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SparkFun micro:bit Breakout (with Headers)
The SparkFun micro:bit Breakout is a board that connects to the BBC micro:bit and expands the capabilities of the development platform by providing access to more pins and allowing for connections to the I2C and SPI buses. This breakout board for the micro:bit’s edge connector allows intermediate and advanced users to connect the micro:bit to breadboards and other sensors, motors, LEDs and more!
The micro:bit on its own has three digital/analog input/output rings available for you to use initially with alligator clips. With the micro:bit breakout we have broken out all 21 GPIO pins, power and ground to a pre-soldered 0.1" header. With this breakout you will be able to unlock the full potential of your micro:bit!
Note: There is no micro:bit included with this breakout; it will need to be purchased separately. If you would like a micro:bit breakout without headers already soldered on, be sure to check out this board's sibling.
SparkFun micro:bit Breakout (with Headers) Product Help and Resources
SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit Experiment Guide
July 21, 2017
This guide contains all the information you will need to explore the twelve circuits of the SparkFun Inventors Kit for micro:bit.
micro:bit Breakout Board Hookup Guide
June 17, 2021
How to get started with the micro:bit breakout board.
Wireless Remote Weather Station with micro:bit
May 11, 2020
Monitor the weather without being exposed to it through wireless communication between two micro:bits using the radio blocks! This is useful if your weather station is installed in a location that is difficult to retrieve data from the OpenLog. We will also explore a few different ways to send and receive data.
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Customer Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 4 ratings:
Maximum MicroBit GPIO for SumoBot
Maximize access to the GPIO of the MicroBit; I designed a SumoBot around it. Used the tabs to mount the breakout vertically. Good value. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1E1LrB3FZrQ2rNcKixK5cv-Fz01n0xSWy
Excellent quality and function
My school is conducting a pilot program for computer Science and all the products we have purchased have been of outstanding quality and have functioned flawlessly. I cannot thank Sparkfun enough for their great products and fast shipping! They have been a great partner in the success of my program.
Awesome little product
If you have a microbit you will definitely want one of these for access to ALL the pins.
Easily improve the utility of BBC Micro:Bit
Plugs in easily. Great for breadboarding.
I love this breakout board, but I really wish SparkFun would sell this with female headers instead of male pins. We bought a class set of kits and ended up soldering new breakout boards with female headers. The female header is more similar experience to the interface of using Arduino!
I bought 10 of these maybe a year ago and they have worked out pretty well for most my Micro:bit bread-boarding projects. However, today and yesterday I did have a problem in that I was unable to interface an I2C_1602_LCD display using the MicroPython drivers on GitHub (written by ShaoZiYang), but maybe a year ago I was successful in doing so using a rival's Micro:bit breakout board. It turns out that on the I2C interface you need to add a pull-up resistor between SDA and +5V and SCL and +5V. The pull-up resistors should be around 10K ohms in value. I used two 12K ohm resistors which worked just fine. I assume the rival's Micro:bit breakout board came with these pull-up resistors pre-installed and that is why I never noticed this problem a year ago,
Here's the URL to ShaoZiYang's MicroPython I2C 1602_LCD Drivers for the BBC Micro:bit board:
https://github.com/shaoziyang/microbit-lib/tree/master/lcd
The 1602_LCD with I2C daughter board is a very handy device to use with a Micro:bit as you can use it to display 2 lines of text and not have to read scrolling messages on the Micro:bit's 5x5 LED matrix display, The I2C interfaces only uses 2 I/O pins (SCL and SDA), which makes it easier to interface than the 4-bit/8-bit parallel interface version of the 1602_LCD display. The few bucks more for the I2C interface "daughter board" (or "piggy-back board") is well worth the extra expense.