13 votes
Accepted

Calculating resistor value for transistor

There's not quite enough information in your question to give a definitive answer, but let's go through the design steps so that not only can you figure out this one, but you might be better equipped ...
Edward's user avatar
  • 951
9 votes
Accepted

Is there a component out there that can push a button i.e. will extend a rod about 1 inch and then retract it?

Have a look here: How to have a Raspi trigger a Remote Control physically Needs some ideas to trigger silicone rubber buttons A solenoid with a moveable pushrod can be driven fairly quickly and ...
Ghanima's user avatar
  • 15.8k
9 votes
Accepted

Reversed LED in GPIO Output

As shown this circuit cannot drive two LEDs the way you want it. Consider GPIO-pin high: L2 lights up, L1 does not. GPIO-pin low: no LED lights up as there is no (significant) potential difference ...
Ghanima's user avatar
  • 15.8k
8 votes

Is there a component out there that can push a button i.e. will extend a rod about 1 inch and then retract it?

I believe the most appropriate device would be a solenoid. They are quite common. For a simple button pressing solenoid, something like this might work well. I would recommend that you put a soft ...
Byron Jones's user avatar
6 votes

Is there a component out there that can push a button i.e. will extend a rod about 1 inch and then retract it?

It's easy enough to find solenoids, servos etc with the power to push a button. The tricky bit is the mounting. Humans are really very good at pressing buttons on arbitary things, compensating for ...
Peter Green's user avatar
  • 6,022
6 votes

Easy way to switch on and off of 12V DC current

You'll need just two things: Make use of the GPIO pins Using the GPIO port of the Pi is possible with numerous libraries for all significant languages. Finding one that interfaces well with Python ...
Ghanima's user avatar
  • 15.8k
6 votes
Accepted

Common ground with 9V?

There is no risk in connecting the GND of the power supply and the RPi together - actually, to create useful circuits most of the time this is required so that the +9V from the power supply and the +...
Phil B.'s user avatar
  • 5,033
5 votes

reverse engineering: Transcend digital photo frame display to Raspberry Pi

The manual on the Trancend Website (see pjc50's answer) suggests that the unit will be recognised by a PC if a USB lead is connected to the mini-USB connector (C) on the SIDE of the case (not the full ...
SlySven's user avatar
  • 3,621
5 votes
Accepted

Recording landline phone calls

My approach to this would be to do everything I possibly could to avoid interfacing the Pi directly with the phone line. It's definitely achievable, but it sounds a lot harder than I like my spare ...
goobering's user avatar
  • 10.7k
5 votes
Accepted

Can I use HDMI 1 instead of HDMI 0?

A fully updated Raspberry Pi 4 will boot up properly and show the desktop, regardless of which hdmi port was used. Now I faintly remember this not being the case at some point, but Forum moderator &...
Botspot's user avatar
  • 1,759
5 votes

LED light not turning on

Your LED is wired to the GP13. So try Pin(13, Pin.OUT) instead of Pin("LED", Pin.OUT)
Mert Aksoy's user avatar
4 votes

I am getting ghosting/bouncing on my digital input

I had exactly the same problem with these interrupt events under Python. I believe this is a sofware bug in the lib. I do not use these Interrupts anymore, but now I am polling the GPIO. This works ...
RP6conrad's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Is it safe to drive a current between a GPIO output at 0V (LOW) and the 3.3V supply?

Yes. In fact this is normal engineering practice, although for the Pi it probably makes no difference as the outputs are symmetrical. Having said that the amount of current you can supply from 3.3V is ...
Milliways's user avatar
  • 58.2k
4 votes

reverse engineering: Transcend digital photo frame display to Raspberry Pi

The AM7338 is a dedicated Digital Picture Frame System on Chip (DFP SOC). It is a all in one single chip solution for DFPs, handling typical functions of buttons, IR remote, memory card and flash ...
cde's user avatar
  • 301
4 votes

How to read values from an clamp-on ammeter with an raspberry pi?

The first thing I would do is plug it into your multimeter and see what readings you get. Note that current clamps (with very few exceptions) have to be clamped round the live wire only. Clamping ...
Peter Green's user avatar
  • 6,022
4 votes
Accepted

Use 3.3V regulator on 5V rail with GPIO

Apparently, the Pi's 3.3V rail can't (or shouldn't) source more than 50mA of current I'm shamelessly taking this from a recent Piversify post, "Exploring the 3.3V Power Rail", by one of our other ...
goldilocks's user avatar
  • 58.3k
4 votes

How to control 12V DC motor with a NPN transistor, a GPIO pin and a 12 V DC power supply

The 2N2222 is rated for a continous collector current of 600 mA only (that could be issue 1). To drive this current however a higher base current is required than is possible in this setup with the 1k ...
Ghanima's user avatar
  • 15.8k
4 votes

Can I connect 5V to an OUTPUT GPIO pin?

You should never feed more than 3V3 into a Pi GPIO - that's the official line and that is unlikely to ever change. However lots of us have done so by mistake and on purpose. If you do so try to put ...
joan's user avatar
  • 70.3k
4 votes

Did I destroy my GPIO board?

You need to checkout this tutorial that covers controlling a DC motor using a Raspberry Pi. The Pi's GPIO pins are for very low current applications such as controlling a transistor or controlling an ...
HeatfanJohn's user avatar
  • 3,100
4 votes

Connection of 220V Doorbell to Raspberry Pi GPIO

The statements "220V power" and "I'm very new with electronics" raise concerns. The only responsible advice I can give to anyone who isn't a licensed electical contractor is DON'T. Try something ...
Milliways's user avatar
  • 58.2k
4 votes
Accepted

Powering an element that draws more current/voltage than GPIO can supply?

first thing first, you cant extract that much power from the pi, you need an extra batery and mosfet for that. heres the deal, in order to heat your pad you need and extra batery conected to the pad, ...
lightshadown's user avatar
4 votes

Can a relay be on for 16 hours continuously?

To add to @Ghanima's excellent answer, you may also wish to consider a latching relay. Briefly, a latching relay has two stable states (i.e. it is a bistable device, similar to a flip-flop). This ...
Seamus's user avatar
  • 20.6k
4 votes

Simple pushButton circuit causes errors

There are numerous errors in the script. time module is not imported PIRinPin is not defined. AmountMotionsDetected is not defined, set as a global, or incremented. Once those errors are corrected ...
joan's user avatar
  • 70.3k
4 votes

Is it ok to power L298N 5V from Raspberry Pi 4 5V GPIO? (or use 6V for L298N power supply?)

6V motors usually work fine with 5V (other than the fact that they run at 80%..85% of it max speed). However, powering a motor from the Pi is only possible for very small motors, which have stall ...
Dmitry Grigoryev's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

What is this 8-pin fpc place On RPi 4?

This is a JTAG connector used for development and testing. Here's a picture of an old Pi B+ featuring the signal names printed on it: AFAIK it's useless unless you have VideoCore documentation and ...
Dmitry Grigoryev's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

LED always on while using FET

The most likely cause for BS270 (or any n-channel JFET) to continue conducting is, as you said, "G leg not connected to anything". The capacitance in the Gate junction stores a charge ...
Seamus's user avatar
  • 20.6k
3 votes

Using Raspberry Pi without a Linux OS?

Fully automated minimal bare metal blinker example Tested on Ubuntu 16.04 host, Raspberry Pi 2. Usage: Insert SD card on host Make the image: ./make.sh /dev/mmblck0 p1 Where: /dev/mmblck0 is the ...
Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

Using an L293D chip (to control a motor) with a separate power supply

It's always worth double checking the connections if a circuit doesn't work. Remember that you also need to connect a Pi ground to an external device you want to control from a Pi GPIO. WIthout the ...
joan's user avatar
  • 70.3k
3 votes

Connecting a standard telephone through GPIO

So from what I understand you're trying to make the RPi into an ATA device. Some combination of GPIO pins are wired into a phone cable that plugs into a analogue phone handset. Could be possible in a ...
Kieran's user avatar
  • 31

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible