Electronics - Using an NPN Transistor as a Switch

This tutorial shows you how to use an NPN transistor as a switch.
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[@FlusherBox]

this is perfect. i've wasted about an hour watching so many videos explaining this in such depth, when all i needed was a simple demonstration. thank you!

[@mohammadnaseem7693]

Ayyesha

[@tronstinkt5651]

me 2 bro i feel ya

[@doggo7567]

#metoo

[@Mudye]

I trust the axolotl

[@DancesWithDingo]

I've been trying to wrap my head around transistors for a long time. You connected all of the dots for me in 6 minutes. Really useful viewing for the concepts.

[@rkshireygames]

Thank you for this tutorial. It was very to the point, which most seem to lack.

[@nando8179]

This was by far the best explanation about transistors I ever found. Very well done Michael.

[@sitehost]

thank you.. As many times as I have used them.. i learned more in a min with you then years.. thanks for the video...

[@teslacoil4335]

Good vid, no filler, all info, good job!

[@DavidCrisp]

this is the BEST practical demonstration of using a transistor as a switch. Def this one for practical and "great Scott" for theory. please do more!

[@devinandrews2346]

Short and to the point. Thanks. I must've watched about five videos before I found this one.

[@anthonyarroyo1887]

thank you for the vid, I was trying to figure something out with a project and this helped a lot!

[@Utubeasiangirls]

from the other transistor vids yours was the most straight forward and simple one so i finally got it "subbed"

[@michaelc1042]

Not to pile on the following comments, but this 6 minute video/example explained more to me about transistors than 2 hours of other videos explaing what Transistors are. I now know exactly how to use Transistors in my project. Thank you for making this video.

[@DarrenHerbertII]

Nicely done, you explained the functions of NPN transistors and showed simplistically how to wire them in. That's what I wanted, thank you :)

[@jrm1992jrm1]

I've watched 10+ videos and yours was the best!! hats off to you

[@RajaRajan-yc6uh]

The same thing is getting explained in 20 min videos, but at the end I got nothing. Your video is super simple and to the point. Thanks a lot!!

[@anuspan]

This is a great video. It explains how transistor works in the simplest form. Keep up the good work.

[@JoeEvansSound]

thanx michael - at long last an easy to understand tutorial about the switching option of a transistor. great to watch - thank you for sharing. yayyyyy

[@BuckWezr]

the Scorched Earth breadboard absolutely made my morning!!!

[@suraimrashid6330]

Thanks mate. I was trying to use a transistor for my 5v motor. You just solved the issue.

[@KevinBrookhouser]

This video completely delivers on its promise. I can see how this would solve a problem with integrating Arduino and the Adafruit fx board. Thank you so much.

[@eclecticlife]

Excellent simple precise explanation. Thank you!

[@angeloperez1136]

Simple. The best explanation so far! Thanks Sir!

[@triggercell]

Thanks so much for the dumbed down explanation of what NPN is. Makes it easier to understand that emitter, base, collector

[@flashpointwhite]

nice video. I couldn't find a transistor tutorial dealing with practical application for beginners. this gave me exactly the information I needed to have. Thanks!

[@MilMike]

finally, I understand how it works. I watched many videos about transistors and didn't really get it. Your video showed the transistor by example. THANKS man! :)

[@dawidbredenkamp]

Thanks for a simple and informative video.

[@Intheworkshop200025]

Thanks, this helped a lot, all the other tutorials are confusing and don't make sense.

[@dylkow]

Thanks buddy, I'm new to electronics and this video made it easy to digest the workings of a transistor.

[@Patronesofly]

great video i look forward to learning more about these i am thinking of getting an arduino

[@utkf16]

Thanks for posting this, great example and explanation

[@eagle282828]

bro! thx for this vid understood everything i needed to, thanks again man!

[@tareco5]

I finally understand how they work i m new on this and you are the firth on youtube explaining the way i can understand tanks

[@abughouth8059]

Thank you so very much for clear demonstration...please keep up the great job....Isam

[@jayaprakashvaka2102]

Thank you Michale judge, it's very informative and clear explanation of NPN transistor, good job dude..

[@PaulGurhy]

Well I must say after watching this video and your other video on how to tell the difference with the pnp and npn you have made me fully understand how these work which in turn I can now start to complete a project that just kept failing. the NPN cures the problem. Thanks a million and I have subscribed to your channel

[@jackisthebombdrummer]

This Is the first transistor video that I have seen that actually explains how it works, All you need is a good camera man and you are set!

[@benjiborger2501]

Great vid. After watching a 90 year old explain this in about 3 hours. I still didn't understand. You did it perfectly in about 6 minutes

[@chancebutler2977]

Thanks Michael, this was very helpful!

[@sebster3gmail]

Thank you so much for your video, that's what i needed to know to figure out the circuit im working on.

[@user-jd3og1lk6q]

Hi, I'm student from korea, and I really thank you for your explaining.

[@JeremyCook]

Thanks for the video. Was going to use one in place of a switch on a laser pointer, this answered some questions I had!

[@jacobsteinebronn2966]

Great video, straight to the point and useful. 2 things: First of all, the name transistor has nothing to do with the number of pins, 3. The prefix you're thinking of is "tri" not "trans". Anyway, the second item is that NPN does not stand for negative, positive, negative; that is, the "layers" of silicon are not called "negative" or "positive". Instead, they stand for "n-type" and "p-type" doped silicon. If you would like to learn about doped silicon and what these letters stand for, I'd recommend searching "how do transistors work" and instead of finding a video on how to use them, find one that explains how they function. Have a great day!

[@claytonranney6608]

Thanks, I needed this. I'm using it to set off a reed switch. It uses very little currant.

[@stenstensson2086]

This explained it very well, thanks.

[@simratsaini879]

thank you for the video. was looking for the basic working of transistor

[@henrimedot]

Very instructive and easy to understand. Thank you very much!

[@abhishekshrivastava7020]

Fabulous tutorial by you

[@Bizorke]

Generally the resistor that you should use for an LED is that which would result in the current passing through the LED to be 15mA. So if you're using a 5v battery, and the LED drops the voltage by 2v down to 3v over the resistor, then in order to get 15mA you'll need 3v/0.015mA = 200Ohm. It's good to know so don't forget that ;-).

[@jegsawu6434]

very concise and informative video. Thank You!

[@crittergritter7206]

Michael,
Thank You for this very elementary explanation of a NPN Transistor. I have searched, read and watch so many poor examples that I was total confused about the proper wiring of the NPN. This video was exactly what I needed. Thanks Again

[@TraktorTarzan]

Thank you! finally a good explanation fo a transistor.

[@Irishshari1]

Thank you Michael! Very easy to follow.

[@2010andrew]

michael, thanking you for your video. It has some time made, and i was searching some to explain. Your demo is the most easy to understand and a great way to show it. I always had thinked that, analogic electronics is more stable than digital. I've been seen nowadays youtube shorts, and there's proyects using this.
But the most important, is expain how they works.

[@brauliojiomeke]

Very well explained. Thank you

[@ChristopherHarris]

thanks dude, couldn't get mine to work until I watched this

[@jomahmamahma]

Excellent tutorial, Michael! A simple topic, to be sure, but many noobs (we ALL were, once) will find it helpful. I was also surprised at the pin out designations for the NPN. I'm gonna' have to look closer at the datasheets. Well done!
joe

[@roberthagedorn3574]

Thanks for the demonstration.
So given that I have "some" NPN transistor. How do I figure out which resistor I need to use before it? E.g. I want to switch it with 3,3V (ESP8266) or 5V (arduino uno).. what would be the process to determine which resistor I need?

[@randywatson8347]

Very well explained and demonstrated.

[@Inquire98]

"Good"; Thank You, thank you very much...
Do you have ANY additional videos on transistors or transistor technology?
Let me know...

[@martinstubbs7838]

your video is informative keep up the good work

[@2010gulf]

fantastic explanation. Thank you!

[@iskanderothmani6592]

Thanks a lot bro you explain is so perfect

[@razatahir5688]

Michael I am going to learn a lot from you! thanks for your videos

[@JohnWayne99999a]

Very useful and easy to understand video!

[@theodoros_1234]

This was very helpful. Thanks!

[@SagarShastry]

Thanks for this video. It helped a lot for my hobby project :)

[@hassankalashtar3163]

Thank you, it was very helpful

[@MrSome1bad]

Great demonstration use of NPN, it is best for basic thanks alot

[@SuricatB]

Thank you very much for this video! It's very informative, and helped me a lot understanding how NPN transistors work, even in english which isn't my native language! :)
Thanks again!

[@HaiderAli-rb4xu]

Perfect information keep it up dude keep up the good information☺☺☺☺

[@isnainiahmadi1411]

I love the demonstration 👍🏻

[@titaniumgreed2643]

Micheal. Thank you i didnt understand schems on other videos at all keep up the good work bud subscribed. Thumb up keep uploading more ty.

[@Gebrish19]

Thanks miki!! I love ur explanation!

[@ET2uscg]

Thanks man , any info is great those are clear instructions.

[@pinochska]

very very nice explanation... i already know all of this but i like looking at new explanations and yours are awesome... congrats and thank you mate

[@jacobfowl18]

Great job man , thanks for the help .

[@BalamSoto]

Thanks Michael awesome and clean tut. thanks!

[@JeffLange1]

Thanks, I finally understand how they work!

[@nuwang1]

Thanks for the video michael! Thanks for contributing

[@nuwang1]

Ive been doing a bit of research on MOSFETs and they seem a bit overkill for my requirement, so I'm doing some reading up on BJTs, what values do I have to consider when picking out a transistor for my circuit?
For MOSFETs I mainly looked at Vgs being lower than 3.3v to see if I could run it with a raspberry pi, as well as supplying atleast 320mA without getting hot, etc.
So how would I go about picking a transistor, or should I stick to a MOSFET? Any pros, cons?
Noob here

[@_ShaDynasty]

good video. very clear explanation

[@etniko3]

this is awesome!!!!
simple very clear...

[@E-Rod]

Hi Michael, why do you need a resistor before the LED? Is this to limit the amount of current the NPN transistor sees? So as not to blow it out? Could you just put the resistor between the LED and the transistor so the LED is seeing the full source but can still be switched on and off by the transistor? Thanks!

[@AxellTh]

Hi! made the curcuit and tried with different resistors. The higher the resister the lower the led lights up. so it is not just an on off switch?

[@ntana4589]

This is so helpful! I do have a small question: what resistor types did you use?

[@DaveSmith-wn2kj]

Excellent explanation. So, does this mean that it can be used as a kind of NO/NC relay?

[@sandeeptembare]

truly helpful video....for new beginners

[@tronrover1772]

first of all a lot of thanks for such good video

[@samp1351]

thanks a lot! as a starter in electronics this was really helpfull. thnx!

[@TioTodi]

You are THE GUY! Save my life! Thanks! :D

[@S24W2]

Thank you, could you please do other videos regarding use as an amplifier and also for a pnp?

[@GAURAVSHARMA-ev4lb]

I have seen your video of Transistor as switch. Can you please explain what happens inside the transistor in terms of electron and hole flow which make it as a switch. ?

[@petexian]

Thanks this was very helpful

[@sadamhussain1225]

thanx....best information about transistor

[@RajuPathari]

thanks. for making such video... this video really helped me to do my first project.. :)

[@kau5thub]

This is the best video on using transistor as a switch. Thanks a lot manh!!!. Can you please enter the transistor specifications

[@zameersl1]

its great explanation, thank you so much....

[@mesterado]

Teşekkürler Maykıl .Paylaşımın oldukça sade ve anlaşılır.

[@lowsideswitch]

great job explaining it but you had a working circuit before you put the transistor in, did you gain anything by using a transistor over a relay? and is there any reason you switch on the low side?

[@lukel99]

@lowsideswitch You gain the ability to switch high currents with a low current source. An example would be if you wanted to turn a motor on or off with a microcontroller. If the microcontroller can only supply (for instance) 40mA per pin, and the motor takes 200mA, the transistor allows you to switch the higher load. Transistors switch faster than relays and use less power. Relays can handle more power though, so many times relay coils are switched by transistors.

[@negrosanga2665]

can u help on making LED as an indicator when output of timer 555 connected to the transistor as well as to the relay

[@seraine22]

@ismaels91
You are correct, transistor was actually a combination of transfer and resistor. However, using transistors as a switch can actually be very useful. For example, I have a photocell that can only take a few milliamps, but a motor I'm using needs 3/4. I can use this way to make a simple(when compared to other methods) light activated motor.