L298N DC Motor Driver Module (Dual H-Bridge) (HW-85)

This DC Motor Driver Module houses a L298N chip (a Dual H-Bridge), allowing you to use a microcontroller (eg. Arduino, Raspberry Pi) to independently control speed and direction of either:

• Up to 2x Brushed DC Motors, or
• 1x 4 wire 2 phase stepper motor.

The module features:

• Onboard 5V DC Regulator (supplying up to 500mA)
• Jumpers for ensuring enables are active (reducing the number of pins required to control the motors)
• Heat sink for the L298N to reduce risk of overheating
• Screw terminals for the power supply and mounting motors.

These are a great starter module for motor control, and work great for applications you need to control motors or electromagnets.  Including:

• Robot cars
• Robot arms

You can also use the driver to control electromagnets for a range of applications:

• Door strikes
• Electromagnets (allowing you to reverse the magnetic polarity)
• Solenoids

To use this module:

• Connect your motors to the screw terminals (each 2-pin screw terminal supports 1x brushed DC Motor).
• Connect your DC Power Source the VIN and GND screw terminals on the motor driver.
• Connect the 4 pins (IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4) on the motor driver to your Arduino or other microcontroller (I/O pins need to be tolerant for 5V)
• Connect the GND for your microcontroller with the GND screw terminal on the motor driver.  (Note: you must do this so they have a common GND, otherwise your control signals won't work.)

Additional notes:

• This driver alone is unable to support Brushless DC (BLDC) motors, as they require a completely different driver (3x H-bridges required).  However, you may be able to control 1x BLDC motor with 2x L298N motor drivers.
• When supplying more than 12VDC driving voltage: To avoid damage the 5V Voltage Regulator on the module, remove the pin jumper next to the 3-pin screw terminal for supplying the module's onboard 5V Voltage Regulator and use an external 5V logic supply for your microcontroller instead.