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.

PicoBuck Hookup Guide v12

February 18, 2016

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!).

SparkFun Qwiic Thermocouple Hookup Guide

March 12, 2020

Learn how to hook up your Qwiic Thermocouple Amplifier.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.
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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.