LEDs

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are small, powerful lights that are used in many different applications. Blinking an LED is the classic starting point for learning how to program embedded electronics. It's the "Hello, World!" of microcontrollers. We recommend looking at the LED tutorial and SIK experiment guide to get started.

MAX30105 Particle and Pulse Ox Sensor Hookup Guide

December 1, 2016
The SparkFun MAX30105 Particle Sensor is a flexible and powerful sensor enabling sensing of distance, heart rate, particle detection, even the blinking of an eye. Get ready. Set. Shine!

Addressable LED Strip Hookup Guide

November 23, 2016
Add blinking lights to any holiday decoration with our Holiday Lights Kit using WS2812-based addressable LEDs!

LP55231 Breakout Board Hookup Guide

November 3, 2016
Get to know the LP55231 9-channel LED driver., and learn how to configure and program this surprisingly flexible IC.

TEMT6000 Ambient Light Sensor Hookup Guide

October 26, 2016
Bring the ability to detect light levels to any project with the SparkFun TEMT6000 Ambient Light Sensor Breakout.

Experiment Guide for the Johnny-Five Inventor's Kit

June 28, 2016
Use the Tessel 2 and the Johnny Five Inventors kit to explore the world of JavaScript enabled hardware through 14 awesome experiments!

Interactive LED Music Visualizer

May 31, 2016
Use an Arduino and the SparkFun Sound Detector to create visualizations on Addressable RGB LED strips.

Cherry MX Switch Breakout Hookup Guide

April 21, 2016
How to assemble and use the Cherry MX Switch Breakout, allowing you to turn a matrix of mechanical switches into a full-size keyboard!

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 LED Array (8x7) Hookup Guide

March 10, 2016
Getting started with the Charlieplexed 8x7 LED array.

LED Cloud-Connected Cloud

February 22, 2016
Make an RGB colored cloud light! You can also control it from your phone, or hook up to the weather!

PicoBuck Hookup Guide v12

February 18, 2016
The PicoBuck board is a high-efficiency three-channel constant-current LED driver.

BadgerHack: Gaming Add-On Kit

February 16, 2016
Make a Breakout clone with the BadgerHack Gaming Add-On Kit.

Button Pad Hookup Guide

January 7, 2016
An introduction to matrix scanning, using the SparkFun 4x4 Button Pad.

FemtoBuck Constant Current LED Driver Hookup Guide v13

December 10, 2015
The FemtoBuck board is a high-efficiency, single-channel constant-current LED driver.

Touch Potentiometer Hookup Guide

October 22, 2015
Learn how to use the SparkFun Touch Potentiometer to control lighting, volume or other inputs in your daily life.

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.

LilyPad Pixel Board Hookup Guide

September 16, 2015
Add changing colors to your wearable projects using LilyPad Pixel Boards.

LED Robot Pop Up Card

August 19, 2015
Craft a paper circuit pop up card with a cycling RGB LED, battery, and copper tape.

LED Butterfly Pop Up Card

August 19, 2015
Craft an illuminated butterfly pop up card with copper tape, two LEDs, and a battery.

Building Large LED Installations

July 16, 2015
Learn what it takes to build large LED installations from planning to power requirements to execution.

Large Digit Driver Hookup Guide

June 25, 2015
Getting started guide for the Large Digit display driver board. This tutorial explains how to solder the module (backpack) onto the back of the large 7-segment LED display and run example code from an Arduino.

Getting Started with the Teensy

June 18, 2015
Basic intro to the Teensy line of products, with soldering and programming suggestions.

Origami Paper Circuits

May 26, 2015
A quick tutorial to get you started in the world of light up origami flowers.

The Great Big Guide to Paper Circuits

May 22, 2015
Let's take a look at different materials we can use to combine paper crafting and electronics.
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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.