Adafruit
Adafruit HX711 24-bit ADC for Load Cells / Strain Gauges
· MPN: ADA5974
The Adafruit HX711 Breakout is a high-resolution 24-bit differential ADC designed for reading load cells, strain gauges, and other Wheatstone bridge sensors....
The Adafruit HX711 Breakout is a high-resolution 24-bit differential ADC designed for reading load cells, strain gauges, and other Wheatstone bridge sensors. With selectable 64× or 128× gain on Channel A and fixed 32× gain on Channel B, it amplifies the tiny voltage changes from bending or twisting sensors and converts them into precise digital readings for force or mass measurement.
The breakout uses a two-wire protocol (similar to SPI) and comes with pre-soldered 6-port terminal blocks for connecting one or two 4-wire sensors. A slide switch lets you select between 10 SPS and 80 SPS sampling rates. Arduino and CircuitPython libraries are available for quick setup.
Key Features
- 24-Bit Differential ADC – High-resolution readings from Wheatstone bridge sensors
- Dual Channel Input – Channel A with selectable 64× or 128× gain, Channel B with fixed 32× gain
- Pre-Soldered Terminal Blocks – 6-port connector for easy sensor wiring (E+, E-, A+, A-, B+, B-)
- Selectable Sample Rate – Slide switch for 10 SPS or 80 SPS
- Two-Wire Interface – SPI-like protocol for communication with any microcontroller
- Split Analog/Digital Supply – With digital supply filtering for clean readings
- Arduino and CircuitPython Support – Ready-to-use library and example code
Ideal For
- Digital scales and weight measurement
- Load cell and strain gauge applications
- Force and pressure sensing projects
- Industrial measurement and monitoring
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit HX711 Breakout Board – Assembled with pre-soldered terminal blocks
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- ADC
- An analogue-to-digital converter reads a changing voltage and turns it into a number the microcontroller can use. It matters when connecting analogue sensors such as light, sound, or variable-resistor sensors.
- breakout
- A breakout is a small circuit board that makes a tiny or hard-to-solder component easier to connect to with standard pins. It matters because this OLED module can be wired into a microcontroller project without needing to solder directly to the display’s fine contacts.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- multiplexer
- A multiplexer is a chip or board that lets one controller switch between several devices that would otherwise conflict on the same bus. It matters here because multiple modules with the same I2C address cannot normally share one I2C bus without extra hardware.
- SPI
- A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.
- SPS
- Samples per second, meaning how many measurements the converter can make each second. Higher SPS gives faster updates, while lower SPS on this board allows higher-resolution readings.
- STEMMA QT
- A small plug-in connector system for I2C boards that lets you connect compatible sensors and controllers without soldering. It matters because it can make wiring faster and less error-prone, especially when adding several small modules to a project.
- Strain gauge
- A sensor element that changes resistance when it is stretched or compressed. It is commonly used for measuring force, weight, or bending, and often needs precise differential measurement electronics like this ADC.
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