Overview
The TT gear motor is the classic yellow DC motor behind countless robot cars and DIY rovers. A 1:48 reduction gearbox turns its small DC motor into roughly 125 RPM of usable torque at the output shaft, which fits standard 65mm robot wheels. It runs on 3V to 6V and is built for hobby robotics, line followers, and obstacle-avoiding cars.
Like any DC motor, it needs a motor driver (such as an L298N, L9110, or DRV8833) between it and your microcontroller. The driver supplies motor current and lets an Arduino, ESP32, or Raspberry Pi control speed and direction.
At a Glance
Specifications
| Parameter | Value |
| Operating Voltage | 3V - 6V DC |
| Gear Ratio | 1:48 |
| Output Speed | ~125 RPM (at 3-6V, no load) |
| No-load Current | ~150 mA |
| Stall Current | ~1 A (use a capable driver) |
| Shaft | Double-D, fits 65mm wheels |
| Motor Type | Brushed DC with plastic gearbox |
Wiring Guide
Arduino + L298N Wiring
Connect the motor to one output pair of the driver, and the driver inputs to the Arduino. Power the motor side from an external battery, not the Arduino 5V.
| L298N Pin | Connects To |
|---|---|
| OUT1 / OUT2 | Motor terminals |
| ENA | Arduino D9 (PWM speed) |
| IN1 / IN2 | Arduino D8 / D7 (direction) |
| +12V / GND | Battery + / shared GND |
Raspberry Pi Wiring
The same L298N works with the Pi. Drive ENA from a hardware PWM pin and IN1/IN2 from any two GPIOs. The Pi's 3.3V logic is fine for the L298N inputs.
| L298N Pin | Pi GPIO |
|---|---|
| ENA | GPIO18 (PWM) |
| IN1 / IN2 | GPIO23 / GPIO24 |
| GND | Shared ground |
Code Examples
Arduino
// TT motor via L298N
const int ENA = 9, IN1 = 8, IN2 = 7;
void setup() {
pinMode(ENA, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(IN2, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
// forward at ~75% speed
digitalWrite(IN1, HIGH);
digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);
analogWrite(ENA, 190);
delay(2000);
// stop
analogWrite(ENA, 0);
delay(1000);
}