RETIRED - Using the Logic Level Converter

This Tutorial is Retired!

This tutorial covers concepts or technologies that are no longer current. It's still here for you to read and enjoy, but may not be as useful as our newest tutorials.

View the updated tutorial: Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter Hookup Guide

Pages
Contributors: jimblom
Favorited Favorite 8

Meet the LLC

Electronics can be maddening sometimes! Like when you want to hookup that totally groundbreaking, awesome, must-have sensor, which has a maximum input voltage of 3.3V, to an Arduino running at 5V. Ack! Connecting these devices can be a problem -- applying an out-of-range voltage to a device's I/O pin can overstress it and eventually lead to failure. This is a dilemma so common we designed a simple PCB assembly to make interfacing devices a little easier: the Logic Level Converter.

Logic Level Converter

BOB-11978
Retired

The LLC can convert up to four I/O lines from a high-to-low and low-to-high. Two inputs convert from low voltage to a higher, and the other two line convert bi-directionally (high-to-low and/or low-to-high).

Covered In This Tutorial

In this tutorial we'll take an in-depth look at the Logic Level Converter. Check into it's schematic. Explain what each pin on the board does, and where it goes. Then we'll go over some example hook-ups, explaining how you might use the board in a serial interface, or SPI, or even I2C.

Suggested Reading