Tutorials

Pulse Width Modulation

February 27, 2013
An introduction to the concept of Pulse Width Modulation.

What is an Arduino?

February 26, 2013
What is this 'Arduino' thing anyway? This tutorials dives into what an Arduino is and along with Arduino projects and widgets.

Soft Circuits: LED Feelings Pizza

February 13, 2013
Here we will learn how to say how you feel with pizza. Electric pizza.

Working with Wire

February 8, 2013
How to strip, crimp, and work with wire.

Voltage Dividers

February 8, 2013
Turn a large voltage into a smaller one with voltage dividers. This tutorial covers: what a voltage divider circuit looks like and how it is used in the real world.

Light

February 7, 2013
Light is a useful tool for the electrical engineer. Understanding how light relates to electronics is a fundamental skill for many projects.

How to Power a Project

February 7, 2013
A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.

Binary

February 7, 2013
Binary is the numeral system of electronics and programming...so it must be important to learn. But, what is binary? How does it translate to other numeral systems like decimal?

IR Communication

February 7, 2013
This tutorial explains how common infrared (IR) communication works, as well as shows you how to set up a simple IR transmitter and receiver with an Arduino.

Analog to Digital Conversion

February 7, 2013
The world is analog. Use analog to digital conversion to help digital devices interpret the world.

LDK Experiment 1: Lighting Up a Basic Circuit

February 7, 2013
The first experiment in the LilyPad Design Kit series. In this exercise, you will learn how a basic e-textiles circuit works, and light up a sewable LED using a coin cell battery holder and conductive thread.

Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law

February 6, 2013
Learn about Ohm's Law, one of the most fundamental equations in all electrical engineering.

Battery Technologies

February 6, 2013
The basics behind the batteries used in portable electronic devices: LiPo, NiMH, coin cells, and alkaline.

What is a Circuit?

February 6, 2013
Every electrical project starts with a circuit. Don't know what a circuit is? We're here to help.

Gyroscope

February 1, 2013
Gyroscopes measure the speed of rotation around an axis and are an essential part in determines ones orientation in space.

Pull-up Resistors

February 1, 2013
A quick introduction to pull-up resistors - whey they're important, and how/when to use them.

MP3 Player Shield Music Box

January 21, 2013
Music Box Project based on the Dr. Who TARDIS.

Heating Pad Hand Warmer Blanket

January 21, 2013
DIY Project Idea: Create a custom hand warmer blanket using heating pads.

Connector Basics

January 18, 2013
Connectors are a major source of confusion for people just beginning electronics. The number of different options, terms, and names of connectors can make selecting one, or finding the one you need, daunting. This article will help you get a jump on the world of connectors.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

January 14, 2013
SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Installing an Arduino Library

January 11, 2013
How do I install a custom Arduino library? It's easy! This tutorial will go over how to install an Arduino library using the Arduino Library Manager. For libraries not linked with the Arduino IDE, we will also go over manually installing an Arduino library.

Using GitHub

December 30, 2012
How to use repositories and GitHub for version control.

Designing PCBs: SMD Footprints

December 21, 2012
How to design new SMD parts in Eagle PCB

Serial Communication

December 18, 2012
Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Old Tutorials

Looking for the old, archived tutorials? Head on over to the archived tutorials on the main SparkFun site.
Please be aware that the tutorials you find there are no longer actively maintained.