ElecFreaks
Micro:bit Breakout Board ( Octopus:bit)
The Octopus:bit is a breakout board for the BBC micro:bit that extends all GPIO ports (P0–P16, P19–P20) into colour-coded pin headers with VCC and GND alongs...
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The Octopus:bit is a breakout board for the BBC micro:bit that extends all GPIO ports (P0–P16, P19–P20) into colour-coded pin headers with VCC and GND alongside each I/O pin. This makes connecting sensors, servos, and other modules quick and easy — especially with the ElecFreaks Octopus series of accessories.
A built-in voltage boosting module lets you switch the working voltage of select pins (P8, P9, P11–P16) between 3.3V and 5V, enabling compatibility with both 3.3V and 5V modules. The board also breaks out serial, I2C (3 channels), and SPI (2 channels) interfaces.
Key Features
- Full GPIO Breakout – All micro:bit pins (P0–P16, P19–P20) with colour-coded VCC/GND
- 3.3V/5V Voltage Switch – Selectable voltage on P8, P9, P11–P16 via on-board booster
- I2C Support – 3 channels for connecting I2C devices
- SPI Support – 2 channels for SPI devices
- Serial Port – Broken out for UART communication or board-to-board serial
- Octopus Compatible – Pin layout matches ElecFreaks Octopus series modules
Specifications
- Input Voltage – 3.3V (powered via micro:bit edge connector)
- Output Voltage – 3.3V or 5V (switchable on select pins)
- Dimensions – 150 × 100 × 20mm
- Weight – 33.4g
Ideal For
- Expanding micro:bit GPIO for sensor and actuator projects
- Programming education with micro:bit
- Smart device prototyping
- Connecting 5V modules to the 3.3V micro:bit
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- breakout
- A breakout board carries a small or fine-pitched component and brings its connections out to standard, breadboard- and header-friendly pins. Describing a part as a breakout means it can be wired into a project without soldering directly to the component's tiny contacts.
- GND
- GND is the ground or reference connection (0 V) for a circuit. When connecting two devices together, their grounds must be joined so both agree on what counts as a low or high signal.
- GPIO
- General-purpose input/output pins are microcontroller pins you can set in software to read signals, switch devices on and off, or connect to peripherals. The number of GPIO pins matters because it limits how many buttons, LEDs, sensors, and other parts you can wire directly to the board.
- Headers
- Rows of connector contacts on a fixed pitch (commonly 2.54 mm) used to link a board to a breadboard, jumper wires, or another board. They come as male pin headers and female socket headers; when a module ships with pre-soldered headers it can be used straight away, whereas bare pads require soldering the pins yourself.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- 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.
- UART
- UART is a simple asynchronous serial interface that sends data over separate transmit and receive wires, usually labelled TX and RX, with both ends set to the same baud rate. It is a common way for microcontrollers and other serial devices to exchange data.
- VCC
- VCC is the positive power-supply connection on a chip or module. Connecting it to the correct supply voltage is needed for the part to power on and helps avoid damaging the electronics.
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