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.
ARGOS ARTIC R2 Satellite Transceiver Shield Hookup Guide
November 18, 2021
A hookup guide for the ARGOS Satellite Transceiver Shield - ARTIC R2 (SPX-17236)
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
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.
Roshamglo Hookup Guide
March 13, 2017
This tutorial provides everything you need to know to get started with the Roshamglo badge.
Roshamglo Project: TV-B-Gone
March 12, 2017
Turn your Roshamglo board into a (nearly) universal TV power button.
Simultaneous RFID Tag Reader Hookup Guide
February 23, 2017
A basic guide to getting started with the RFID Tag Reader breakout and how to read and write multiple RFID tags over multiple feet!
SparkFun USB UART Breakout (CY7C65213) Hookup Guide
February 2, 2017
How to use SparkFun's advanced USB UART breakout, based on the Cypress CY7C65213.
ASCII
June 13, 2016
A brief history of how ASCII came to be, how it's useful to computers, and some helpful tables to convert numbers to characters.
RFM69HCW Hookup Guide
April 29, 2016
The RFM69HCW is an inexpensive transceiver that you can use to create all kinds of wireless projects. This tutorial will help you get started.
Boss Alarm
March 30, 2016
Build a Boss Alarm that alerts you of anyone walking into your office and automatically changes your computer screen.
SparkFun USB to Serial UART Boards Hookup Guide
February 18, 2016
How to use the SparkFun FTDI based boards to program an Arduino and access another serial device over the hardware serial port, without unplugging anything!
Raspberry Pi SPI and I2C Tutorial
October 29, 2015
Learn how to use serial I2C and SPI buses on your Raspberry Pi using the wiringPi I/O library for C/C++ and spidev/smbus for Python.
Getting Started with OBD-II
October 8, 2015
A general guide to the OBD-II protocols used for communication in automotive and industrial applications.
MIDI Shield Hookup Guide
October 8, 2015
How to assemble the SparkFun MIDI Shield, plus several example projects.
CAN-BUS Shield Hookup Guide
October 8, 2015
A basic introduction to working with the CAN-Bus shield.
Si4703 FM Radio Receiver Hookup Guide
August 13, 2015
Add some tunes to your project with the Si4703 FM Radio Receiver Breakout.
nRF24L01+ Transceiver Hookup Guide
July 30, 2015
A basic getting started guided to the SparkFun Transceiver Breakout - nRF24L01+
BC118 BLE Mate 2 Hookup Guide
January 15, 2015
Hooking up and using the BLE Mate 2, which uses the BC118 BLE module from BlueCreations.
CP2102 USB to Serial Converter Hook-Up Guide
August 12, 2014
A basic hook-up guide for the CP2102 Breakout Board.
Arduino Wireless Communication via the Electric Imp
April 8, 2014
How to communicate between an Electric Imp and Arduino using serial.
Hexadecimal
March 20, 2014
How to interpret hex numbers, and how to convert them to/from decimal and binary.
USB Type A Female Breakout Hookup Guide
February 13, 2014
An above-and-beyond example using the USB Type A Female Breakout board.
Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter Hookup Guide
October 25, 2013
An overview of the Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter, and some example circuits to show how it works.
IR Control Kit Hookup Guide
October 2, 2013
How to get the most out of the infrared receivers and transmitters included in the IR Control Kit.
Serial Terminal Basics
September 9, 2013
This tutorial will show you how to communicate with your serial devices using a variety of terminal emulator applications.
I2C
July 8, 2013
An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.
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.
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?
Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)
January 14, 2013
SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.
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.