Electronic enthusiasts and hobbyists might be interested in a new arrival in the Adafruit online store in the form of the Adafruit MOSFET Driver. Designed to keep Sparky the Blue Smoke Monster at bay the tiny board can be used with both Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects thanks to its ability to be connected directly to a GPIO pin.
The MOSFET Driver board has a simple plug-and-play JST PH (2mm pitch) input connector for solderless use. Provide power (from 3V up to 30V) and signal (3V to 20V logic level). On the output are two-output terminal blocks, with one block connected to power and the other switched to ground when the signal level is high. In between is an AO3406 N-Channel MOSFET rated for 30Vds, 3.6A peak, and 70mΩ RdsOn plus a 1N4007 flyback diode. The tiny yet super useful board is now available to purchase priced at $3.95
Adafruit MOSFET Driver
“Sparky the Blue Smoke Monster shows up whenever the magic smoke is let go of an electronic component. And his very favorite is whenever folks first start with electronics and robotics: wiring up a motor or solenoid or high power LED is a perfect recipe for getting that blue smoke out of an Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Why? Because these high-current devices can’t be connected directly to a GPIO pin on a microcontroller! They need to have a transistor / MOSFET driver, plus a kickback-protection diode that will absorb the inductive ‘kick’ caused by turning on-and-off motors and solenoids. Without that driver and diode – your ‘tronix will go poof!”
“Magic smoke (also called factory smoke or blue smoke) is smoke produced by malfunctioning electronic circuits. The origins of the magic smoke have become a running in-joke that started among electrical engineers and technicians before it was more recently adopted by computer programmers. The actual origin of blue smoke is the black plastic epoxy material that is used to package most common semiconductor devices such as transistors and integrated circuits, which produces a bluish coloured smoke during combustion. Smoke from other components that do not use this epoxy may vary in colour, but still be identified as the same phenomenon for purposes of the joke.”
Source : Adafruit
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