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Heavy Load Switching with CodeBug

spannerspencer

Has anyone tried switching slightly heavier loads using the CodeBug's legs, either using a transistor or a relay? I'm working on something that'll need to switch two loads on and off that I'm pretty sure would melt the CodeBug if I did it directly (maybe 1-2 amps each). I'm thinking that something as simple as a transistor, switched from one of the legs, would do the job, but thought I'd ask if anyone's experimented this as yet?

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  • 0 in reply to spannerspencer

    Hi Spanner,

     

    Personally I'd go with Jon's suggestion for my own boards, only caveat is that it is a surface mount device which not everyone is comfortable with. If you're using a relay, then you may as well use the NPN method, since it doesn't care what specific NPN transistor you use.

    But yes, many ways to swing a cat : )

  • 0 in reply to shabaz

    Absolutely. And there may be real advantages to having the isolation that the relay gives; without knowing a bit more about what "Spanner Spencer" is trying to do it's difficult to say.

     

    The bipolar transistor is much more robust handling-wise, too, particularly if poeple aren't used to electronics and don't understand about the possibility of static damage.

     

    Soldering an SOT23 is quite easy, though. They're probably the easiest SMD parts to prototype with (at least I can see the things, which isn't the case with some of the surface mount resistors you can get now).