I am brand new to arduino, as in just got mine an hour ago. I am wondering if it is possible to get 12v output from the arduino using a 12v power supply. It seems 5v is the output i get regardless of supplied voltage. I have tested with a 12v battery plugged into the 2.1mm jack and still get 5v output. I guess i need to bypass the voltage regulator, but im not sure if that is possible or if that would fry the thing.
I am trying to blink a 12v LED array at a specific frequency. It would be convenient to just have it plugged into the arduino and have that act as both the power supply and timing control, but if that is not possible is there a way to use the arduino as the timing control and use an external power supply for the LED array?
I'm no expert but it seems that's the kind of thing you would do with a transistor as explained here. Use a digital pin of the Arduino to "tickle" the base of the transistor to open the valve and let the 12v through the pipe.
Just make sure you connect the grounds of the Arduino and the 12v together as shown in the pic of that link, and put a resistor between the Arduino and the base of the transistor.
