Using a Sparkfun Sound Detector

The Sound Detector is a board made by Sparkfun electronics that provides a way to detect ambient sound levels.

There are three connections on the board:

• Audio - This is the raw audio from the microphone.
• Envelope - This is a analog value representing the volume of the ambient sound.
• Gate - This is a digital value representing if sound levels are low or high.

Wiring

There are two options for wiring, you can use both at the same time:

Digital

Wired up in digital mode the sound detector signals if the sound level is low with a LOW signal, and high with a HIGH signal.

This method requires:

1. Power (VCC to 5V)
2. Ground (GND to GND)
3. Gate to a digital pin on the Arduino (turquoise wire in the diagram)

Analog

Wired up in analog mode the sound detector provides voltage proportional to the sound level.

This method requires:

1. Power (VCC to 5V)
2. Ground (GND to GND)
3. Envelope to a analog pin on the Arduino (pink wire in the diagram) There are three wires:

Diagram

Getting started

Once wired, the code is that of a standard digitalRead or analogRead to obtain the value.

Example code reading envelope

#define envelopePin A0

void setup() {
  Serial.begin( 9600 );
  pinMode( envelopePin, INPUT );
}

void loop() {
  Serial.println( analogRead( envelopePin ) );
}

Example code reading gate

#define gatePin 2

void setup() {
  Serial.begin( 9600 );
  pinMode( gatePin, INPUT );
}

void loop() {
  Serial.println( digitalRead( gatePin ) );
}

Resources

• Sparkfun Hookup Guide