# AdaBox 015 ## Introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK3Hz-vrSto # Hi there! [If you're looking to subscribe to AdaBox, click here!](https://www.adafruit.com/adabox) If you're here, it's because you were given the gift of electronics with an AdaBox! Perhaps you are a beginner who is getting started with your AdaBox. Or maybe you just want to relive what it's like being a beginner at electronics again. But most of all, you want to learn how to build and make creative, awesome stuff with electronics, graphics, and coding! ([If, rather than learn all that, you'd like to look at pictures of cats instead, please check https://www.adafruit.com/galleries/cats-of-engineering](https://www.adafruit.com/galleries/cats-of-engineering)) And, you're in luck: there's _never_ been a better time. Seriously. We're not just saying that. It's wild how great a time this is for you to learn electronics, coding, sensors, and wireless Bluetooth LE magic with images, lights, and sound! Gone are the days where you need thousands of dollars of equipment and a physics/math background. Nowadays, if you want to learn to work with electronics and code microcontrollers, you can jump right in for $100 or less and any sort of computer. And we're talking about learning _a lot_ of electronics, graphics, coding, and Bluetooth LE wireless action - from the basics of setting up a microcontroller, to customizing your graphics on a beautiful TFT display, and doing it wirelessly! Soon you'll be taking control of your BLE devices like never before, and using them with your CLUE! # Who is this for? Anyone who is interested in learning how to program and build interactive projects, and with access to a modern web browser. That's pretty much the minimum. Remember, this guide is specifically for people who have purchased or received an AdaBox subscription! **You don't need to know a lot of physics or math** , and just like an Art Degree isn't required for making art and being creative, **you _don't_ need to have a computer science or mechanical engineering degree**. It helps if you're comfortable using computers but that's a skill most people pick up through life. **If you know how to program already - great! If not, don't worry, we'll teach you enough to be dangerous.** # Who **isn't** this for? While you can follow along without an AdaBox, it will not make as much sense unless you have _all_ of the components and more which either came as a gift or purchased yourself - remember, the goal is helping beginners! This guide is also not for cuttlefish. Cephalopods are awesome, [but they prefer analog tools](https://www.reed.edu/biology/courses/BIO342/2011_syllabus/2011_websites/CWEFEL_cephalopods/index.html). If you're an expert, please visit our thousands of other tutorials and jump right in at [learn.adafruit.com](https://learn.adafruit.com/) # Who are you? Great question. This is me: https://youtu.be/VDIwnLllLZQ I'm Ladyada, and I love to teach people how to build stuff and how they can be creative with technology. So, are you ready? Let's do this thing! # AdaBox 015 ## Unboxing Adabox 015 https://youtu.be/atENI3D_G4o?t=110 ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/978/medium800/sensors_AdaBox015_kit.jpg?1594235609) **Hey - do you feel like you don't have a clue? Do you wanna get a clue? In this ADABOX we will give you a clue... the Adafruit CLUE!** The **CLUE** is a sensor-packed development board with a small colorful screen and _a lot_ of sensors. To make it compatible with existing projects, we made it the same shape and size as the BBC micro:bit and with the same edge-connector on the bottom with five big pads so it will fit into your existing robot kit or 'bit add-on. Each CLUE comes with a Nordic nRF52840 Bluetooth microcontroller, two buttons, 1.3" 240x240 color TFT, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure, triple-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, proximity/light/color/gesture sensor, microphone, and a buzzer. Everything you need to learn how to interact and analyze the world around you.  Have you been eagerly awaiting your ADABOX for a while? It has arrived! Thank you to everyone around the world who has been patient as this box made its way to you. There's no better time to get an ADABOX, with lots of fun electronic projects you can build at home by yourself or with family. Thank you from the entire Adafruit team here in NYC! **A huge thank you to Digi-Key for going above-and-beyond to help support Adafruit over the last few months. Digi-Key's support made this box possible, and we are so excited to see what you will build!** Warning: ## AdaBox 015 Contents ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/519/medium800/sensors_unnamed.png?1593027780) ## Adafruit CLUE The star of the show! With a color display, tons of sensors, micro:bit compatibility, and Arduino or CircuitPython support for a ton of awesome projects. ![sensors_4500_iso_ORIG_2020_01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/941/medium640/sensors_4500_iso_ORIG_2020_01.jpg?1594230832) ![sensors_4500_quarter_ORIG_2020_01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/942/medium640/sensors_4500_quarter_ORIG_2020_01.jpg?1594230848) ![sensors_4500_top_ORIG_2020_01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/943/medium640/sensors_4500_top_ORIG_2020_01.jpg?1594230871) ![sensors_4500_detail_ORIG_2020_01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/944/medium640/sensors_4500_detail_ORIG_2020_01.jpg?1594230879) ## 3 x AAA battery pack and 3 x AAA alkaline batteries To power your CLUE anywhere you wish. ![sensors_3_x_AAA_Battery_Pack.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/950/medium640/sensors_3_x_AAA_Battery_Pack.jpg?1594230983) ![sensors_3_x_AAA_batteries.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/951/medium640/sensors_3_x_AAA_batteries.jpg?1594230990) ## Adafruit Bonsai Buckaroo A plant care helper for CLUE. Bolt it on with 5 screws to get a buzzer/beeper, 3V DC motor driver, and alligator clips for connecting a DIY soil sensor ![sensors_4534_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/945/medium640/sensors_4534_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594230917) ![sensors_4534_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/946/medium640/sensors_4534_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594230929) ![sensors_4534_kit_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/947/medium640/sensors_4534_kit_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594230938) ![sensors_4514_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/948/medium640/sensors_4514_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594230947) ## Two alligator clip cable leads + two stainless steel nails To create a DIY soil moisture sensor ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_05_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/043/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_05_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421663) ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_09_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/044/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_09_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421689) ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_10_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/045/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_10_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421712) ## Water pump (3V DC motor) + clear PVC tubing To automatically water your plants from a reservoir ![sensors_4546_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/952/medium640/sensors_4546_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594231030) ![sensors_4546_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/958/medium640/sensors_4546_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594231099) ![sensors_4546_detail_02_ORIG_2020_01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/954/medium640/sensors_4546_detail_02_ORIG_2020_01.jpg?1594231048) ![sensors_4545_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/955/medium640/sensors_4545_iso_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594231058) ![sensors_4545_detail_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/956/medium640/sensors_4545_detail_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594231064) ![sensors_4545_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/092/957/medium640/sensors_4545_quarter_ORIG_2020_02.jpg?1594231079) ## Starter Planter Pot This small plastic planter pot will get you started with your very first planting - just add soil + a few seeds to get sprouting ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_03_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/040/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_03_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421277) Info: ## Fingerless glove You can attach the CLUE to the glove to create hand-motion projects (You may get one or two gloves, but you only need one for the projects) ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_01_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/041/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_01_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421339) ## Face Mask We have been giving these KN95 masks out to New Yorkers, nurses, doctors, and anyone else who needs a face covering.   ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_13_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/042/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_13_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421374) ## Double Stick Foam Tape Adhere stuff to stuff. Useful when crafting many of our CLUE projects! ![sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_08_ORIG_2020_07.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/047/medium640/sensors_Adabox_15_Contents_08_ORIG_2020_07.jpg?1594421815) # AdaBox 015 ## Adafruit CLUE # AdaBox 015 ## Bonsai Buckaroo # AdaBox 015 ## Custom CLUE Badge # AdaBox 015 ## Flower Care Robot # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE Egg Drop Experiment # AdaBox 015 ## Sensor Plotter # AdaBox 015 ## No-Touch Hand Wash Timer # AdaBox 015 ## I Ching Caster # AdaBox 015 ## Metronome CLUE # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE BLE MIDI Glove # AdaBox 015 ## Step Counter # AdaBox 015 ## BLE Advertising Beacons # AdaBox 015 ## Dice Roller # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE Metal Detector # AdaBox 015 ## BLE BBQ Temperature Montitor # AdaBox 015 ## Slideshow Purse # AdaBox 015 ## BLE Sensor Nodes # AdaBox 015 ## Yoga Pose Chime # AdaBox 015 ## LightPaint Stick # AdaBox 015 ## Vertical Garden Weather Visualizer # AdaBox 015 ## Teletype Transmitter # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE Bicycle Speed/Cadence Sensor # AdaBox 015 ## Pyloton Cycling Computer # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE Case # AdaBox 015 ## CLUE Slim Case # AdaBox 015 ## Demo Code ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/645/medium800/sensors_clue_spirit_level.jpg?1596233981) So you've had fun playing around with all these great CLUE based projects. But then you remember that cool demo that was on the CLUE when you got your AdaBox. Want that back? Sure thing. Here's the code. Download this UF2 file: [ADABOX15_DEMO.UF2](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/644/original/ADABOX15_DEMO.UF2?1596232692) Double press reset to put your CLUE in bootloader mode and drag that UF2 file to the BOOT folder and you should be back to spirit level goodness. And you can do this again anytime you want. So don't feel scared to reprogram the board and lose this cool demo. ## Source Code If you want to see the source code behind the demo, here are the links. These are written in Arduino. The main demo code is here: [AdaBox 15 CLUE Plotter](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Arcada/tree/master/examples/full_board_tests/adabox015_clue_plotter) The spirit level code is here: [Spirit Level](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_SensorLab/tree/master/examples) The plotter code is here: [Arcada Plotter](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Arcada/tree/master/examples/arcada_plotter) Happy plotting! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/093/646/medium800/sensors_clue_plotter.jpg?1596234003) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit CLUE - nRF52840 Express with Bluetooth® LE [Adafruit CLUE - nRF52840 Express with Bluetooth® LE](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4500) Do you feel like you just don't have a CLUE? Well, we can help with that - get a CLUE here at Adafruit by picking up this sensor-packed development board. We wanted to build some projects that have a small screen and a lot of sensors. To make it compatible with existing projects, we made... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4500) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4500/guides) ### Adafruit Bonsai Buckaroo - micro:bit & CLUE Plant Care Helper [Adafruit Bonsai Buckaroo - micro:bit & CLUE Plant Care Helper](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4534) We can’t wait for spring to arrive, and we’re looking forward to caring for some plants! We designed this little add-on for [micro:bit](https://www.adafruit.com/category/1009)or **[CLUE](http://www.adafruit.com/clue)** boards – bolt it on... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4534) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4534/guides) ### Submersible 3V DC Water Pump with 1 Meter Wire - Horizontal Type [Submersible 3V DC Water Pump with 1 Meter Wire - Horizontal Type](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4546) Make fountains or plant-watering projects with this submersible water pump. It's great for beginner projects and super easy to use! The pump is basically a DC motor that is powered with 3V and draws 100mA. When powered, the pump sucks water in from the side of the plastic casing and pushes... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4546) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4546/guides) ### Tubing for Submersible Pumps - PVC 6mm ID - 1 Meter Long [Tubing for Submersible Pumps - PVC 6mm ID - 1 Meter Long](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4545) This tubing is designed to go with our simple submersible pumps. Great for making water-powered projects. This tubing seems to be made of PVC, it's definitely not food safe, we recommend it for use with plant-watering or fountain projects only. It's super easy to cut and you get a full... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4545) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4545/guides) ### KN95 Filtering Face Mask (1 Piece) [KN95 Filtering Face Mask (1 Piece)](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4588) This  **KN95 Face Mask** is made of strong filter material, is easy to wear, and [can be re-used if carefully removed and stored in a paper bag after each use](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguidanceextuse.html). Don't share this mask,... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4588) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4588/guides) ## Related Guides - [Introducing Adafruit CLUE](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-clue.md) - [Adafruit Bonsai Buckaroo](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-bonsai-buckaroo.md) - [Karel The Robot In CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/karel-the-robot-in-circuitpython.md) - [Chauncey the Flower Care Bot with CLUE and Bonsai Buckaroo](https://learn.adafruit.com/chauncey-flower-watering-bot-clue.md) - [CircuitPython BLE Advertising Beacons](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-ble-advertising-beacons.md) - [CircuitPython BLE Heart Rate Zone Trainer Display](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-ble-heart-rate-monitor-gizmo.md) - [CircuitPython BLE Libraries on Any Computer](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-ble-libraries-on-any-computer.md) - [No-Touch Hand Wash Timer for Circuit Playground Express and CLUE](https://learn.adafruit.com/no-touch-hand-wash-timer-for-cpx-and-clue.md) - [Creative Inspiration Activity Generator](https://learn.adafruit.com/creative-inspiration-activity-generator.md) - [Digital Nose Milk Freshness Checker](https://learn.adafruit.com/digital-nose-gas-sensor-milk-freshness-checker.md) - [Bluetooth LE Sensor Nodes to Raspberry Pi WiFi Bridge](https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-le-broadcastnet-sensor-node-raspberry-pi-wifi-bridge.md) - [A colorful CLUE slideshow purse with Bright Wearables](https://learn.adafruit.com/a-colorful-clue-slideshow-purse.md) - [BLE Thermal "Cat" Printer with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/ble-thermal-cat-printer-with-circuitpython.md) - [CLUE Vertical Garden Weather Visualizer](https://learn.adafruit.com/clue-vertical-garden-weather-visualizer.md) - [Metronome CLUE](https://learn.adafruit.com/metronome-clue.md) - [LIS3MDL Triple-axis Magnetometer](https://learn.adafruit.com/lis3mdl-triple-axis-magnetometer.md) - [Frozen-Inspired Animated Pendant with Temperature Sensing](https://learn.adafruit.com/frozen-gizmo-pendant-with-temperature-sensing.md)