SparkFun Electronics - Compass Module

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Compass Module - HMC6352

sku: SEN-07915

Description: This is a very simple breakout board for the popular HMC6352. Remember the KISS mantra? We really enjoy the simplicity and ease of use with the HMC6352. If you need simple, clean, degree resolution compass heading, this is the way to go.

Features:

Simple I2C interface
2.7 to 5.2V supply range
1 to 20Hz selectable update rate
True drop-in solution
0.5 degree heading resolution
1 degree repeatability
Supply current : 1mA @ 3V

Documents:

Schematic
HMC6352 Datasheet
Honeywell Product Page
Example I2C project
Wiring Example
Example project in Portuguese - Thanks Tiago!
Digital Compass How-To Video

Dimensions: 0.6x0.6" (15x15mm)

Pricing

	559 in stock backorder allowed

$34.95	price
$31.46	10-99 (10% off)
$27.96	100+ (20% off)

	quantity

click on image to enlarge

Comments

25 comments

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	by joachimp +3.1 \| Feb 14, 2009 at 6:39pm +0.36
This is an awesome chip. Works out of the box on the arduino! See great example: -sparkfun-compass-and-arduino

	by SpikeUK +1 \| Feb 16, 2009 at 4:04am 0
Is there a problem with the images on this page? The text suggests that this PEC is 15mm by 15mm. Whereas two of the three images show it as being about twice that size.

	by Azayles +3.5 \| Feb 28, 2010 at 11:41am 0
I bought one recently and can confirm the PCB is 15mm x 15mm. Also the solder mask is red now, not green :P

	by BLP +3.8 \| Feb 24, 2009 at 10:07am 0
Excellent little board-- super-simple interface & very low jitter.

EricWertz

+4.8

| Mar 23, 2009 at 10:24pm

+0.49

@SpikeUK -- the text appears to be correct -- the datasheet says that the PLCC itself is 6.5mm on a side. Also the headers are almost always on 2.54mm (0.1") centers, and that would also sync with the text and not the picture. Whooda thought...

Unfortnately the price of the board is twice the cost of the chip from Digikey (1@$30, 25@$20). For $30+risk_of_failure it looks interesting, but $60 is sadly a stretch.

Looks like fun though.

	by tyron +1 \| Sep 9, 2009 at 9:54pm 0
the source code by baragans,is that for PIC?

	by MisterMister +1.8 \| Nov 16, 2009 at 9:17pm 0
Question: anyone know if this REQUIRES 3V on the SDA and SCL lines? the datasheet is terribly ambiguous.

	by Azayles +3.5 \| Mar 4, 2010 at 12:19pm 0
I've got it working on a Parallax BS2 chip with 5V logic. Think it uses Vcc as reference so it's compatible with 3.3V and 5V.

	by rossdepanfilis +1.8 \| Dec 20, 2009 at 10:05pm 0
Is this just the board, or the board and the module?! kinda confused.

	by NXTreme +5.4 \| Jan 31, 2010 at 9:55pm 0
It looks to me as if this breakout already has two pullups installed already. I'm using this with the Lego NXT which needs 82K pullups, I hope I won't have to desolder the two resistors installed. Can anyone verify about the pullups?

	by NXTreme +5.4 \| Feb 9, 2010 at 8:53pm 0
Well I finally just used my head (and a multimeter) and found out that yeah, it looks like there might be pull-ups installed. Would any of the SparkFun people be willing to upload the schematic/Eagle file just so that I could make sure? Because I'd really rather not desolder them just to find out that they weren't pull-ups. Thanks.

	by Jimb0 \| Feb 10, 2010 at 8:57am
Sorry for the confusion, those are pull-ups on the I2C lines. Schematic's up now.

	by NXTreme +5.4 \| Feb 11, 2010 at 12:16pm 0
Thank you very much! I just love open source! Go SparkFun!

	by calle +2.3 \| Apr 26, 2010 at 4:28am 0
Could i use this directly with the Arduino Duemilanove, it says it uses 3 V so thats bad i guess. But Azayles mentions that i could run on 5 V is that true?

	by RobertC. \| Apr 29, 2010 at 1:01pm
Would it be possible for you to use the 3V3 line coming off the Duemilanove?

	by IDK +1 \| May 5, 2010 at 10:24am 0
do i need a level converter when connecting it to pic16f877A microcontroller which works on 5v?? and are there already pull-up resistors on the break out board??

	by Hexagon +1.6 \| May 11, 2010 at 11:24pm 0
So according to the description, I'm supposed to be able to use this in a 5v system, and so I did. got some nice heading readings for about 30 seconds, then "poof", puff of smoke and gone it is. quadruple checked all wiring, and everything is good, 5v is regulated and reads 4.94v on my meter. anyone have a clue why it could blow up like that? should I use 3.3v instead?

	by Pearce \| May 14, 2010 at 3:27pm
We've tested them at 5V so that shouldn't be an issue, you might have a defective one, I'd drop us an email techsupport@sparkfun.com .

	by 8r13n +1 \| Jun 8, 2010 at 7:09pm 0
I've been looking everywhere but can't find a USB Compass on the market. How difficult would it be to connect this module to a Windows PC via USB? ...Could I just wire this to a USB-I2C interface and connect via serial port? ...Does SparkFun sell the parts I need to make this project happen?

	by RobertC. \| Jun 9, 2010 at 8:08am
Yes and Yes. I'm not sure if we have a device that will directly convert I2C to a USB, but you can use a microcontroller.

	by dapoofyhairdude +1.5 \| Jun 30, 2010 at 4:16pm 0
blah.. i'm using the supplied code with a mega. vcc 5v, sda to 20, scl to 21. getting: Current heading: 0.00 degrees Current heading: 0.00 degrees Current heading: 0.00 degrees Current heading: 0.00 degrees etc.. help?

	by N8B \| Jul 1, 2010 at 4:24pm
Well, pin 20 is SDA and pin 21 is SCL, Vcc should be between 2.7V and 5V. If the wiring example sketch doesn't work: http://wiring.org.co/learning/libraries/hmc6352sparkfun.html Then there could indeed be some manufacturing defect with your board. If you would like, contact techsupport@sparkfun.com. We can test the item for you.

	by spartango +1.7 \| Aug 12, 2010 at 2:12am 0
Great part! works quite well with decent sensitivity & accuracy. Obviously affected by tilt, but still useable. Btw, the price on this part has gone down...bought mine for $65 about a year ago!

	by ChristheCarpenter +5.8 \| Aug 24, 2010 at 5:15pm 0
Has anyone solved the Picaxe problem with the first byte coming in as a 255 and the second byte either not changing or going between 0 and about 80 or so? I have found this question in a lot of forums --Have not found an answer. BTW, I am getting 255, 66 as my two byte values and when you put them back into a word value you get 17151. These values do not change each time I ask for them.

	by ChristheCarpenter +5.8 \| Aug 24, 2010 at 6:37pm 0
Hey, guess what? --Sparkfun was nice enough to add the pull-ups on the board. --This I think, is the "Picaxe problem". I removed the 4.7k's from my board and we are good to go. Now that I have used it, it seems to be very stable, simple and good.