D1 Mini motor shields, three to choose from

[kwiley]

I haven't found a good Wemos or D1 Mini forum. There are several, but some haven't had posts in several years and others just don't seem very active in general. Since I work in MicroPython on any given microcontroller, I tend to bring questions to this forum. So I realize this isn't the ideal place to discuss Wemos hardware, but oh well.

The D1 Mini offers three motor shields. They all control two motors, but use different motor driver chips. Although they have slightly different voltage and current properties, they don't strike me as dramatically different. Can anyone advise me on the practical differences between these three shields and what criteria would guide one's choice between these shields for a given application? Are they really offering three different devices just to support some subtle voltage/current differences?

• https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/d1_mini_ ... motor.html
  • Uses the TB6612FNG, I'm fairly certain.
• https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/d1_mini_ ... motor.html
  • Uses the HR8833.
• https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/d1_mini_ ... motor.html
  • Uses the AT8870.

Thanks.

[scruss]

The TB6612FNG version is older, and is no longer for sale on AliExpress. The HR8833 board is for low-voltage motors (< 10 V) while the AT8870 works up to 38 V. These aren't subtle differences at all.

[kwiley]

Oookay. The TB6612FNG is 15V and 1.2A-3.2A while the AT8870 is 6.5-38V and 2A-3.6A, so the first one seems completely redundant in terms of voltage, useful only for a few very low current motors perhaps. So, until you pointed out that it was older and deprecated, which I didn't know in advance, it was perfectly sensible to question the necessity of both boards. Hence my asking.

Meanwhile, the HR8833 significantly overlaps the AT8870 as well, except in the lowest 3V-6.5V range and 1.5A-2A range, which struck me as relative minor distinctions, but perhaps I am unaware of the critical importance of sub-6.5V motors or sub-2A motors to some applications.

Sorry.