Or put headers on the back side of Pi Block

Using the Pi Block as an output device

If you want to use the Pi Block to control high power LEDs or relays, an

external transistor or MOSFET will be required. It is possible to illuminate a

small LED directly from the level shifter. It may not be as bright since the

current output of the TXB0108 level converter is very low (~5ma).

Connection Diagram for Load (LED, Motor, or Relay)

In the terminal, we will demonstrate how to activate and use a GPIO pin as

an output.

First navigate to the GPIO directory on the Edison.

cd /sys/class/gpio

Select the GPIO pin to enable. In this case, we used GPIO 14, which is

labeled “GP14” on the Pi Block.

echo 14 > export

Navigate to the newly created GPIO directory.

cd gpio14

If you type “ls”, you should see a bunch of variables.

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