Gas Sensor Module - the killer feature

If anyone wants to build a Gadgeteer Gas Sensor module, here is the killer feature:

http://shitongdaelectric.en.made-in-china.com/product/gbUxchqMYKYn/China-Gas-Sensor-Socket-for-MQ-Serial.html

So you basically build a board like a Grove (eg http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/grove-gas-sensormq2-p-937.html?cPath=144_151) except you don’t mount a sensor on it, but mount the socket, which means you can then sell the sensor separately and people can plug in their sensor of interest. Anyone better with a soldering iron then me interested?

List of sensors

MQ-2

Sensitive for Methane, Butane, LPG, smoke.
This sensor is sensitive for flamable and combustible gasses.
The heater uses 5V.

MQ-3

Sensitive for Alcohol, Ethanol, smoke
The heater uses 5V
The Arduino blog about the “breathalyzer” using a MQ-3 : Arduino Breathalyzer: Calibrating the MQ-3 Alcohol Sensor | Arduino Blog
The MQ303A (also on this page) is like this sensor, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ-4

Sensitive for Methane, CNG Gas
The heater uses 5V.

MQ-5

Sensitive for Natural gas, LPG
The heater uses 5V.

MQ-6

Sensitive for LPG, butane gas
The heater uses 5V.
The MQ-6 at seeed: http://www.seeedstudio.com/wiki/Electronic_brick_-_Gas_sensor(MQ6)
The MQ306A (also on this page) is like this sensor, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ-7

Sensitive for Carbon Monoxide
The heater uses an alternating voltage of 5V and 1.4V.
A library for the MQ-7 : http://thesis.jmsaavedra.com/prototypes/software/mq-7-breakout-arduino-library/
The MQ307A (also on this page) is like this sensor, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ-8

Sensitive for Hydrogen Gas
The heater uses 5V.

MQ-9

Sensitive for Carbon Monoxide, flammable gasses.
The heater uses an alternating voltage of 5V and 1.5V. It depends on the gases how to use that alternating voltage. If only Carbon Monoxide is tested, the heater can be set at 1.5V.
The MQ309A (also on this page) is like this sensor, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ131

Sensitive for Ozone
The heater uses 6V.
The load-resistor is 100k…200k, which is a lot higher than for other sensors. This sensor is also very sensitive. It measures in ppb (parts per billion) where other sensors measure in ppm (parts per million).

MQ135

For Air Quality
Sensitive for Benzene, Alcohol, smoke.
The heater uses 5V.
An example how to use it: AirQualityMQ135 \ Learning \ Wiring

MQ136

Sensitive for Hydrogen Sulfide gas.
The heater uses 5V.

MQ137

Sensitive for Ammonia.
The heater uses 5V.

MQ138

Sensitive for Benzene, Toluene, Alcohol, Acetone, Propane, Formaldehyde gas, Hydrogen gas.
The heater uses 5V.

MQ214

Sensitive for Methane, Natural gas.
The heater uses 6V.

MQ216

Sensitive for Natural gas, Coal gas.

MQ303A

Sensitive for Alcohol, Ethanol, smoke (just like the MQ-3)
The heater uses 0.9V
It detects the same gasses as the MQ-3, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ306A

Sensitive for LPG, butane gas
The heater uses 0.9V.
It detects the same gasses as the MQ-6, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ307A

Sensitive for Carbon Monoxide
The heater uses an alternating voltage of 0.2V and 0.9.
It detects the same gasses as the MQ-7, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MQ309A

Sensitive for Carbon Monoxide, flammable gasses.
The heater uses an alternating voltage of 0.2V and 0.9V. It depends on the gases how to use that alternating voltage.
It detects the same gasses as the MQ-9, but uses a lower heater voltage.

MG811

Sensitive for Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
The heater uses 6V.

AQ-104

For air quality

AQ-2

Sensitive for Flamable gasses, smoke

AQ-3

Sensitive for Alcohol, Benzine

AQ-7

Sensitive for Carbon Monoxide

2 Likes

That’s pretty sweet. I have an MQ-6 around here somewhere to monitor gas in a coffee roaster, totally untested, but with one of those it might actually be not that hard to build something that I can try multiple sensors on (although residual heat is still my killer; I think it’ll be over 100*C in the heat chamber)

It is done already :slight_smile: how many ate you ordering? :wink:

1 Like

How many can I hook up on a spider and one each of the sensors. How much and where I’m sending the money, and of course when do I get them?

Wow that was fast. So I gues the module goes on sale later today then :stuck_out_tongue:
Heheheheheh

1 Like

One simple board and socket for all those? Somebody get on it, quick. How do you quantitatively calibrate the sensors? or are these just present/not present types?

There might be some in that list that might not work, but certainly most will and or we would have a couple of ‘base’ modules which could cover off pretty much the whole list.

Calibration, yes the ugly question of the ages, how do you calibrate a gas module which usually involves setting it against a known gas sample which of course you don’t have, so then the goal really becomes relative measurement to a sample you deem as ‘normal’ which is what this sample code from sandboxelectronics does:

http://sandboxelectronics.com/store/images/SEN-000003/SEN-000003_Source.php

Which is acceptable given the cheap cost of the sensors.

@ Duke - this is a brilliant idea. I just bought an MQ6 from Seeed but I would have much rather bought one of these. Not sure how you would do the calibration though unless they could be calibrated separate of the board and shipped with values to use for trimming. If the module had a digital pot then it could be handled through the software.

@ ianlee74 did you get a GroveExpansion board to hook up your MQ6 (was it a Grove Module), I trust you won’t have any problems with the driver for the GroveExpansion module as long as you stay away from Seeed’s code and port the GHI EBlockExpansion Module over as the GroveExpansion module is a EBlockExpansion Module with a 4 prong jack (and crappy Seeed code).

As I said calibration of these gas modules pretty much implies you have a gas sensor to create a sample with, so really I’m just using them to show relative changes for now, but heck ya a digital pot would be a helper.

I haven’t started playing with it yet. It just arrived a few days ago. I wasn’t planning to worry with the GroveExpansion board. I’ll just hook it up to an Extender or MakeBread module and read the data line. I’m going to use it as a “Zombie Detector”. So, I’m not particularly interested in exact readings. I only need to demo that it can indeed detect gas (I’ll call it “methane from the undead…” :wink: )

Zombie fart detector? LOL!!! Or do they outgas all sorts of odd stuff as they decay? Your well on your way to becoming a zombie eradicating mad scientist!

LOL! That’s not the angle I was headed but I like it!

Maybe the methane detector could be used to augment this:

It wasn’t the way you were headed? How were you going to test this?! IMHO you might have some explaining to do to the kids… “no kids, daddy isn’t advocating farting in public, but can you please come to this demo and drop one on demand?”

I call that the Zombie “Ooze” detector :wink:

[quote=“Brett”]It wasn’t the way you were headed? How were you going to test this?! IMHO you might have some explaining to do to the kids… “no kids, daddy isn’t advocating farting in public, but can you please come to this demo and drop one on demand?”
[/quote]

I think someone’s Fri night drinking has started off well :wink: LOL

lol - in fact, somewhat the opposite. Posting before coffee in the morning on Saturday :slight_smile:

we took your advice and we will ship the module with a socket and one sensor, MQ3. This way, you can use most of the sensors above. I hope oyu do nto mind but we put some of this info on the product page http://www.ghielectronics.com/catalog/product/393

New images will be added in couple days.

2 Likes

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I have been waiting for this module http://www.tinyclr.com/forum/topic?id=9338

Order a pile of sensors tonight:

MQ-2 Flammable Gas & Smoke Sensor
MQ-4 Methane CNG Gas Sensor
MQ-5 LPG, Natural gas, Coal gas Sensor
MQ-6 LPG Propane Gas Sensor
MQ-7 Carbon Monoxide Sensor
MQ-8 Hydrogen Gas Sensor
MQ-9 CO and Combustible Gas Sensor
MQ-131 Ozone Gas Sensor
MQ-135 Air Quality Sensor
MQ-136 H2S Gas Sensor
MQ-137 Ammonia Gas Sensor
MQ-138 Formaldehyde Gas Sensor
MQ-139 Freon Gas Sensor

So we should have some interesting testing coming up.

Next on the gas sensor module list would be these guys:

NO2
http://www.winsensor.com/English/product/ProductsList/093711201126.shtml

O2
http://www.winsensor.com/English/product/ProductsList/090011201129.shtml

In short there are some interesting modules which could be built around just about anything on http://www.winsensor.com/english/product/Products-me.shtml