ULN2803 - Practical load ?

Wp100

Well-Known Member
Hi All,

The ULN2803 darlington array is rated at 50v 500ma continuous per transistor output.

I need to drive a bank of solenoids each taking up to 2A at 15V DC.

Only one solenoid will be operated at a time and then only with a precise 1 second pulse with several seconds before another would be activated.
Total usage would be light, say 100 pulses per day through the whole chip.

Would I be able to get away with the higher current / wattage when used in this very intermittant way ?

( I know there is a quad 1.5A darlington driver ULN2064 or devices like TIP122 that would do the job easy, but the 2803 is so much more compact and low cost, even if I had to parallel two outputs to increase the current to 1A )
 
Yes. See the chart for the allowable current per channel depending on the number of active channels and the duty cycle:
ALLOWABLE COLLECTOR CURRENT
AS A FUNCTION OF DUTY CYCLE
ULx28xxA
https://www.rentron.com/Files/uln2803.pdf
Ken
 
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