I have an arduino catalyst kit which includes a 3V vibration motor - can anyone point me in the direction of a tutorial on the right way to use it please?
I think I need to use a transistor with it? I've googled but I haven't found a good entry level resource. Any help greatly appreciated.
If the motor draws less than 40mA you can run it without a transistor.
But to be on the safe side i would use one.
Check here:
http://ctheds.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/tip-120/
For your tiny little motor you could most likely use a less powerfull transistor than the TP120
Great, thanks! I got it working and don't seem to have killed anything :)
Cheers for the help.
Sort of related question beginner electronics question: Is it bad to use a transistor that is capable of more powerful than what's needed? I've always assumed no, but my lack of formal know-how always seems to produce false assumptions..
The answer is, as always, "it depends"
Higher power transistors often have lower gains than signal transistors, and so need more current to drive them.
Do any of you know of button-sized vibration motors drawin less than 40mA ? Thanks