Hi, I tried to make a portable gas sensor for natural gas, lpg, methane etc...
I tried the mq5 sensor, but after some research it turns out that I need to go through a really complicated process for calibrating the sensor and then use it with an ecuation, and I also need to add temperature and humidity for accuracy so... this is just stupid IMO, for something that should be simple.
Are there any simpler alternatives to these sensors? They can cost a little more. I just want to plug it and then easily convert the readings without having to add other sensors and buying a tube of gas to do the calibration.
The MQ5 tells if the components in the air increase or decrease, they can be used as an indication for air quality for example. They are very cheap and fun, but they draw current, they get hot, and they can not be used to measure something.
This is the gas sensor category at Adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/category/897.
The manufacturers have often already done some calibration. Bosch is reliable, so if you can use the BME688 then you have good quality out of the box.
For best accuracy, they all need to be calibrated.
For a good measurement, there are gas sensors in the range of 100 dollars and more. In the past there was only the choice between the very cheap MQ sensors and the very expensive professional sensors. Today there is something in between, those are the sensors in the Adafruit category.