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.
8-Pin SOIC to DIP Adapter Hookup Guide
August 13, 2015
Assembly and application of the 8-pin SOIC-to-DIP adapter.
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.
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!
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.
Beefcake Relay Control Hookup Guide
June 2, 2016
This is a guide for assembling and basic use of the Beefcake Relay Control board
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.
Binary Blaster Assembly Guide
March 13, 2014
Learn how to assemble and play the Binary Blaster Game from SparkFun Electronics.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
Electronic E-craft Terrarium
January 21, 2016
A guest tutorial on an Electronic Terrarium from the Performative Sculpture class of Parsons DT.
Flashlight Kit
October 11, 2018
This is an assembly guide for the SparkFun Flashlight Kit, a basic learn to solder kit.
Fuse Breakout Board Hookup Guide
October 3, 2019
Protect your project by adding a fuse in your circuit to save it from molten destruction.
Getting Started with the Teensy
June 18, 2015
Basic intro to the Teensy line of products, with soldering and programming suggestions.
Hacking Your Maker Faire Badge
September 18, 2014
How to hook-up, program, and modify your Maker Faire Badge for electronic fun.
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.
How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering
September 19, 2013
This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.
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.
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.
Large Solderable Breadboard Hookup Guide
February 27, 2014
This breadboard has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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. :)
Simon Tilts Assembly Guide
December 3, 2013
This tutorial will guide you through assembling your Simon Tilts PTH Kit.
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 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.
SparkPunk Sequencer Hookup Guide
August 14, 2014
How to assemble and use the SparkPunk Sequencer kit.
Teensy Arduino Shield Adapter Hookup Guide
June 18, 2015
A basic introduction and assembly guide for the SparkFun Teensy Arduino Shield Adapter.
TeensyView Hookup Guide
March 16, 2017
A guide to using the TeensyView OLED board to display text and graphics.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Wireless Glove Controller
April 24, 2019
Build a wireless glove controller with Arduinos to trigger an LED using XBees!
Wireless Joystick Hookup Guide
January 5, 2017
A hookup guide for the SparkFun Wireless Joystick Kit.
WS2812 Breakout Hookup Guide
July 24, 2013
How to create a pixel string with the WS2812 and WS2812B addressable LEDs!
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.