The low-current solenoid driver
The low-current solenoid driver circuit can be used to control things such as the small solenoids used by many lawn sprinkler systems.
The data sheet says that the IC is capable of providing 2A continuously, provided that it has a proper heat sink. Fortunately, we will only be pulsing the solenoid on for about a second, so this should not be a problem.
A dual low-current solenoid driver
Our circuit will drive two solenoids at the same time; for example, two sprinklers. We cannot control solenoids separately because we need to keep the design simple and maintain the number of inputs required. Therefore, you will have to turn on both sprinklers at once.
The following circuit is used to drive a single-coil solenoid. This type of solenoid requires a dual polarity pulse to activate it. A positive-going pulse opens the solenoid and a negative-going pulse closes it. In order to do this, we will use what is called a half-bridge circuit. The SN754410 IC is designed to...
