Soldering

Soldering is one of the most fundamental skills needed to dabble in the world of electronics. We here at SparkFun believe that soldering should be a skill in everyone’s arsenal. In a world of increasing technological surroundings, we believe it is important that people everywhere be able to not only understand the technologies they use everyday but also be able to build, alter, and fix them as well. Soldering is one of many skills that will empower you to do just that. We recommend looking at How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering tutorial to get started.

Qwiic Haptic Driver DA7280 Hookup Guide

April 29, 2021

The Qwiic Haptic Driver includes an itty-bitty, Linear Resonant Actuator (LRA) vibration motor and Dialog Semiconductor's DA7280 motor driver IC for applications that require haptic feedback.

Arduino Shields v2

April 20, 2020

An update to our classic Arduino Shields Tutorial! All things Arduino shields. What they are and how to assemble them.

Non-Addressable RGB LED Strip Hookup Guide

February 19, 2020

Add color to your projects with non-addressable LED strips! These are perfect if you want to control and power the entire strip with one color for your props, car, fish tank, room, wall, or perhaps under cabinet lighting in your home.

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.

Wireless Glove Controller

April 24, 2019

Build a wireless glove controller with Arduinos to trigger an LED using XBees!

Build a Qwiic Jukebox that is Toddler Approved!

March 29, 2019

Follow this tutorial to build your own custom jukebox. Note, this is designed simple and tough for use primarily with toddlers. It's also a great introduction to SparkFun's Qwiic products!

Thumb Joystick Hookup Guide

February 20, 2019

Whether you're blasting aliens, driving a robot, or write your awesome classic Arcade Game for your Arduino, you'll find the analog thumb joystick a very useful addition to your projects!

Motion Controlled Wearable LED Dance Harness

January 30, 2019

Control LEDs based on your movement using an accelerometer! Make your LEDs breathe by fading in and out when laying on the floor, turn off the LEDs when moving to your side, or make the LEDs blink in a headstand!

LuMini 8x8 Matrix Hookup Guide

January 24, 2019

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

LuMini Ring Hookup Guide

January 17, 2019

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

LS20031 5Hz (66 Channel) GPS Receiver Hookup Guide

December 13, 2018

In this tutorial, we will solder headers to the surface mount pads of the LS20031 GPS receiver and read the output using an Arduino!

Flashlight Kit

October 11, 2018

This is an assembly guide for the SparkFun Flashlight Kit, a basic learn to solder kit.

DIY Light Sculpture

August 23, 2018

In this digital fabrication project featuring 3D printing, laser cutting, and DIY electronics, you will build a beautiful design object for your desktop or night stand.

SparkFun Arduino ProtoShield Hookup Guide

May 17, 2018

The SparkFun Arduino ProtoShield PCB and ProtoShield kit lets you customize your own Arduino shield using whatever custom circuit you can come up with! This tutorial will go over its features, hardware assembly, and how to use the shield with an Arduino R3 footprint.

Interactive 3D Printed LED Diamond Prop

April 19, 2018

In this tutorial, we will learn about how to create an interactive theatrical prop for a performance by 3D printing a translucent diamond prop using a non-addressable RGB LED strip and AT42QT1011 capacitive touch sensing.

How to Use a Hot Air Rework Station

April 10, 2018

Hot-air stations or heat guns are very useful tools and are essential for any electronics workbench. When working with or building printed circuit boards, there is a lot of room for errors to be made. Have no fear though, there are ways to remedy this with a hot air rework station!

How to Work with Jumper Pads and PCB Traces

April 2, 2018

Handling PCB jumper pads and traces is an essential skill. Learn how to cut a PCB trace, add a solder jumper between pads to reroute connections, and repair a trace with the green wire method if a trace is damaged.

DIY Heated Earmuffs

January 31, 2018

Embedded with heating pads and four Neopixel rings, these earmuffs do more than your average winter accessory to keep you warm while still looking good.

Qwiic Adapter Hookup Guide

November 30, 2017

Get started with your Qwiic adapter board. This adapter breaks out the I2C pins from the Qwiic connectors to pins that you can easily solder with your favorite I2C enabled device.

LilyPad Safety Scarf

November 21, 2017

This scarf is embedded with a ribbon of LEDs that illuminate when it gets dark out, making yourself more visible to vehicle and other pedestrians.

Lumenati Hookup Guide

October 12, 2017

Lumenati is our line of APA102c-based addressable LED boards. We'll show you how to bring the sparkle to your projects!

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.

LED Crystal Goddess Crown

September 27, 2017

Follow this tutorial to make your own Crystal Goddess Crown with LEDs!

LED PomPom Headbands

June 14, 2017

Follow this tutorial to make your own light up PomPom headband! Try the beginner version if you are new to electronics or the advanced version if you have some more experience!

TeensyView Hookup Guide

March 16, 2017

A guide to using the TeensyView OLED board to display text and graphics.

Wireless Joystick Hookup Guide

January 5, 2017

A hookup guide for the SparkFun Wireless Joystick Kit.

Proto Pedal Example: Programmable Digital Pedal

September 22, 2016

Building a pedal around the Teensy 3.2 and Teensy Audio shield. Changing the effect in the pedal is as easy as uploading a new sketch!

Beefcake Relay Control Hookup Guide

June 2, 2016

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

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!

Electronic E-craft Terrarium

January 21, 2016

A guest tutorial on an Electronic Terrarium from the Performative Sculpture class of Parsons DT.

BadgerHack

September 23, 2015

This tutorial shows users how to solder their SparkFun interactive badges as well as put them to use in other projects.

8-Pin SOIC to DIP Adapter Hookup Guide

August 13, 2015

Assembly and application of the 8-pin SOIC-to-DIP adapter.

Teensy Arduino Shield Adapter Hookup Guide

June 18, 2015

A basic introduction and assembly guide for the SparkFun Teensy Arduino Shield Adapter.

Getting Started with the Teensy

June 18, 2015

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

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.

How to Solder: Castellated Mounting Holes

May 12, 2015

Tutorial showing how to solder castellated holes (or castellations). This might come in handy if you need to solder a module or PCB to another PCB. These castellations are becoming popular with integrated WiFi and Bluetooth modules.

Light Up Silk Flower Corsage

April 20, 2015

Combine a silk flower with a built-in RGB LED and some LilyPad Switches to create a customizable accessory.

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.

Hacking Your Maker Faire Badge

September 18, 2014

How to hook-up, program, and modify your Maker Faire Badge for electronic fun.

SparkPunk Sequencer Hookup Guide

August 14, 2014

How to assemble and use the SparkPunk Sequencer kit.

SparkPunk Hookup Guide

June 12, 2014

How to assemble and modify the SparkPunk Sound Generator kit.

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.

Binary Blaster Assembly Guide

March 13, 2014

Learn how to assemble and play the Binary Blaster Game from SparkFun Electronics.

Large Solderable Breadboard Hookup Guide

February 27, 2014

This breadboard has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve!

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.

Simon Tilts Assembly Guide

December 3, 2013

This tutorial will guide you through assembling your Simon Tilts PTH Kit.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

September 19, 2013

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Using the Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V

September 5, 2013

This tutorial is your guide to all things Arduino Pro Mini. It explains what it is, what it's not, and how to get started using it.

WS2812 Breakout Hookup Guide

July 24, 2013

How to create a pixel string with the WS2812 and WS2812B addressable LEDs!

Electronics Assembly

March 1, 2013

How SparkFun assembles SMD electronics.

Working with Wire

February 8, 2013

How to strip, crimp, and work with wire.

Simon Says Assembly Guide

January 20, 2011

No matter what flavor of the Simon Says Through-hole Soldering Kit you've purchased, this tutorial is here to guide you through the entire build process.

Simon Says Experiments

October 21, 2010

So you've built up a Simon Says kit? What next? This tutorial will get you up and running with Arduino software, guide you through a few example sketches, and send you on your way to create your own. Careful, this stuff is highly addictive. :)
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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.