SparkFun Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay Kit Hookup Guide

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Contributors: El Duderino, Englandsaurus
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Introduction

We love our Solid State Relay - 40A. We love it so much we've designed the SparkFun Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay Kit. This kit allows you to assemble up to four of these solid state relays on a single PCB and control them all via I2C from your favorite microcontroller. The Quad Solid State Relay Kit comes with four solid state relays rated up to 40A at voltages between 28-380 VAC so you can switch some serious power with this board all from a single Qwiic connector attached to an Arduino or other low-powered microcontroller.

SparkFun Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay Kit

KIT-16833
5

In this tutorial we'll cover what is included with the Quad Solid State Relay Kit along with how to assemble and finally how to connect it to an Arduino and Raspberry Pi to use the examples included in our Arduino Library and Python package.

Required Materials

You will need a microcontroller to control the Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay in order to follow along with this tutorial. Below are a few options that come Qwiic-enabled out of the box:

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

WRL-15663
$22.50
13
SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic

SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic

DEV-15123
$21.50
19
SparkFun Qwiic Pro Micro - USB-C (ATmega32U4)

SparkFun Qwiic Pro Micro - USB-C (ATmega32U4)

DEV-15795
$21.50
10
SparkFun RedBoard Artemis

SparkFun RedBoard Artemis

DEV-15444
$21.50
10

We also have a Python package available for this and our other Qwiic Relay boards so you can use a Raspberry Pi as your controller as well.

Raspberry Pi 3 B+

Raspberry Pi 3 B+

DEV-14643
$35.00
39
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4 GB)

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4 GB)

DEV-15447
$55.00
19
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2 GB)

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2 GB)

DEV-15446
$45.00
4
SparkFun Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kit - 4GB

SparkFun Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kit - 4GB

KIT-16386
$171.50

If your chosen microcontroller is not already Qwiic-enabled, you can add that functionality with one or more of the following items:

SparkFun Qwiic Adapter

SparkFun Qwiic Adapter

DEV-14495
$1.60
4
SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino

SparkFun Qwiic Shield for Arduino

DEV-14352
$7.50
9
SparkFun Qwiic pHAT v2.0 for Raspberry Pi

SparkFun Qwiic pHAT v2.0 for Raspberry Pi

DEV-15945
$6.95
2
SparkFun Qwiic SHIM for Raspberry Pi

SparkFun Qwiic SHIM for Raspberry Pi

DEV-15794
$1.05
13

You will also need at least one Qwiic cable to connect your Quad Solid State Relay Kit to your microcontroller.

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

PRT-14426
$0.95
Qwiic Cable - 100mm

Qwiic Cable - 100mm

PRT-14427
$1.50

Qwiic Cable - 500mm

PRT-14429
1 Retired

Qwiic Cable - 200mm

PRT-14428
Retired

Required Tools

While there is no soldering required to assemble the Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay, there is some minor assembly involved. You will need a screwdriver as well as wire strippers to assemble your kit and prepare your wires.

Pocket Screwdriver Set

Pocket Screwdriver Set

TOL-12891
$4.50
5
SparkFun Mini Screwdriver

SparkFun Mini Screwdriver

TOL-09146
$1.05
3

Self-Adjusting Wire Strippers

TOL-14872
2 Retired

Wire Strippers - 20-30AWG

TOL-15220
1 Retired

Suggested Reading

If you aren't familiar with the Qwiic system, we recommend reading here for an overview:

Qwiic Connect System

We would also suggest reading through the following tutorials if you are not familiar with the concepts covered in them:

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Working with Wire

How to strip, crimp, and work with wire.

Electric Power

An overview of electric power, the rate of energy transfer. We'll talk definition of power, watts, equations, and power ratings. 1.21 gigawatts of tutorial fun!

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.