Tutorials
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.
LIDAR-Lite v3 Hookup Guide
May 16, 2018
A tutorial for connecting the Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3 or the LIDAR-Lite v3HP to an Arduino to measure distance.
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.
IoT Weight Logging Scale
May 9, 2018
This tutorial will show you how to make a scale that logs your weight to a custom website on the Internet. The principles can be extrapolated to any type of data.
micro:bit Educator Lab Pack Experiment Guide
May 8, 2018
A quickstart guide for the micro:bit educator lab pack.
Qwiic GRID-Eye Infrared Array (AMG88xx) Hookup Guide
May 3, 2018
The Panasonic GRID-Eye (AMG88xx) 8x8 thermopile array serves as a functional low-resolution infrared camera. This means you have a square array of 64 pixels each capable of independent temperature detection. It’s like having thermal camera (or Predator’s vision), just in really low resolution.
Qwiic Magnetometer (MLX90393) Hookup Guide
May 3, 2018
Figure out how magnetic fields are oriented, all without having to solder a thing.
WiFi Controlled Robot
May 2, 2018
This tutorial will show you how to make a robot that streams a webcam to a custom website that can be remotely controlled.
Getting Started with 3D Printing Using Tinkercad
April 30, 2018
Tinkercad is a great, easy-to-use online modeling software that can have you 3D printing quickly. This tutorial will walk you through designing a simple project enclosure.
Qwiic VR IMU (BNO080) Hookup Guide
April 30, 2018
Figure out how things are oriented with the robust 9 degrees of freedom (DOF) BNO080 IMU. Maybe even make your own virtual reality (VR) applications if you're feeling savvy.
Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W Hookup Guide
April 26, 2018
A hookup guide for the Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W.
Papa Soundie Audio Player Hookup Guide
April 26, 2018
Add sound effects to your project, prop or costume with Papa Soundie Audio Player.
Little Soundie Audio Player Hookup Guide
April 26, 2018
Add sound effects to your project, prop or costume with Little Soundie Audio Player.
Setting up a Raspberry Pi 3 as an Access Point
April 23, 2018
This guide will show you how to configure a Raspberry Pi as an access point and connect it to your local Ethernet network to share Internet to other WiFi devices.
Headless Raspberry Pi Setup
April 23, 2018
Configure a Raspberry Pi without a keyboard, mouse, or monitor.
LilyPad Tri-Color LED Hookup Guide
April 20, 2018
Learn how to hook up the LilyPad Tri-Color LED and use a common anode RGB LED in e-textile projects.
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.
Addressable LED Neon Flex Rope Hookup Guide
April 19, 2018
The addressable (UCS1903) LED neon flex rope adds cool lighting effects for outdoor and indoor uses including in hallways and stairs, holiday lighting, and more! In this hookup guide, you will learn how to connect, power, and control the LED segments with an Arduino and the FastLED library.
TFMini - Micro LiDAR Module Hookup Guide
April 13, 2018
The TFMini is a ToF (Time of Flight) LiDAR sensor capable of measuring the distance to an object as close as 30 cm and as far as 12 meters! The TFMini allows you to integrate LiDAR into applications traditionally reserved for smaller sensors such as the SHARP GP-series infrared rangefinders.
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!
Qwiic Accelerometer (MMA8452Q) Hookup Guide
April 5, 2018
Freescale’s MMA8452Q is a smart, low-power, three-axis, capacitive micro-machined accelerometer with 12-bits of resolution. It’s perfect for any project that needs to sense orientation or motion. We’ve taken that accelerometer and stuck it on a Qwiic-Enabled breakout board to make interfacing with the tiny, QFN package a bit easier.
Qwiic Distance Sensor (RFD77402) Hookup Guide
April 5, 2018
The RFD77402 uses an infrared VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) TOF (Time of Flight) module capable of millimeter precision distance readings up to 2 meters. It’s also part of SparkFun’s Qwiic system, so you won’t have to do any soldering to figure out how far away things are.
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.
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.