Adafruit Triple-axis Magnetometer (Compass) Board - HMC5883L

He told you "Go West, young maker!" but you don't know which way is West! If only you had this triple-axis magnetometer compass module. A magnetometer senses the strongest magnetic force, typically used to detect magnetic north.

We designed this breakout using the renowned HMC5883L magnetometer. This compact sensor, communicating over I2C, is incredibly user-friendly. It's a 3.3V max chip, yet we've integrated circuitry to make it 5V-safe for logic and power, ensuring compatibility with both 3V and 5V microcontrollers. Connect VCC to +3-5V and ground to ground, then extract data via the I2C clock and data pins. A Data Ready pin is also available to accelerate reads. Refer to the datasheet for further details.

When used with an Arduino, it's extremely easy to begin. We've developed a dedicated Arduino library coupled with a tutorial to guide you. Download the library, link the SCL pin to your Arduino's I2C clock pin and the SDA pin to your Arduino's I2C data pin. Upload the test example sketch to extract magnetic field data and heading, helping you identify north effortlessly.

This magnetometer is the same sensor found within the LSM303. If seeking both an accelerometer and a magnetometer, consider the LSM303—it includes this sensor plus a sophisticated digital 3-axis accelerometer.

Specifications:

• I2C interface
• 1-2 degree heading accuracy
• Integrated 12-bit ADC
• 160Hz max data rate
• Range of -8 to +8 Gauss