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Raspberry Pi
120 min
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How to control a DC motor with NPN transistor and Raspberry Pi 5 ?

A transistor is a semiconductor device that can be used as a switch, amplifier, or for other electronic functions. Transistor has three terminals for connection to an external circuit.

Project Video

Overview

In this tutorial, we will learn how to use a NPN transistor to operate a DC motor. It will provide the motor with the necessary power.

Getting the Items

Raspberry Pi 5 Single Board Computer
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2N2222 – NPN Transistor (3 pieces)
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Small DC motor RF-300
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1/4 Watt Resistor (20 Pack)
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Half-size Breadboard
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Jumper Wires – Male to Female (40 Pack)
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Steps

Wiring it Up

Connect the wires between the NPN transistor, the motor and the Raspberry pi 5 board, as shown in the image below.

Connections from the NPN transistor:

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• NPN emitter pin → Raspberry Pi 5 GND pin

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• NPN base pin (middle pin) → 4.7 KΩ resistor →  Raspberry Pi 5 pin 18

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• NPN collector pin → Motor first wire
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Connections from the motor:

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• Motor first wire → NPN collector pin

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• Motor second wire → Raspberry Pi 5 VCC pin (5V)

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Coding

Now on your Raspberry Pi, click on the menu, then choose programming, then open the Thonny ide program.

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Now copy that code into it, The function of this code is to turn the DC motor on and off for 5 second.

import gpiod

import time

MOTOR_PIN = 18  # GPIO pin number where the MOTOR is connected

# Open GPIO chip

chip = gpiod.Chip('gpiochip4')

# Get the GPIO line for the MOTOR

MOTOR_line = chip.get_line(MOTOR_PIN)

# Request exclusive access to the line and configure it as an output

MOTOR_line.request(consumer="MOTOR", type=gpiod.LINE_REQ_DIR_OUT)

try:

  while True:

      MOTOR_line.set_value(1)  # Turn on the MOTOR

      time.sleep(5)  # Wait for 1 second

      MOTOR_line.set_value(0)  # Turn off the MOTOR

      time.sleep(5)  # Wait for 1 second

finally:

  # Release the GPIO line and clean up resources on program exit

  MOTOR_line.release()

  chip.close()

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Testing it Out

Now run the code, you will find that the Raspberry Pi 5 board turns on and off the DC motor for 5 second.

Resources

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