Transistor issue

BillO:
... I would recommend a Darlington arrangement which is basically 2 transistors, althogh you can buy power Dalingtons in a single device.

See the attached schematic. It will handle a motor that draws up to 10A and is pretty cheap.

  1. The flyback diode is on the wrong place in that schematic, it doesn't protect the transistor when the motor switches off. For that, you need a flyback diode connected in parallel with the motor.

  2. IMO darlingtons should almost never be used, because they have high saturation voltage. If the motor draws a substantial current, this results in a lot of power being dissipated in the darlington, so it will get hot and need a heatsink. A power mosfet is a much better solution in such a case. If the current is not so high (say 500mA or less), then a single transistor will do the job more efficiently and with less heat generation than a darlington, especially if the transistor is a high gain low saturation type such as the ZTX851.