Parts of the Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board#
Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Display#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has a 128×64 pixel Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display. The OLED can be used to display information like numbers and words. It helps you see data from the sensors on the board, like air quality and temperature, in real-time.
The “O” in OLED stands for “organic,” which means the display is made using special carbon-based materials. These materials can light up when electricity passes through them, allowing OLED screens to produce bright, colorful images. The term “organic” here refers to the chemical structure of the materials, not to something living.
BME688#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has a BME688 sensor to measure atmospheric data. The BME688 is a tiny sensor that can measure several important environmental factors all at once. It can check the temperature, humidity, air pressure, and even detect different gases in the air to help assess air quality. This sensor is very useful for projects where you want to monitor the environment around you, like checking the weather or seeing how clean the air is. It’s small enough to easily connect to devices like the micro:bit, making it perfect for science experiments and learning about how the world around us works.
Zip Status LEDs#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has three Zip Status LEDs that are individually multicolored programmable LEDs that can be used in your projects. These LEDs can be used as status lights for sensors, change colors with different sensor values.
micro:bit GPIO Pins#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has access to GPIO pins 0, 1, and 2 on the micro:bit. These pins can be used to connect other analog or digital sensors that are not incluced on the Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board.
Real-Time Clock#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has a real-time clock (RTC). This is a special device that keeps track of the current time and date, even when the main power to a device is turned off. It works like a tiny, super-accurate watch inside your electronics. This is useful for things like setting alarms, keeping accurate logs of events, or any project where you need to know the exact time. An RTC is often used in computers, phones, and microcontroller projects to make sure they always know what time it is, no matter what happens.
micro:bit Edge Connector#
The Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board has an micro:bit edge connector. This is where the micro:bit attatches to the board.
Power LED#
The power LED indicates that the power on the Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board. This is useful, as it lets you know that the unit is on and ready to run code from the micro:bit. It is also useful to see if the power is turned off before storing the board.
Power Switch#
The power switch allows you to turn off the Kitronik Air Quality and Environmental Board when is powered on.
Micro USB Connector#
This connector is an alternative way to power the board. This port can attach rechargeable battery packs with a maximum voltage of 5 volts.
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Solar Panel Input#
The solar panel input can be used to attach solar panels with a maximum voltage of 5 volts to power the device. The solar panel can also be used to carge rechargable batteries attached to the battery pack.
