Can I use pin 13 as an output to drive a coil on a stepper motor. I will pass pin 13 into a ULN2003 Darlington. Thanks
Why not? It is buffered so the LED does not take much current. As long as you keep below the 20mA current limit, you should be fine.
@KeithRB, as far as I remember buffering is not implemented in every arduino or clone. I doubt it matters much as long as one keeps an eye on the maximum current through the pin.
And there will be some activity in the boot-up-phase on pin 13 with normal bootloaders.
Many thanks all, however the comment Whandall made, would using Pin 13 create problems booting and/or programmimg the board? If there are any problem then I will give the pin a miss. Thanks again
ZOR2:
would using Pin 13 create problems booting and/or programmimg the board?
I don't think so.
But be prepared to see some HIGHs and LOWs on pin 13 on startup.
(caused by the bootloder flashing the LED).
For the Arduino it's not a problem. If it's a problem for what you drive with it is up to you to decide.
Many thanks everyone. I think I will leave off using the Pin 13, just keep it for a visual display later.
Regards