SparkFun
SparkFun Qwiic GPIO
The SparkFun Qwiic GPIO adds eight additional digital I/O pins to your project via I2C, based on the TCA9534 I/O Expander from Texas Instruments. Read and wr...
The SparkFun Qwiic GPIO adds eight additional digital I/O pins to your project via I2C, based on the TCA9534 I/O Expander from Texas Instruments. Read and write pins just like standard Arduino digital pins using the included library — functions mirror familiar pinMode and digitalWrite calls.
All eight pins are broken out to latch terminals for tool-free wire connections. With three configurable address jumpers, you can connect up to eight Qwiic GPIO boards on a single I2C bus for up to 64 additional GPIO pins. Default I2C address is 0x27.
Key Features
- I/O Expander – TCA9534 with 8 digital GPIO pins
- Interface – I2C via Qwiic connector (1mm 4-pin JST)
- Default Address – 0x27 (configurable via 3 jumpers, up to 8 boards)
- Terminals – Latch-style terminals for tool-free wiring
- Arduino Library – Familiar pinMode/digitalWrite-style functions
Ideal For
- Expanding GPIO on pin-limited microcontrollers
- Qwiic ecosystem I2C projects
- Multi-board configurations needing up to 64 extra pins
- Rapid prototyping with tool-free connections
Package Contents
- 1× SparkFun Qwiic GPIO Board
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- Address jumpers
- Address jumpers are small solder pads or links used to change a device’s bus address. They matter when you want to connect multiple identical displays to the same controller without their addresses conflicting.
- 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.
- I/O expander
- An I/O expander is a chip that provides extra input and output pins controlled through a bus such as I2C. It matters when a board has many display signals, because it helps manage buttons, resets, or control lines without using up scarce microcontroller pins.
- 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.
- I2C address
- An I2C address is the number a device uses so a microcontroller can tell it apart from other devices on the same I2C bus. It matters because two devices with the same fixed address may conflict if used together.
- Qwiic
- Qwiic is a plug-in connector system for I2C devices that uses small 4-pin cables, so you can connect compatible sensors without soldering. It matters because your controller or adapter also needs Qwiic, or you will need a cable or breakout to wire it up.
Find this product in
SparkFun Qwiic GPIO Schematic
Schematic · 100.1 KB · Click any page to view full size
TCA9534 Datasheet
Datasheet · 1.8 MB · Click any page to view full size
Supplier page — sparkfun.com
Supplier Description · 611.9 KB · Click any page to view full size
Resources & Downloads
Guides, code examples, and more
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
