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
August 13, 2015
Assembly and application of the 8-pin SOIC-to-DIP adapter.
Alternating Current (AC) vs. Direct Current (DC)
September 5, 2013
Learn the differences between AC and DC, the history, different ways to generate AC and DC, and examples of applications.
Analog to Digital Conversion
February 7, 2013
The world is analog. Use analog to digital conversion to help digital devices interpret the world.
Analog vs. Digital
July 18, 2013
This tutorial covers the concept of analog and digital signals, as they relate to electronics.
Battery Technologies
February 6, 2013
The basics behind the batteries used in portable electronic devices: LiPo, NiMH, coin cells, and alkaline.
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!
Boss Alarm
March 30, 2016
Build a Boss Alarm that alerts you of anyone walking into your office and automatically changes your computer screen.
Button and Switch Basics
May 7, 2013
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
June 19, 2013
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
December 11, 2013
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
June 21, 2018
Learn how to measure the current consumption of your project using the ACS723 Current Sensor.
Discrete Semiconductor Kit Identification Guide
November 19, 2015
Get to know the contents of the SparkFun Discrete Semiconductor Kit.
Electric Power
June 26, 2013
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
January 5, 2015
A general guide for using SparkFun Blocks for Intel® Edison in your next project!
Getting Started with LTspice
March 1, 2017
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
February 14, 2017
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
February 7, 2013
A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.
How to Read a Schematic
July 12, 2013
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
May 14, 2013
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
January 9, 2015
Learn the basics of using a multimeter to measure continuity, voltage, resistance and current.
How to Use an Oscilloscope
February 25, 2014
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.