I2C Scanner – How to Find I2C Addresses on Arduino

In this tutorial we are going to make an I2C Scanner that will display an I2C Adress of the connected sensor or a module. This is very useful in cases where we do not know what is the I2C Address of a certain sensor or module that we would like to use in our projects.

Watch the Video!

Step 1: What You Will Need

TM1637 Display

  • TM1637 LED Display
  • Some I2C sensor for testing
  • Arduino UNO (or any other Arduino)
  • Jumper wires
  • Breadboard
  • Visuino program: Download Visuino

Step 2: Brought by PCBWay

Thank you PCBWay for supporting this tutorial and helping users learn more about electronics.

What I like about the PCBWay is that you can get 10 boards for approximately $5 which is really cost effective for professional made boards, not to mention how much time you save!

Go check them out here. They also offer a lot of other stuff in case you might need it like assembly, 3D printing, CNC machining and a lot more.

Step 3: The Circuit

 

  • Connect LED Display pin[CLK] to Arduino digital pin[8]
  • Connect LED Display pin[DI0] to Arduino digital pin[9]
  • Connect LED Display pin[GND] to Arduino pin[GND]
  • Connect LED Display pin[VCC] to Arduino pin[5V
  • Connect TEST MODULE/SENSOR pin [SCL] to Arduino pin [SCL]
  • Connect TEST MODULE/SENSOR pin [SDA] to Arduino pin [SDA]
  • Connect TEST MODULE/SENSOR pin [VCC] to Arduino pin [5v]
  • Connect TEST MODULE/SENSOR pin [GND] to Arduino pin [GND]

Note: Make sure to disconnect the power from Arduino, when you replace the I2C MODULE/SENSOR

Step 4: Start Visuino, and Select the Arduino UNO Board Type

The Visuino: https://www.visuino.com also needs to be installed. Download Free version or register for a Free Trial.

Start Visuino as shown in the first picture Click on the “Tools” button on the Arduino component (Picture 1) in Visuino When the dialog appears, select “Arduino UNO” as shown on Picture 2

Step 5: In Visuino Add & Set Components

 

  • Add “TM1637” Component
  • Add “Clock Generator” Component
  • Double click on “Display1” and in the “Elements” window drag “Text Display 7 Segments” to the left
  • Close the “Elements” window
  • Select Arduino board and in the Properties window expand I2C Channels > I2C > Elements
  • Click on the “Elements” 3 dots button, a window “Elements” will open
  • In the “Elements” window drag “I2C Scan” to the left
  • Close the “Elements” window

Step 6: In Visuino Connect Components

  • Connect Arduino > “I2C Scan1” pin [Address] to “Display1” > “Text Display 7 Segments1” pin [In]
  • Connect “Display1” pin [Clock] to Arduino Digital pin [8]
  • Connect “Display1” pin [Clock] to Arduino Digital pin [8]
  • Connect “ClockGenerator1” pin [Out] to Arduino > “I2C Scan1” pin [Scan]

Step 7: Generate, Compile, and Upload the Arduino Code

 

In Visuino, at the bottom click on the “Build” Tab, make sure the correct port is selected, then click on the “Compile/Build and Upload” button.

Step 8: Play

If you power the Arduino module, The LED Display will show the I2C address of the connected sensor or module.

Congratulations! You have completed your project with Visuino. Also attached is the Visuino project, that I created for this tutorial, you can download it and open it in

Visuino: https://www.visuino.com

Download i2c-scan-TM1637.zip