Power

Power is one of the more fundamental concepts in electronics. Check out the following tutorials to reduce current consumption, toggle high power applications, monitor your battery, or charge your LiPo battery safely! Not sure the power requirements of your project? Try checking out the tutorial on how to power your project for some considerations.

Single Cell LiPo Battery Care

March 16, 2023

This tutorial will go over how to safely charge, connect, disconnect, reinforcing the cables, and handle single cell LiPo batteries.

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.

IoT RedBoard ESP32 Development Board Hookup Guide

August 18, 2022

Delve into the functionality-rich world of the IoT RedBoard ESP32 Development Board!

Thing Plus Dual-Port Logging Shield Hookup Guide

June 16, 2022

This tutorial shows you how to hook up and use the SparkFun Thing Plus Dual-Port Logging Shield.

Getting Started with the MyoWare® 2.0 Muscle Sensor Ecosystem

April 1, 2022

The MyoWare® 2.0 Muscle Sensor, an Arduino-compatible, all-in-one electromyography (EMG) sensor from Advancer Technologies. In this tutorial, we will go over the features and related shields to connect the sensor to a muscle group.

MicroMod Ethernet Function Board - W5500 Hookup Guide

March 10, 2022

Add Ethernet and PoE capabilities to your MicroMod project using the Ethernet Function Board - W5500.

smôl Power Board AAA Hookup Guide

October 21, 2021

Small in size, small on current draw. It's a smôl world! This guide will get you up and running with the smôl Power Board AAA.

smôl Power Board LiPo Hookup Guide

October 21, 2021

Small in size, small on current draw. It's a smôl world! This guide will get you up and running with the smôl Power Board LiPo.

Dialog ULP WiFi DA16200 R3 Shield Hookup Guide

October 7, 2021

Add WiFi to your project with this hookup guide for our Dialog's Ultra Low Power DA16200 R3 shield!

Buck Regulator Hookup Guide

August 5, 2021

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

SparkFun RTK Express Hookup Guide

June 21, 2021

Learn how to use the enclosed RTK Express product to achieve millimeter level geospatial coordinates.

SparkFun RTK Surveyor Hookup Guide

December 3, 2020

Learn how to use the enclosed RTK Surveyor product to achieve millimeter level geospatial coordinates.

SparkFun Qwiic Dual Solid State Relay Hookup Guide

September 24, 2020

A Hookup Guide to get you started with the SparkFun Qwiic Dual Solid State Relay.

SparkFun Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay Kit Hookup Guide

July 16, 2020

A Hookup Guide to get you started with the SparkFun Qwiic Quad Solid State Relay Kit (say that five times fast!).

Understanding Thermal Resistance

May 14, 2020

Discussing what thermal resistance is, how it’s used for thermal management, and how to maximize the life of your project.

SparkFun Qwiic Thermocouple Hookup Guide

March 12, 2020

Learn how to hook up your Qwiic Thermocouple Amplifier.

Power Delivery Board - USB-C (Qwiic) Hookup Guide

February 13, 2020

This guide will go over how to use the USB Type-C Power Delivery Board.

Secure DIY Garage Door Opener

January 16, 2020

Did you know that most garage doors are at risk of a roll jam attack? Here we make a DIY garage door remote-control system that is much more secure than most commercial-ready products using the latest in ECC cryptography.

ATX Power Connector (4-Pin) Breakout Hookup Guide

October 10, 2019

Do you need to power a project with 12V and 5V from one wall adapter? The ATX power connector breaks out the standard 4-pin computer peripheral port for your 12V and 5V devices!

Fuse Breakout Board Hookup Guide

October 3, 2019

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

Hookup Guide for the SparkFun RedBoard Artemis ATP

August 28, 2019

Get started with the RedBoard Artemis ATP - all the functionality of the SparkFun Artemis module wrapped in the Mega Arduino Footprint

Hookup Guide for the SparkFun RedBoard Artemis

August 28, 2019

Get started with the RedBoard Artemis - all the functionality of the SparkFun Artemis module wrapped in the familiar Uno R3 footprint

TPL5110 Nano Power Timer Hookup Guide

June 6, 2019

The TPL5110 Nano Power Timer is ideal for applications that require low power, and especially those projects that are running off of a LiPo battery. The Nano Power Timer will turn on your project after the set amount of time, continuously.

LiPo Charger Plus Hookup Guide

May 30, 2019

This tutorial shows you how to hook up and use the SparkFun LiPo Charger Plus board.

Buck-Boost Hookup Guide

May 10, 2019

This tutorial shows you how to hook up and use the SparkFun Buck-Boost board.

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!

LuMini 8x8 Matrix Hookup Guide

January 24, 2019

The LuMini 8x8 Matrix (APA102-2020) are the highest resolution LED matrix available.

LumiDrive Hookup Guide

January 17, 2019

The LumiDrive LED Driver is SparkFun’s foray into all things Python on micro-controllers. With the SparkFun LumiDrive you will be able to control and personalize a whole strand of APA102s directly from the board itself.

LuMini Ring Hookup Guide

January 17, 2019

The LuMini Rings (APA102-2020) are the highest resolution LED rings available.

Qwiic Quad Relay Hookup Guide

January 3, 2019

SparkFun’s Qwiic Quad Relay is a product designed for switching not one but four high powered devices from your Arduino or other low powered microcontroller using I2C.

Qwiic Single Relay Hookup Guide

January 3, 2019

Get started switching those higher power loads around with the Qwiic Single Relay.

TSH82 Configurable OpAmp Hookup Guide

November 2, 2018

The TSH82 Configurable OpAmp board offers the designer a great balance of performance and flexibility. We'll show you how to get the very best out of your board!

LilyPad Basics: Powering Your Project

September 24, 2018

Learn the options for powering your LilyPad projects, LiPo battery safety and care, and how to calculate and consider power constraints on your projects.

Single Supply Logic Level Converter Hookup Guide

August 9, 2018

The Single Supply Logic Converter allows you to bi-directionally translate signals from a 5V or 3.3V microcontroller without the need for a second power supply! The board provides an output for both 5V and 3.3V to power your sensors. It is equipped with a PTH resistor footprint for the option to adjust the voltage regulator on the low side of the TXB0104 for 2.5V or 1.8V devices.

Mean Well LED Switching Power Supply Hookup Guide

June 28, 2018

In this tutorial, we will be connecting a Mean Well LED switching power supply to an addressable LED strip controlled by an Arduino.

Current Sensor Breakout (ACS723) Hookup Guide

June 21, 2018

Learn how to measure the current consumption of your project using the ACS723 Current Sensor.

Nuclear Battery Assembly Guide

June 8, 2018

How to put together your BYOT (Bring Your Own Tritium) Nuclear Battery Kit!

IoT Power Relay

May 21, 2018

Using the ESP32 to make a web-configured timed relay.

12V/5V Power Supply Hookup Guide

May 10, 2018

In this tutorial, we will replace the 12V/5V (2A) power supply's molex connector with two male barrel jacks adapters.

Adjustable LiPo Charger Hookup Guide

September 28, 2017

The SparkFun Adjustable LiPo Charger is a single-cell lithium polymer (LiPo) and lithium ion battery charger. Because it’s adjustable, this charger will be able to safely charge all of our singe-cell batteries.

SparkFun 5V/1A LiPo Charger/Booster Hookup Guide

September 28, 2017

This tutorial shows you how to hook up and use the SparkFun 5V/1A LiPo Charger/Booster circuit.

ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield Hookup Guide

June 9, 2017

This tutorial shows you how to get started with the ESP32 Thing Power Control Shield.

Wireless Joystick Hookup Guide

January 5, 2017

A hookup guide for the SparkFun Wireless Joystick Kit.

Powering LilyPad LED Projects

December 17, 2016

Learn how to calculate how many LEDs your LilyPad project can power and how long it will last.

Internet of Things Experiment Guide

November 23, 2016

The SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Dev Board is a powerful development platform that lets you connect your hardware projects to the Internet. In this guide, we show you how to combine some simple components to remotely log temperature data, send yourself texts and control lights from afar.

Reducing Arduino Power Consumption

November 10, 2016

A tutorial about different ways to reduce the current draw for your next Arduino project the easy way.

Battery Babysitter Hookup Guide

June 23, 2016

An introduction and getting started guide for the Battery Babysitter - a flexible LiPo battery charger and monitor.

Photon Remote Water Level Sensor

June 2, 2016

Learn how to build a remote water level sensor for a water storage tank and how to automate a pump based off the readings!

Beefcake Relay Control Hookup Guide

June 2, 2016

This is a guide for assembling and basic use of the Beefcake Relay Control board

How to Build a Remote Kill Switch

May 31, 2016

Learn how to build a wireless controller to kill power when things go... sentient.

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.

Measuring Internal Resistance of Batteries

May 5, 2016

Classroom STEM activity that has students build a battery from a lemon, measure the open and closed circuit voltages, and determine the battery's internal resistance.

What is a Battery?

May 3, 2016

An overview of the inner workings of a battery and how it was invented.

Blynk Board Project Guide

March 25, 2016

A series of Blynk projects you can set up on the Blynk Board without ever re-programming it.

ESP8266 Powered Propane Poofer

March 15, 2016

Learn how Nick Poole built a WiFi controlled fire-cannon using the ESP8266 Thing Dev Board!

PicoBuck Hookup Guide v12

February 18, 2016

The PicoBuck board is a high-efficiency three-channel constant-current LED driver.

FemtoBuck Constant Current LED Driver Hookup Guide v13

December 10, 2015

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

Adding a Timed Button to a Project

July 29, 2015

This tutorial will walk you through making a timed power controller for interactive projects. You will learn how to add an on button that will provide power to your project for an amount of time and then turn off again.

Photon Battery Shield Hookup Guide

July 2, 2015

The Photon Battery Shield has everything your Photon needs to run off, charge, and monitor a LiPo battery. Read through this hookup guide to get started using it.

Wake-on-Shake Hookup Guide

March 13, 2015

A basic hookup guide for getting started with the SparkFun Wake-on-Shake. The board gives you the ability to put your project into hibernation until bumped or shaken awake using the ADXL362 accelerometer. This means you can design projects meant to stay inert for long periods of time, possibly even several years, depending on the battery type used to power the project.

LilyPad Simple Power Hookup Guide

January 15, 2015

A basic guide for getting started using the LilyPad Simple Power with LiPo batteries.

Benchtop Power Board Kit Hookup Guide

November 3, 2014

Need more power? This Benchtop ATX Power Supply Kit should help give you the boost you need to power those energy hungry projects.

Sunny Buddy Solar Charger V13 Hookup Guide

October 13, 2014

How to hookup the Sunny Buddy: a solar-powered, MPPT (peak-power tracking), LiPo battery charger.

LTC4150 Coulomb Counter Hookup Guide

September 18, 2014

A "Coulomb Counter" is like a gas gauge for your battery. Here's how to use it.

How Lithium Polymer Batteries are Made

May 28, 2014

We got the opportunity to tour the Great Power Battery factory. Checkout how LiPos are made!

LiPo USB Charger Hookup Guide

May 1, 2014

How to charge your LiPo batteries with the USB LiPo charger. Plus how to modify your charger to set the charge current.

Uh-Oh Battery Level Indicator Hookup Guide

April 9, 2014

Learn how to assemble and use the TL431 in the Uh-Oh Battery Level Indicator Kit.

INA169 Breakout Board Hookup Guide

November 20, 2013

How to interface with the INA169 Breakout Board to measure current.

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.

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!

How to Power a Project

February 7, 2013

A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.

Battery Technologies

February 6, 2013

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

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.
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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.