The Maker Soil Moisture Sensor measures soil moisture using capacitive sensing, where the presence of water in the soil will increase the probe's capacitance. The output of the sensor is analog - higher moisture levels will produce a lower output voltage. Being part of the Maker Series, the sensor is equipped with many features to further simplify digital making for beginners and experts alike.
The Maker Soil Moisture Sensor is easy to use. In the minimal setup, it only requires a power supply (if the LED indicators alone are enough for your application). Make sure that the voltage level of the power supply is within the sensor's specifications (2.5-7VDC). The LED indicators only indicate approximate moisture levels and might fluctuate depending on the power supply, since the sensor does not have a voltage regulator on board.
The Maker Soil Moisture Sensor can also be used with microcontrollers (such as the Maker Pi RP2040) to build more complex projects like smart gardens and self-watering systems. The analog output voltage of the sensor is used for these applications. Furthermore, the sensor also has a disable pin for power saving applications. Sending HIGH signal to the disable pin will disable the sensor.
It is important to note that this sensor can only qualitatively test the humidity of the soil and cannot measure quantitatively. This means when the humidity of the soil rises, the value of the output decreases; conversely, when the humidity decreases, the output value becomes higher.
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