MAG3110 Magnetometer Hookup Guide
AGlass0fMilk Introduction
The SparkFun MAG3110 Triple Axis Magnetometer is a breakout board for the 3-axis magnetometer from NXP/Freescale. It is a low power (1.95V to 3.6V) device that communicates over I2C. It outputs data in two's complement with values ranging from -30,000 to +30,000 and has a full-scale range of ±1000µT.
This sensor allows you to quickly detect surrounding magnetic fields. This data can be used to create a digital compass or even sense strong magnetic fields from transformers!
We will explore the functions of the MAG3110 sensor and get up and running using the SparkFun MAG3110 Arduino library and example code.
Required Materials
The required materials varies depending on how you want to use the sensor. You will notice this sensor's supply can only go up to 3.6V. If you try to communicate with this sensor using a 5V Arduino or similar platform you could permanently damage the chip! To use this with 5V logic devices, you must use a bi-directional logic level converter.
Fortunately, SparkFun offers a few inexpensive options. This part is recommended.
Please note you will also need a low voltage source to power this sensor if your Arduino does not have an on-board regulator. You may want to use something like this 3.3V Low-Dropout Regulator (LDO)
For the rest of the items you will need, see the wish list below.
Suggested Reading
Before embarking upon this guide, you may want to familiarize with any of the topics below.
- I2C
- Through Hole Soldering (And Hot Tips on Soldering Headers!)
- Bi-Directional Logic Converter Hookup Guide
- Binary
- Interrupts
- Magnetic Fields