In this quickstart tutorial, you’ll learn how to control a passive buzzer using your Arduino UNO to play a simple melody. By the end, you’ll have a basic understanding of how to incorporate sound into your Arduino projects. Materials Needed Arduino Passive Buzzer Breadboard Jumper Wires Arduino Buzzer Schematic Diagram Refer to the schematic diagram provided to connect your passive buzzer to digital pin 8 on the Arduino board. Breadboard Layout This is a very simple circuit to connect. Connect one lead of the passive buzzer to the digital pin 8 on the Arduino. Connect the other lead to a g ..read more

Using the transistor as a switch is a practical and useful skill to have. By setting up transistors in very simple circuits, you can easily control things like DC motors, lamps, buzzers, and much more. This is useful for beginners and experienced electronics enthusiasts alike. In this guide, you’ll learn the basics, the necessary components, and step-by-step instructions for setting up the most common transistors (MOSFET and BJT) as switches. PS! If you’re completely new to transistors, I recommend you read through How Transistors Work before jumping into this article. Using Bipolar Junction T ..read more

In this guide, you’ll learn how to control an RGB LED using the Arduino. An RGB (Red-Green-Blue) LED can produce a wide variety of colors by mixing different intensities of red, green, and blue light. You’ll learn to create a basic Arduino RGB LED circuit and cycle through some basic colors as an example. Using the provided schematic and breadboard images, as well as the example code below, you should have everything you need to easily set up and control an RGB LED’s color output on your own. Parts Needed Arduino Uno Breadboard (and some breadboard wires) 3 x Resistor (220 Ω) RGB LED There a ..read more

In this tutorial, we’ll guide you on how to set up a thermistor with Arduino to create a basic thermometer. The schematic, breadboard illustration, and example code provided will make it easy and straightforward to get your thermistor working. Parts Needed Arduino board (e.g., Arduino Uno) Breadboard (and some breadboard wires) Thermistor (10kΩ) Resistor (10 kΩ) Step 1: Understand the Thermistor Our thermistor has the following parameters: T0: 25°C RT0: 10,000 Ω B: 3977 K These values are found in the datasheet provided by the thermistor manufacturer. Check out this example datasheet for a ..read more

The Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is one of the two most used types of transistors. You can use it to create audio amplifiers, switch on/off DC lamps, motors, and much more. In this tutorial aimed at beginners, you’ll learn the basics you need to start having fun and design your own transistor circuits. Introduction to Bipolar Junction Transistors The Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is a device made of three layers of semiconductor material; these layers can be either P-type or N-type. The pins of a BJT are named base, collector, and emitter. Each pin is connected to one of these layers ..read more

The diode bridge is a simple circuit used to convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). In this guide, you’ll learn how it works, what it’s used for, and how you can build your own. Even though you may not notice it, the diode bridge is everywhere. When you charge your phone or laptop, or you turn on the TV, you directly engage the diode bridge. How? All these devices rely on a diode bridge to transform the AC voltage from your wall outlet into a DC voltage that your device can use. Suggested reading: AC vs DC: The difference between alternating and direct current The Rectifie ..read more

This Arduino Light sensor circuit is a simple example that shows you how to connect light sensors such as photoresistors, photodiodes, and phototransistors, to an Arduino. In this quickstart guide, you’ll learn how to connect a photoresistor to an Arduino board and read out the voltage. You’ll first use the Serial Monitor to learn about how the light sensor behaves, then you build a circuit that automatically turns on a light when it gets dark. This is a great practice circuit when you’re learning Arduino. The code is straightforward and the light sensor connections are simple. Parts Needed A ..read more

This Arduino button circuit is a simple example that shows you how to connect buttons to an Arduino. In this quickstart guide, you’ll learn how to connect a button to an Arduino board and read a HIGH or LOW depending if the button has been pushed or not. You’ll use the Light-Emitting Diode (LED) that is included on the board to turn on and off with the button so that you can verify that your button press code is working properly. This is a great practice circuit to build as you’re learning Arduino. The code is straightforward and the connections are simple. Parts Needed Arduino Uno Breadboard ..read more

A potentiometer is an adjustable resistor with three pins. The fact that it has three pins instead of two was confusing to me when I was starting to learn electronics. But as soon as I saw the inside of it, it all made sense. In this guide, I’ll show you what the potentiometer looks like on the inside, the different potentiometer types, and examples of how to wire it up for different circuits. What Is A Potentiometer? Potentiometers are adjustable resistors used in circuits for many things, such as to control the volume of an amplifier, control the brightness of a light, and much more. It is ..read more

This Arduino Potentiometer circuit is a simple example that shows you how analog inputs work, and how you can use the Serial Monitor to learn about what is going on inside the chip. In this quickstart guide, you’ll learn how to connect a potentiometer to an Arduino board and read out the voltage. This is a great practice circuit when you’re learning Arduino. The code is straightforward and the potentiometer connections are simple. Parts Needed Arduino Uno Breadboard (and some breadboard wires) Potentiometer (Any value above 200 Ω will work) Arduino Potentiometer Circuit To connect a potentio ..read more