Communication

Embedded electronics is all about interlinking circuits (processors or other integrated circuits) to create a symbiotic system. In order for those individual circuits to swap their information, they must share a common communication protocol. Hundreds of communication protocols have been defined to achieve this data exchange, and, in general, each can be separated into one of two categories: parallel or serial. Serial UARTs, SPI, and I2C are used with many products in the SparkFun catalog to pass data. They can be used with a serial terminal to help troubleshoot issues or display data. However, there are other methods of communication some of which include IR, RS-232, RS-485, CAN, MIDI, and DMX. Check out the tutorials below to start relaying data between your devices!

SparkFun Satellite Transceiver Kit - Swarm M138 Hookup Guide

December 1, 2022

A hookup guide for the SparkFun Satellite Transceiver - Swarm M138 (KIT-21287)

Monitor Sensor Data from Anywhere

August 10, 2022

Using WiFi to send sensor data from an ESP32 to a WiFi network and be able to read it from an IoT Dashboard from anywhere in the world.

Level Shifter - 8 Channel (TXS0108E) Hookup Guide

May 19, 2022

Get started with the SparkFun Level Shifter - 8 Channel (TXS0108E) Breakout to shift between 5V, 3.3V and 1.8V logic level systems.

MicroMod Single Pair Ethernet Function Board - ADIN1110 Hookup Guide

May 12, 2022

With the SparkFun MicroMod Single Pair Ethernet Function Board - ADIN1110 you can prototype and create 10BASE-T1L Ethernet connections that work in noisy environments and over exceptionally long distances of over 1 kilometer! Follow this guide to get started with this Function Board.

Satellite Transceiver Breakout - Swarm M138 - Hookup Guide

April 22, 2022

A hookup guide for the Satellite Transceiver Breakout - Swarm M138 (SPX-19236)

IOTA (ARTIC R2) Satellite Communication Module Hookup Guide

November 18, 2021

A hookup guide for the SparkFun IOTA - Satellite Communication Module (ARTIC R2) (SPX-17984)

ARGOS (ARTIC R2) Satellite Communication Guide

November 18, 2021

A guide describing the ARGOS satellite network - as used by our ARTIC R2 satellite communication products

ARGOS ARTIC R2 Satellite Transceiver Shield Hookup Guide

November 18, 2021

A hookup guide for the ARGOS Satellite Transceiver Shield - ARTIC R2 (SPX-17236)

1W LoRa MicroMod Function Board Hookup Guide

November 11, 2021

Everything you need to get started with the 1W LoRa MicroMod function board; a MicroMod function board that provides LoRa capabilities for your MicroMod project. Must be used in conjunction with a MicroMod main board and processor.

2D Barcode Scanner Breakout Hookup Guide

May 27, 2021

A quick Hookup Guide to get you started with the SparkFun 2D Barcode Scanner Breakout.

SparkFun QwiicBus Hookup Guide

April 1, 2021

Build a long-range, noise-isolated I2C bus with the SparkFun QwiicBus Kit featuring the QwiicBus EndPoint and MidPoint following this Hookup Guide.

SparkFun expLoRaBLE Hookup Guide

February 4, 2021

Check out our latest LoRaWAN development board with Bluetooth capabilities! With this guide, we'll get you passing data to The Things Network in no time.

Industrial Fiber Optics Hookup Guide

January 20, 2021

Learn how to get started with our fiber optics breakout boards

MicroMod ESP32 Processor Board Hookup Guide

October 21, 2020

A short hookup guide to get started with the SparkFun MicroMod ESP32 Processor Board.

Cryptographic Co-Processor ATECC508A (Qwiic) Hookup Guide

October 17, 2019

Learn how to use some of the standard features of the SparkFun Cryptographic Co-processor.

SparkFun gator:log Hookup Guide

September 5, 2019

The gator:log is a serial communication based data logger. This tutorial will get you started using the gator:log with the micro:bit platform.

Adding More SERCOM Ports for SAMD Boards

February 4, 2019

How to setup extra SPI, UART, and I2C serial ports on a SAMD-based boards.

Three Quick Tips About Using U.FL

December 28, 2018

Quick tips regarding how to connect, protect, and disconnect U.FL connectors.

SparkFun Serial Basic CH340C Hookup Guide

December 13, 2018

SparkFun Serial Basic Breakout takes advantage of USB-C and is an easy-to-use USB-to-Serial adapter based on the CH340C IC from WCH. With USB-C you can get up to three times the power delivery over the previous USB generation and has the convenient feature of being reversable.

Introduction to DMX

November 14, 2018

DMX512 is an industry standard in lighting and stage design, whether it be controlling lights, motors, or lasers, DMX512 has many uses. In this tutorial we’ll cover DMX512 (Digital Multiplex with 512 pieces of information).

Introduction to MQTT

November 7, 2018

An introduction to MQTT, one of the main communication protocols used with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Qwiic Differential I2C Bus Extender (PCA9615) Hookup Guide

May 31, 2018

Learn how to extend the range of your I2C communication bus with the Qwiic differential I2C bus extender (PCA9615 ) breakout board.

AST-CAN485 Hookup Guide

March 1, 2018

The AST CAN485 is a miniature Arduino in the compact form factor of the ProMini. In addition to all the usual features it has on-board CAN and RS485 ports enabling quick and easy interfacing to a multitude of industrial devices.
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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.