SparkFun
SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator
The SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator is a bare PCB that combines four load sensors into a standard four-wire Wheatstone bridge configuration. If you open u...
The SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator is a bare PCB that combines four load sensors into a standard four-wire Wheatstone bridge configuration. If you open up an electronic bathroom scale, you’ll find a large rat’s nest of wires. The Load Sensor Combinator was created to combine the 12 wires found in a bathroom scale into the standard four-wire Wheatstone bridge configuration.
This version of the SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator features a few changes that you specifically asked for! We updated the silk on the breakout to read “C/+/-” instead of “R/W/B” and moved the temperature sensor connector away from the standoff hole.
You can either use four individual load sensors or simply purchase an off-the-shelf bathroom scale and hack the combinator into it rather than trying to design a base to properly mount four load sensors.
This board works great with our Load Cell Amplifier breakout board; the five pins on the edge of the combinator line up directly to the five pins on the amplifier.
If your amplifier and supporting electronics are more than a few inches away from the scale, an RJ45 footprint is provided. The four Wheatstone pins (E+/E-/S+/S-) as well as the shield pin are connected to twisted pairs within a standard cheap Ethernet cable. This allows the amplifier board to be placed many feet away from the scale itself.
The combinator board also includes a footprint for the DS18B20 one-wire temperature sensor. This allows the user to gather the temperature of the scale in case there is a large variance between the scale and the amplifier. These three pins are accessed through the RJ45 connection as well, allowing remote temperature readings to be gathered over one twisted pair Ethernet cable.
Documents:
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.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- RJ45
- The common plug and socket style used for wired Ethernet network cables. If a board has an RJ45 connector, you can usually plug it into standard Ethernet cabling without making a custom connector.
- Shield
- An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.
Find this product in
Brands
Sensors & Input
SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator Schematic
Schematic · 38.7 KB · Click any page to view full size
Supplier page — sparkfun.com
Supplier Description · 1.4 MB · Click any page to view full size
Resources & Downloads
Guides, code examples, and more
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
