Components

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.

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

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!

An overview of the Bi-Directional Logic Level Converter, and some example circuits to show how it works.

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

A tutorial on electronics' most overlooked and underappreciated component: the switch! Here we explain the difference between momentary and maintained switches and what all those acronyms (NO, NC, SPDT, SPST, ...) stand for.

Learn about all things capacitors. How they're made. How they work. How they look. Types of capacitors. Series/parallel capacitors. Capacitor applications.

How to assemble and use the Cherry MX Switch Breakout, allowing you to turn a matrix of mechanical switches into a full-size keyboard!

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.

A short guide to creating a rainbow of new LilyPad LED colors at home!

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

Get to know the contents of the SparkFun Discrete Semiconductor Kit.

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

An overview of the flex sensor - a bendable variable resistor. Plus, example circuits and Arduino code to get you started!

How to hook a force-sensitive resistor up to an Arduino to measure pressure variances.

Protect your project by adding a fuse in your circuit to save it from molten destruction.

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.

An introduction to integrated circuits (ICs). Electronics' ubiquitous black chips. Includes a focus on the variety of IC packages.

Picking up where we left off in "Getting Started with LTSpice," we delve a little deeper into LTSpice through an introduction of Operational Amplifiers (OpAmps).

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

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

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.

This is a quick hookup to help you get started with the MCP4725 DAC breakout board. This device allows you to send analog signal from a digital source, like the I2C interface on the Arduino microcontroller.

How to use the level translating µSD device.