Need advice on what type of transistor to use to switch 1/2A

[Nora]

Hello-
I am switching a 12V, 500-700mA LED load from a 5V source.
I have a few TIP31As lying around and thought I'd use them.
The TIP31As are called medium-power transistors.
Are these OK to use, and if not, what should I be using?
Thanks!
Nora

 

[IanP]

Re: Need advice on what type of transistor to use to switch

By all means you can use TIP31 to switch LEDs, have a look at this:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Blinking-leds/

IanP

 

[Nora]

Re: Need advice on what type of transistor to use to switch

Thanks for the reply-
I asked because I am not sure if my current load is too great for that transistor.
Nora

 

[IanP]

Re: Need advice on what type of transistor to use to switch

I asked because I am not sure if my current load is too great for that transistor.

This is a 3A transistor, so it can easily switch currents below 1A ..
Just keep in mind that the gain of this transistor is not very impressive, so you have to feed roughly {I[collector] / 30} to it's base ..
https://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/TI/TIP31A.pdf

IanP