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Verified 2026-10

sparkfun CY8CMBR3102 Qwiic Soil Moisture Sensor (Capacitive)

Soil-moisture probe on a 3.3 V Qwiic breakout: a capacitive plate inside the PCB is read by an Infineon CY8CMBR3102 CapSense Express controller and reported over I2C at 0x37 by default, so nothing metal touches the soil and nothing needs wiring beyond a Qwiic cable.

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Logic level3.3 V

Part & documents

Headline partCY8CMBR3102
Data sheetCY8CMBR3102 data sheet →
Sourcewww.sparkfun.com/sparkfun-qwiic-soil-moisture-sensor-capacitive.html →

Specs

MCUInfineon (Cypress) CY8CMBR3102 CapSense Express capacitive sensing controller, I2C slave

Pinout

8 pads, as the vendor numbers them.

#NameFunctionSignals
1GNDQwiic connector J1 pad 1 - ground, common to the whole Qwiic chainGND
23.3VQwiic connector J1 pad 2 - 3.3 V in. Also the anode rail for both LEDs and the high side of the I2C pull-ups3.3V
3SDAQwiic connector J1 pad 3 - I2C data, pulled up by R3 (2.2k) and shared with J2, test point TP6 and U1 pad 8I2C SDA
4SCLQwiic connector J1 pad 4 - I2C clock, pulled up by R2 (2.2k) and shared with J2, test point TP7 and U1 pad 1I2C SCL
5GNDQwiic connector J2 pad 1 (second connector; numbered 5-8 here so the two 1-4 connectors do not collide) - same ground net as J1GND
63.3VQwiic connector J2 pad 2 - same 3.3 V net as J13.3V
7SDAQwiic connector J2 pad 3 - same SDA net as J1I2C SDA
8SCLQwiic connector J2 pad 4 - same SCL net as J1I2C SCL

Buses

BusSignalsPinsVoltageNote
I2C ×2SDA, SCLSDA, SCL3.3 VThe same two nets reach both Qwiic connectors and the four back-side test points. 2.2k pull-ups to 3.3 V sit on the back of the board (R3 on SDA, R2 on SCL) and are bridged to the rail through JP2, a 3-pole solder jumper whose 1-2-3 bridges are cut to remove them. There is no other bus on the board.

I²C / bus addresses

AddressBusDeviceNote
0x37I2CCY8CMBR3102 CapSense Express controllerSparkFun gives 0x37 as the default and calls the address software-configurable: the controller's registers set it, not a board strap, so there is nothing to cut or bridge and two of these on one bus must be reconfigured in software before they will coexist.

Power

Input3.3 V through either Qwiic connector - no regulator, no USB, no battery connector
Input range3.3 V only. Qwiic is a 3.3 V bus, and the CY8CMBR3102 has no 5 V tolerance, so a 5 V host needs a level shifter on SDA/SCL as well as a 5-to-3.3 V supply

SparkFun publishes no current draw for this board, so none is recorded. Two LEDs: a red power LED fed from 3.3 V through R1 (4.7k) with JP1 as a 2-pole solder jumper bridged by default, and a blue STAT LED whose anode goes to 3.3 V through R7 (2.2k) and whose cathode returns to the controller's GPO0/CS1 pin (U1 pad 6) - so the status LED is active LOW and the controller sinks it.

Notes

Two Qwiic connectors (J1 and J2, both JST-SH 1.0 mm 4-pin, right-angle) are the only places to land a cable - the board has no 0.1in header. The connectors are numbered 1-4 by the vendor; this entry numbers J2 5-8 so the two sets stay distinct in one pin list. Each connector also has two mechanical shield pads the schematic marks NC (unconnected-(J1/J2-NC-PadNC1/NC2)) - they are solder tabs, not signals. Four 1.0 mm test points on the back carry GND (TP4), 3.3V (TP5), SDA (TP6) and SCL (TP7); the vendor prints and numbers them as TP4-TP7 but they are not a connector, so they are described here rather than numbered into `pins`. The sensing plate is copper in the PCB itself, driven from U1 pad 7 (CS0) through R6 (560R) to the plate net; the board is meant to be pushed into soil up to the printed ruler, and only the plated edge goes in the dirt, the two Qwiic connectors and all components are at the top end and must stay dry. U1's own connections, for anyone probing: pad 1 SCL, 2 CMOD (modulation cap C3 2200 pF to GND), 3 VCC (a bypass node with C4 0.1 uF to GND, not a supply input), 4 VDD (from 3.3 V, C1 0.1 uF and C2 1.0 uF), 5 GND, 6 GPO0/CS1 (blue STAT LED cathode), 7 CS0, 8 SDA. JP2's 3-pole jumper is bridged 1-2-3 on delivery, so both pull-ups are live; cutting the bridges is the only way to take them off the bus. SparkFun's own docs for this board are an introduction page and a calibration note and carry no pin table - the pin map above comes from the KiCad files' nets, and the labels from the same file, because the vendor publishes no numbered pinout.

AI context

Dense context for pasting into a model prompt — addresses, pinout, voltages, tolerances and the vendor's reference circuit.

PART: SparkFun Qwiic Soil Moisture Sensor (Capacitive), SEN-30480: an Infineon (Cypress) CY8CMBR3102 CapSense Express capacitive sensing controller reading a copper plate etched into the PCB itself, on a 3.3 V Qwiic breakout with two JST-SH connectors and no 0.1 in header. Nothing metal touches the soil.
ADDRESSES: 0x37, the CY8CMBR3102's default. SparkFun calls the address software-configurable: the controller's own registers hold it rather than a board strap, so there is nothing to cut or bridge, and two of these on one bus must be reconfigured in software before they will coexist.
PINOUT: J1 pads 1 GND, 2 3.3V, 3 SDA, 4 SCL; J2 the same four signals numbered 5-8 here so the two connectors stay distinct in one list. Both connectors, and all four nets, are the same signals. Each connector also has two mechanical shield tabs the schematic marks NC - solder tabs, not signals. Four 1.0 mm test points on the back carry GND (TP4), 3.3V (TP5), SDA (TP6) and SCL (TP7).
SUPPLY: 3.3 V only, in through either Qwiic connector - no regulator, no USB, no battery connector - and SparkFun publishes no current draw. A red power LED runs from 3.3 V through R1 (4.7k) behind JP1; the blue STAT LED's anode is on 3.3 V through R7 (2.2k) and its cathode returns to the controller's GPO0/CS1 (U1 pad 6), so STAT is active LOW and sunk by the controller.
LOGIC: 3.3 V, and the CY8CMBR3102 has no 5 V tolerance - a 5 V host needs a level shifter on SDA/SCL as well as a 5-to-3.3 V supply.
REFERENCE CIRCUIT: 2.2 kOhm pull-ups are already fitted, R3 on SDA and R2 on SCL, bridged to the rail through JP2, a 3-pole solder jumper whose 1-2-3 bridges are closed on delivery and must be cut to take the pull-ups off the bus. U1: pad 1 SCL, 2 CMOD with C3 2200 pF to ground, 3 VCC (a bypass node with C4 0.1 uF, not a supply input), 4 VDD from 3.3 V with C1 0.1 uF and C2 1.0 uF, 5 GND, 6 GPO0/CS1, 7 CS0, 8 SDA; the sensing plate is driven from CS0 through R6 (560 Ohm).
TRAPS: push the board into soil only up to the printed ruler - the plated edge goes in the dirt and the two Qwiic connectors and every component are at the top end and must stay dry. There is no 0.1 in header, so a cable can only land on the Qwiic connectors. SparkFun publishes no numbered pinout at all (their docs are an introduction page and a calibration note), so these numbers and labels come from the KiCad design files' nets.

Provenance

Every figure on this page was read from the 5 sources below and last checked on Oct 22, 2026.