Switching 12V 3A from a 3.3V GPIO

Using Arduino Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
#1

I would like to switch a PAM8610 audio amplifier board with a Wemos D1 mini. It takes 12V in and produces 20 W of sound. I power it with a 12V 3A wallwart.

In the past I’ve switched a 5v fan from a Pi using an S8050. Can do something similar with a larger transistor?

I’m an electronics novice. Whats the simplest solution?

#2

Simplest is a relay module. Perhaps more elegant is a p-MOSFET driven from an NPN transistor, see post #4 here: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=555862.0

#3

Thanks. Is there any reason to prefer a high side switch to a low side switch?

#4