Components

Battery Technologies

February 6, 2013

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

SparkFun ProDriver and Mini Stepper Motor Driver Hookup Guide

September 3, 2020

The SparkFun ProDriver and Mini Stepper Motor Driver boards utilize Toshiba's TC78H670FTG stepper motor driver. The ProDriver features latch pin terminals, which are easier to connect than the "Easy" Drivers. Meanwhile, the Mini Stepper Motor Driver come in smaller PCB footprint, that is pin compatible with breadboards. To get started, follow this hookup guide and you will be spinning stepper motors, in no time.

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.

Transistors

July 1, 2014

A crash course in bi-polar junction transistors. Learn how transistors work and in which circuits we use them.

SparkFun Arduino UNO R4 WiFi Qwiic Kit Hookup Guide

July 11, 2023

The SparkFun Arduino UNO R4 WiFi Qwiic Kit is a great way to get started with Arduino and the Qwiic-connect system - use this guide to get started!

Diodes

May 9, 2013

A diode primer! Diode properties, types of diodes, and diode applications.

LiPo Fuel Gauge (MAX1704X) Hookup Guide

February 23, 2023

Monitor your LiPo battery with the LiPo fuel gauge! In this tutorial, we will be using the MAX17043 and MAX17048 to monitor a single cell, LiPo battery over the Arduino Serial Monitor. We will also connect a display to view the output without the need to connect the microcontroller to a computer.

USB Type A Female Breakout Hookup Guide

February 13, 2014

An above-and-beyond example using the USB Type A Female Breakout board.

Hobby Servo Tutorial

May 26, 2016

Servos are motors that allow you to accurately control the rotation of the output shaft, opening up all kinds of possibilities for robotics and other projects.

Qwiic MUX Hookup Guide

July 19, 2018

Have a bunch of sensors with the same I2C address? Put them on the Qwiic MUX (TCA9548A) to get them all talking on the same bus!

Audio Codec Breakout - WM8960 Hookup Guide

January 26, 2023

The SparkFun Audio Codec Breakout - WM8960 is a low power, high quality stereo codec chock full of features. In this tutorial, some of these features by using an Arduino microcontroller to configure the audio codec and pass audio to the headphone or speaker channels.

Qwiic Speaker Amp (TPA2016D2) Hookup Guide

September 29, 2022

The SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp includes the Texas Instruments TPA2016D2 stereo, filter-free class-D audio power amplifier. This tutorial will help you get started and configure the amplifer settings using an Arduino microcontroller.

Beginner Parts Kit Identification Guide

March 22, 2019

The essential parts for beginning (or even experienced) hobbyists that gives you all of the basic through-hole components you will need to get started playing with embedded projects. We'll identify a few parts in the kit and provide a few basic circuits to get started!

Buck Regulator Hookup Guide

August 5, 2021

Get started with SparkFun's newest Buck Regulator Boards - the BabyBuck and the Buck!

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

August 12, 2013

Learn the basics about LEDs as well as some more advanced topics to help you calculate requirements for projects containing many LEDs.

Resistors

April 1, 2013

A tutorial on all things resistors. What is a resistor, how do they behave in parallel/series, decoding the resistor color codes, and resistor applications.

Sensor Kit Resource Hub

May 5, 2016

An overview of each component in the SparkFun Sensor Kit, plus links to tutorials and other resources you'll need to hook them up.

SX1509 I/O Expander Breakout Hookup Guide

September 24, 2015

Learn how you can use the SX1509 to control 16 LEDs or up to 64 buttons with just two pins.

Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W Hookup Guide

April 26, 2018

A hookup guide for the Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W.

QRD1114 Optical Detector Hookup Guide

May 5, 2016

Use this IR LED/phototransistor fusion to sense objects in close proximity or even the color of a surface!

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.

Multiplexer Breakout Hookup Guide

August 18, 2016

How to use the 74HC4051 multiplexer breakout to drive eight LEDs, read eight button inputs, or monitor eight potentiometers.

FemtoBuck Constant Current LED Driver Hookup Guide v13

December 10, 2015

The FemtoBuck board is a high-efficiency, single-channel constant-current LED driver.
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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.