Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

by lady ada and

published October 12, 2017, last updated October 11, 2024

posted in MakeCode CircuitPython Circuit Playground/ Express

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Product guide

CircuitPython Analog In

Though the following example uses the Circuit Playground Express to demonstrate, the code works exactly the same way with the Circuit Playground Bluefruit. Simply copy the code and follow along with your Circuit Playground Bluefruit!

This quick-start example shows how you can read the analog voltage of a potentiometer connected to the Circuit Playground Express.

First, connect your potentiometer to the Circuit Playground Express using three alligator clip leads, as shown. The connections are:

Left pot connection to 3.3V
Center pot (wiper) to A1
Right pot connection to GND

When you turn the knob of the potentiometer, the wiper rotates left and right, increasing or decreasing the resistance. This, in turn, changes the analog voltage level that will be read by the Circuit Playground Express on A1.

In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary files in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory Introducing_CircuitPlaygroundExpress/CircuitPlaygroundExpress_AnalogIn/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy code.py to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

Download Project Bundle

Copy Code

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2017 John Edgar Park for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

# Circuit Playground AnalogIn
# Reads the analog voltage level from a 10k potentiometer connected to GND, 3.3V, and pin A1
# and prints the results to the serial console.

import time
import board
import analogio

analogin = analogio.AnalogIn(board.A1)


def getVoltage(pin):  # helper
    return (pin.value * 3.3) / 65536


while True:
    print("Analog Voltage: %f" % getVoltage(analogin))
    time.sleep(0.1)

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2017 John Edgar Park for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

# Circuit Playground AnalogIn
# Reads the analog voltage level from a 10k potentiometer connected to GND, 3.3V, and pin A1
# and prints the results to the serial console.

import time
import board
import analogio

analogin = analogio.AnalogIn(board.A1)


def getVoltage(pin):  # helper
    return (pin.value * 3.3) / 65536


while True:
    print("Analog Voltage: %f" % getVoltage(analogin))
    time.sleep(0.1)

Creating an Analog Input

analogin = analogio.AnalogIn(board.A1) creates an object named analogin which is connected to the A1 pad on the Circuit Playground Express.

You can use many of different kinds of external analog sensors connected to the Analog IO pads, such as distance sensors, flex sensors, and more!!

GetVoltage Helper

getVoltage(pin) is our little helper program. By default, analog readings will range from 0 (minimum) to 65535 (maximum). This helper will convert the 0-65535 reading from pin.value and convert it a 0-3.3V voltage reading.

Main Loop

The main loop is simple, it will just print out the voltage as a floating point value (the %f indicates to print as floating point) by calling getVoltage on each of our analog object, in this case the potentiometer.

If you connect to the serial console, you'll see the voltage printed out. Try turning the knob of the potentiometer to see the voltage change!