Knock on the box, and a grumpy little monster pops out to see who’s there. I built this Halloween project for my daughter was she was only two and didn’t like scary things. So I wanted to build something cute and fun instead. Here’s my mini monster box: A microphone hears the knock, a one-transistor
The “Bedroom-Door-Open” Notification Gadget
I built a “door opened” notifier. It notifies me if my young daughter opens the door to her room. This way, I can work on projects in my workshop at night, and still know if she decides to not go to sleep. Maybe this will be useful for when she gets older to avoid her
Getting Started With Circuit Canvas (Quickstart Tutorial)
Need a quick way to draw circuits or connection diagrams? In this quickstart Circuit Canvas tutorial I’ll show you how to get up and running with Circuit Canvas in a matter of a few minutes. Circuit Canvas is a free web app that makes it fast and easy to draw good-looking schematics and real-world wiring
Simple FM Transmitter for Hobbyists
Build a compact FM transmitter to experiment with RF circuits. With this circuit, you will be able to transmit your voice over short distances using basic components. Building your own FM transmitter is a great way to experiment with electronics and learn more about how radio frequency works. This circuit is perfect for electronics hobbyists
Remote Controlled On-Off Switch Project
This tutorial will guide you through building a simple remote-controlled on-off switch that will work with most IR remote controls. And you only need four components to build it. It works like this: Every time you push a button on the remote control the signal is received an converted into one long pulse that toggles
How To Build a USB Flashlight: A Simple DIY Tutorial
This tutorial will guide you through building a basic USB-powered light with five Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). You can expand on this and put it into a casing with a switch to create your very own USB flashlight from scratch! This project is great for beginners who want to learn about basic electronics and soldering. Materials
Optocoupler Tutorial for Beginners
An optocoupler (or opto-isolator) is a component that transfer signals between circuits using light. In this guide, you’ll learn how they work and how you can use one in your own projects. Optocouplers are very useful when you need to isolate different sections of a circuit, for example in power supply circuits to transfer signals
Touchless Kitchen Lighting with Arduino and Phototransistor
Here’s a cool Arduino project I did to bring a bit of high-tech magic to my daughter’s toy kitchen. She can now turn on the lights in her toy kitchen with a simple wave of her hand! My daughter has been excited about the thought of getting lights in her kitchen. And I was excited
The Basics Of Microcontroller Programming
A microcontroller does not know what to do by itself. It’s your job to tell it what you want it to do. Microcontroller programming boils down to three steps: write program code on your computer compile the code with a compiler for the microcontroller you are using upload the compiled version of your program to
The Solid State Relay: Learn To Use an SSR in Your Projects
A Solid-state relay (SSR) is an electronic switch without moving parts that use semiconductor technology to turn things on and off. In this guide, you’ll learn how they work, what they are used for, and how you can apply them in your circuits. Relays are very important in electronics because you can use them to
Tool for Drawing Circuits: Circuit Canvas
Need to draw a circuit that looks good, quickly? Circuit Canvas is a free, web-based tool for drawing schematics and planning how to connect the circuit in real life. It was designed to make it fast and easy to draw good-looking schematics and connection diagrams for electronics. It was made by Øyvind Nydal Dahl, the
Arduino Libraries and How To Install Them
Arduino libraries are like cheat sheets for building cool projects. They let you borrow code someone else made, so you don’t have to start from zero but can make your things quickly with your Arduino. Also, because lots of people use them, it’s easier to get help and tips. In this guide, you’ll learn how
Arduino PIR Sensor Circuit and Code Example
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create an Arduino PIR Sensor. PIR stands for Passive InfraRed. The PIR sensor is widely used in motion detection applications and this project will show you how to use it to control an LED. When the sensor detects motion, the LED will turn on and the event will
Arduino IR Receiver Circuit and Code Example
In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up an infrared (IR) receiver with an Arduino UNO. An IR receiver is a module that will help you decode signals from an IR remote control. In this tutorial, we’ve used the TSOP312, but many others will work. The Arduino will process these signals and print
555 Timer Police Lights
This 555 Timer Police Lights circuit is an interesting electronics project that simulates the alternating flash of police vehicle lights using LEDs.
The circuit uses a 555 timer IC and a CD4017 decade counter to create the flashing effect. By adjusting the frequency of the 555 timer, you can control how quickly the LEDs flash, mimicking the strobe light effect found on emergency vehicles.