ElecFreaks
Octopus Analog Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor
The Octopus Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor uses capacitive sensing to detect soil moisture levels, avoiding the corrosion problems common with resistive sen...
The Octopus Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor uses capacitive sensing to detect soil moisture levels, avoiding the corrosion problems common with resistive sensors for a much longer service life. It outputs an analogue signal proportional to moisture content and is compatible with micro:bit (3 V) and other 3–5.5 V microcontroller boards.
Part of the ElecFreaks Octopus series, the sensor uses standard Octopus brick connectors for easy plug-and-play use with the Octopus:bit breakout board.
Key Features
- Capacitive Sensing – Corrosion-resistant design for long service life
- Analogue Output – Signal proportional to soil moisture level
- 3–5.5 V Operating Voltage – Compatible with micro:bit and Arduino
- Octopus Brick Connector – G (GND), V (VCC), S (signal)
Specifications
- SKU – EF04097
- Operating Voltage – 3–5.5 V DC
- Output – Analogue
- Dimensions – 19 × 76 mm
- Weight – 5.5 g
Ideal For
- Automated plant watering systems
- micro:bit and Arduino soil monitoring projects
- STEM education and garden science experiments
Package Contents
- 1× Octopus capacitive soil moisture sensor
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- 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.
- capacitive sensing
- Capacitive sensing detects changes in electrical capacitance, in this case caused by different amounts of water in the soil near the sensor plate. It matters because it avoids exposed metal probe contacts, which can corrode in damp soil over time.
- 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.
Find this product in
Sensors & Input
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
