a library, you must understand this internal map.
Use the screw terminals:
Do not ignore the flyback diodes. The HW-130 includes 1N4007 diodes on board, but those are too slow for PWM. Better upgrade: solder 1N5819 Schottky diodes across OUT1-2 and OUT3-4 (cathode to positive supply, anode to output).
Here is a complete code example to drive two DC motors forward, stop, reverse, and stop.
// HW-130 Motor Shield Pin Definitions
#define ENA 9 // Speed Motor A
#define IN1 4 // Direction Motor A
#define IN2 5 // Direction Motor A
#define ENB 10 // Speed Motor B
#define IN3 6 // Direction Motor B
#define IN4 7 // Direction Motor B
void setup()
// Set all control pins to outputs
pinMode(ENA, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(ENB, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN4, OUTPUT);
void loop()
// --- Move Forward (Half Speed) ---
digitalWrite(IN1, HIGH);
digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);
analogWrite(ENA, 150); // Speed (0-255)
digitalWrite(IN3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(IN4, LOW);
analogWrite(ENB, 150);
delay(2000); // Run for 2 seconds
// --- Stop ---
digitalWrite(IN1, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);
delay(1000);
// --- Move Reverse (Full Speed) ---
digitalWrite(IN1, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN2, HIGH);
analogWrite(ENA, 255);
digitalWrite(IN3, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN4, HIGH);
analogWrite(ENB, 255);
delay(2000);
// --- Stop ---
digitalWrite(IN1, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN3, LOW);
digitalWrite(IN4, LOW);
delay(1000);
Standard analogWrite() at 490Hz works fine, but the L298N hums. For silent operation, use Timer1 to set PWM to 15–20 kHz (inaudible).