SparkFun gator:soil Hookup Guide

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Contributors: santaimpersonator, Englandsaurus
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Introduction

Do you have a science experiment involving plant growth?

SparkFun gator:soil - micro:bit Accessory Board

SEN-15272

The gator:soil is the perfect tool to monitor the moisture content of the soil of your test subjects. This tutorial will show you how to get started using this soil moisture sensor with the gator:bit (v2) in the micro:bit development environment.

Required Materials

To get started, you'll need a micro:bit to control everything. Each of the products below includes a micro:bit, but the kit and bundle also include some additional accessories that you may want as well.

micro:bit Board

DEV-14208
10 Retired

micro:bit Go Bundle

DEV-14336
18 Retired

SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit

KIT-15228
2 Retired

To easily use the gator board ecosystem, a gator:bit (v2) will help breakout the necessary pins and you will also need alligator and/or banana cables to connect the gator:bit to the gator:soil.

Alligator Test Leads - Multicolored (10 Pack)

Alligator Test Leads - Multicolored (10 Pack)

PRT-12978
$3.50
4
Banana to Banana Cable - Right Angle

Banana to Banana Cable - Right Angle

CAB-15368
$4.95 $4.46
1
SparkFun gator:bit v2.0 - micro:bit Carrier Board

SparkFun gator:bit v2.0 - micro:bit Carrier Board

DEV-15162
$21.50
2

(*These banana cables have a special diameter on the attachment points designed specifically for use with the micro:bit ecosystem. They may or may not be compatible with the banana cables used on your test equipment.)

You may already have some of these materials, so feel free to modify your cart as necessary.

Suggested Reading

There isn't much learning required to use the gator:soil (moisture sensor). However, you may find the following concepts useful along the way.

Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law

Learn about Ohm's Law, one of the most fundamental equations in all electrical engineering.

Analog to Digital Conversion

The world is analog. Use analog to digital conversion to help digital devices interpret the world.

Soil Moisture Sensor Hookup Guide

A quick hookup guide and project to get you started with the Soil Moisture Sensor from SparkFun.

micro:climate Kit Experiment Guide

A weather station kit that is built on top of the inexpensive, easy-to-use micro:bit and Microsoft MakeCode.

If you aren't familiar with the micro:bit, we recommend reading here for an overview.

We would also recommend taking a look at the following tutorials if you aren't familiar with them.

Getting Started with the micro:bit

The BBC micro:bit is a compact, powerful programming tool that requires no software installation. Read on to learn how to use it YOUR way!

How to Load MicroPython on a Microcontroller Board

This tutorial will show you how to load the MicroPython interpreter onto a variety of development boards.

SparkFun gator:bit v2 Hookup Guide

The gator:bit v2 is a breakout board for the BBC micro:bit. The gator:bit exposes almost every pin on the micro:bit to clippable pad with circuit protection. It also has as built-in addressable LEDs and a built-in buzzer.