this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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Circuit is for controlling the fan on a Raspberry Pi, just on/off according to temp, no PWM. Not sure about the diode as it has a .7V drop and it's a tiny brushless DC motor. No markings on the fan so I measured the current with a multimeter when hooking it up to a USB charger. Circuit was adapted from here using what I have on hand.

Suggestions? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

*EDIT: Confirmed, this circuit works on a Raspberry Pi 4. Base was wired to GPIO 17 and manually tested using commands:

raspi-gpio set 17 op dh

raspi-gpio set 17 op dl

I didn't use a breadboard, just hack-n-slash with the wires coming out of the fan, the leads on the thru hole components, a jumper connected to gpio 17 as a socket for the base/resistor lead, and heat shrink tubing for insulation. Folded it up as I closed the housing. Case combo including heatsinks and fan here.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The diode is a fly back diode, it’s just circuit protection no need to worry about it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yah. I added it as the original didn't have one. Think I should keep it?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's fine, won't cause any problems.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Well, It does no harm to the rest. So I would keep it.