Page 1 of 1

RX and Tx module - using FETS to control power

Posted: 14 Jun 2017, 08:14
by linker3000
Hi,

I am building an RFlink interface on an Arduino Mega prototyping board. I will be using an RXB6 receiver module and XD-FST FS1000A transmitter. I was wondering whether anyone had tried controlling the power to these devices via a FET switch to the 5V line rather than directly from the I/O pins; this prompts a few questions here:
  • Would the slightly higher module supply voltage give any significant performance improvement - it is worth the effort?*
  • Would the small increase in turn on/off times be an issue or is the code timing likely to handle this OK?*
  • Any recommended, tried and tested small-power logic level FETs with low RDSon? Most other I/O + FET switch use cases are for high current power control and thus use bigger TO220 power FETs - I could do the same, but is there a good, smaller FET to work with?


*I could do some tests but it would be good to hear from anyone who's already tried this.

Thanks