SparkFun Qwiic Ultrasonic Distance Sensor - HC-SR04

You may be familiar with the classic HC-SR04 distance sensor, it is great for providing non-contact distance readings from 2cm to 400cm. The SparkFun Qwiic Ultrasonic Distance Sensor improves on the classic by adding a pair of Qwiic connectors to it, so now you can communicate over I2C and daisy chain any other Qwiic product of your choosing.

If you prefer to bypass the Qwiic connector and I2C you can also access the VCC, Trigger, Echo, and Ground pins broken out on the edge of the board. Please be aware that this ultrasonic sensor comes uncalibrated and you will need manipulate the raw output for your specific application.


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.


  • 1x Ultrasonic Distance Sensor - HC-SR04
  • 1x Right-Angle Header - 4-pin
  • Operating Voltage 3.3V
  • Detecting Angle: 15 degrees
  • Sensor range: 2cm to 400cm
  • Accuracy: 3mm
  • MCU on board: STM8L051
  • Default I2C Address: 0x00
  • Dimensions: 21.5 x 45.5mm
  • Weight 9.2g

SparkFun Qwiic Ultrasonic Distance Sensor - HC-SR04 Product Help and Resources

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.

2 Programming

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.
See all skill levels


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.

1 Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Noob - You don't need to reference a datasheet, but you will need to know basic power requirements.
See all skill levels


Comments

Looking for answers to technical questions?

We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.

  • Colecago / about 4 years ago / 1

    What's the chip that excites the transducer? It's not called out in the schematic and hard to tell from the picture.

    • Colecago / about 3 years ago * / 2

      No answer so I bought one. The driver is a UT323G RS232 transceiver. I suspected it was some kind of charge pump which is correct. It is used to generate a 10V across the ultrasonic element, effective 20Vpk-pk. Seems nifty.

Customer Reviews

4 out of 5

Based on 1 ratings:

Currently viewing all customer reviews.

1 of 1 found this helpful:

Works Great!

This worked awesome! We were up and running in minutes. Mounting on a case is a breeze, as the connectors and components are on the other side as the sensors. Small issue in that the sample code assumed the use of other components. But this was easy to strip out. Thanks!