HMC6343 3-axis Compass Hookup Guide
JordanDee Introduction
The HMC6343 is a fully-integrated, high-end, digital compass module that can compute and give the user a heading direction that's accurate within a couple degrees! It is tilt compensated and is calibrated to handle magnetic distortions. The IC combines 3-axis magneto-resistive sensors and 3-axis MEMS accelerometers, analog and digital support circuits, a microprocessor and algorithms in firmware required for heading computation.
The breakout board allows for easy use of the HMC6343. All that is required is power (3.3V @ 4.5mA in run mode) and I2C connections to a microcontroller so that the module can receive commands and send data back to the user.
Covered in this Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will help you learn how to use this electronic compass so you can quickly and painlessly integrate them into your project[s]. Here is what we'll cover:
- Hardware Overview -- An overview of the HMC6343 breakout board as well as some details about the IC.
- Example Hookup -- How to connect the compass to the ubiquitous Arduino so we can start writing code to work with it.
- Example Code -- We've written example sketches and a library that demonstrate how to collect sensor data as well as make sense of it.
Required Materials
- HMC6343 Breakout Board
- Arduino Uno or any Arduino Board-- We will use the Uno as the example, however you should be able to use any Arduino board you have handy including the RedBoard, Pro, Mega, etc.
- Bi-directional Logic Level Converter
You may also need a breadboard, jumper wires, and straight male headers to follow the example setup, if you don't already have these or another way of connecting the Arduino to the breakout board.
Suggested Reading
Before continuing on with this tutorial, we recommend you be somewhat familiar with the concepts in these tutorials:
- Installing an Arduino Library
- Inter-IC Communication (I2C)
- Logic Levels
- Bi-Directional Level Shifter Hookup Guide