Electrical Engineering
These tutorials help form some of the fundamentals you would learn in an Electrical Engineering course of study.
8-Pin SOIC to DIP Adapter Hookup Guide
Assembly and application of the 8-pin SOIC-to-DIP adapter.
Alternating Current (AC) vs. Direct Current (DC)
Learn the differences between AC and DC, the history, different ways to generate AC and DC, and examples of applications.
Analog to Digital Conversion
The world is analog. Use analog to digital conversion to help digital devices interpret the world.
Analog vs. Digital
This tutorial covers the concept of analog and digital signals, as they relate to electronics.
Battery Technologies
The basics behind the batteries used in portable electronic devices: LiPo, NiMH, coin cells, and alkaline.
Beginner Parts Kit Identification Guide
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!
Boss Alarm
Build a Boss Alarm that alerts you of anyone walking into your office and automatically changes your computer screen.
Building a Safe Cracking Robot
How to crack an unknown safe in under an hour.
Button and Switch Basics
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.
Capacitors
Learn about all things capacitors. How they're made. How they work. How they look. Types of capacitors. Series/parallel capacitors. Capacitor applications.
Constant Innovation in Quality Control
In this article, we share our recent advancements in quality control. Along with making our tests more thorough, we have also made them more efficient and robust.
Current Sensor Breakout (ACS723) Hookup Guide
Learn how to measure the current consumption of your project using the ACS723 Current Sensor.
Digital Logic
A primer on digital logic concepts in hardware and software.
Diodes
A diode primer! Diode properties, types of diodes, and diode applications.
Discrete Semiconductor Kit Identification Guide
Get to know the contents of the SparkFun Discrete Semiconductor Kit.
Electric Power
An overview of electric power, the rate of energy transfer. We'll talk definition of power, watts, equations, and power ratings. 1.21 gigawatts of tutorial fun!
General Guide to SparkFun Blocks for Intel® Edison
A general guide for using SparkFun Blocks for Intel® Edison in your next project!
Getting Started with LTspice
LTspice is a high performance SPICE simulator, schematic capture and waveform viewer with an impressive library of passive devices. Over 1000 models are included in the download but you can also add third party models.
How to Install an ATtiny Bootloader With Virtual USB
With this, you will be able to upload Arduino sketches directly to the ATtiny84 over USB without needing to use a programming device (such as another Arduino or FTDI chip).
How to Power a Project
A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.
How to Read a Schematic
An overview of component circuit symbols, and tips and tricks for better schematic reading. Click here, and become schematic-literate today!
How to Use a Breadboard
Welcome to the wonderful world of breadboards. Here we will learn what a breadboard is and how to use one to build your very first circuit.
How to Use a Multimeter
Learn the basics of using a multimeter to measure continuity, voltage, resistance and current.
How to Use an Oscilloscope
How to work the dials and buttons on an oscilloscope, and a glossary of the o-scope lexicon.
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.