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SparkFun Qwiic Thermocouple Amplifier - MCP9600 (Screw Terminals)
The MCP9600 Breakout is a high accuracy Thermocouple Amplifier equipped with an I2C interface, accessed over our Qwiic system. Inside the chip are two temperature sensors, one for the thermocouple itself (the hot junction) and one for the chip itself (the cold junction). As a result, the MCP9600 can read both the ambient temperature and the temperature of whatever you're trying to measure! The MCP9600 can do both with a resolution of 0.0625°C, and an accuracy of ±1.5°C (worst-case). The MCP9600 Thermocouple Amplifier is one of our many Qwiic compatible boards! Simply plug and go. No soldering, no figuring out which is SDA or SCL, and no voltage regulation or translation required!
This version of the board comes equipped with screw terminals to allow for your own Thermocouple's wiring to be hooked up with the turn of a screw. This makes it perfect for a variety of applications, from measuring the temperature of your Crock-Pot to making sure your backyard induction furnace is up to temperature.
In addition, the MCP9600 has four on-board temperature alerts that you can configure! Instead of constantly polling the sensor over I2C, you can set a temperature limit to trigger an interrupt when the temperature reaches a certain value. This frees up your microcontroller and your I2C bus to do more important things. It's also possible to put the MCP9600 into alternate operation modes in order to save power. The sensor supports a burst mode, where it will take a specified number of samples, return the results, and then go to sleep. This low-power mode makes the MCP9600 perfect for portable applications!
We've written an Arduino library to help you get started quickly. You can download the library through the Arduino library manager by searching 'SparkFun MCP9600' or you can get the GitHub repo as a .zip file and install the library from there.
The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.
- Temperature Range of -200°C to 1350°C
- Four Onboard Temperature Alerts
- Resolution of 0.0625°C
- Screw Terminal Connector
- ADDR Jumper for variable I2C Addresses (default address of 0x60)
- 2x Qwiic Connectors
SparkFun Qwiic Thermocouple Amplifier - MCP9600 (Screw Terminals) Product Help and Resources
SparkFun Qwiic Thermocouple Hookup Guide
March 12, 2020
Learn how to hook up your Qwiic Thermocouple Amplifier.
Core Skill: DIY
Whether it's for assembling a kit, hacking an enclosure, or creating your own parts; the DIY skill is all about knowing how to use tools and the techniques associated with them.
Skill Level: Noob - Basic assembly is required. You may need to provide your own basic tools like a screwdriver, hammer or scissors. Power tools or custom parts are not required. Instructions will be included and easy to follow. Sewing may be required, but only with included patterns.
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Core Skill: Programming
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Rookie - You will need a better fundamental understand of what code is, and how it works. You will be using beginner-level software and development tools like Arduino. You will be dealing directly with code, but numerous examples and libraries are available. Sensors or shields will communicate with serial or TTL.
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Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping
If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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Customer Reviews
3.3 out of 5
Based on 3 ratings:
Works great!
Works great! I used this with Adafruits 'EZ make oven's for reflowing solder paste. It'd be sweet if they supported Sparkfun's Qwiic system
Accurate Temperature over a wide range
We are using these amplifiers with a K type thermocouple to determine accurate melting points for a series of compounds. We interfaced them with an STM32F103C8 (blue pill) using Keil uVision IDE. We have compared temperatures with a mercury thermometer and we get the same temperature over a wide range. They work great.
I've tried to figure out how to use the alert function lines but haven't found any specific information about how they actually work. So, some additional information about how to set them up would be nice. For example, can you use them to light an LED when you exceed a certain set temperature? I think you can but haven't been able to figure out how to do that.
Overall these are very accurate temperature sensors. and we plan to continue using them.
Inaccurate....
Mcp9600 Amp and thermocouple has a 33% error across the board..
Is there a way to tell if the sensor is unplugged? From the data sheet it seems that only the MCP9601 has that ability?
This can handle 5V too right? (in the event I am using this only with other 5V devices). The datasheet leads me to believe yes, but I thought I'd ask. Thanks for making this! Especially with the Qwiic style connectors
The MCP9600 is 5V tolerant. As long as only 5V tolerant devices are also connected, since the qwiic standard assumes only 3.3V devices are connected.