BeginnerLighting
555 LED Flasher
Build an adjustable blinking LED with a classic NE555 timer; learn the timing-capacitor and resistor relationship.
DIY Electronics Projects
Browse original build guides by difficulty, search by keyword, and filter by project topic. Parts listed in the component database link to their reference pages; common supplies are listed separately.
Beginner
BeginnerAudio
LM386 Mini Audio Amplifier
Make a small mono speaker amplifier and learn input coupling, gain, decoupling, and speaker polarity.
BeginnerLighting
Dark-Activated Night Light
Use an LM358 as a light-level comparator so an LED turns on when the room gets dim.
BeginnerSensors
ESP32 Room Temperature and Humidity Monitor
Read a DHT22 and print temperature and humidity to the Arduino serial monitor.
BeginnerSensors
Ultrasonic Parking Distance Beeper
Measure nearby objects with an HC-SR04 and make a buzzer beep faster as an object gets closer.
BeginnerGames
Pico Reaction-Time Game
A light turns on after a random pause; press a button quickly and see your reaction time in milliseconds.
BeginnerSecurity and Automation
PIR Motion Alarm
Use a PIR module and microcontroller to sound a small buzzer when motion is detected.
BeginnerSensors
DS18B20 Digital Thermometer
Read a digital one-wire temperature sensor and print the result to the serial monitor.
BeginnerAudio
Adjustable 555 Tone Generator
Turn the NE555 into an adjustable square-wave tone source for a piezo element; explore frequency by ear.
BeginnerTest and Measurement
Digital Light-Level Meter
Connect an OPT3001 light sensor to a microcontroller and learn how lux changes with distance and angle.
BeginnerTimers & Logic
555 One-Shot LED Timer
Press a button to start one adjustable LED pulse, then estimate its duration from the timing resistor and capacitor.
BeginnerLighting
Ten-Step LED Chaser
Pair a 555 clock with the CD4017 counter to move one lit LED through ten outputs.
BeginnerTimers & Logic
Schmitt-Trigger Slow Clock
Make a slow RC oscillator with one SN74HC14 gate and use its logic output to blink an LED.
BeginnerTimers & Logic
NAND Set/Reset Memory Latch
Build one bit of memory from two cross-coupled NAND gates with separate set and reset buttons.
BeginnerLighting
Two-Transistor Alternating LED Flasher
Build a discrete astable multivibrator that alternates two LEDs without a timer IC.
BeginnerSwitches & Drivers
Small Relay Driver with Flyback Protection
Use an NPN transistor to switch a low-voltage relay coil and clamp its turn-off voltage with a diode.
BeginnerPower
Build a 5 V Linear Breadboard Supply
Regulate a suitable low-voltage DC input to 5 V with an LM7805, then measure its load and heat limits.
BeginnerPower
LM317 Adjustable Low-Current Supply
Build a small adjustable regulator and use the LM317 reference equation to predict and measure output voltage.
BeginnerTimers & Logic
Four-Input XOR Parity Panel
Build a four-switch trainer that lights when an odd number of inputs are high, demonstrating XOR parity.
BeginnerDisplays & Logic
Manual 8-Bit Shift-Register Display
Load a pattern one bit at a time into an SN74HC595 and display its eight stored bits with LEDs.
Intermediate
IntermediateSensors and IoT
ESP32 Wi-Fi Weather Station
Read temperature, humidity, and pressure with a BME280, then serve a small live dashboard from the ESP32.
IntermediateDisplays and Timekeeping
OLED Real-Time Clock
Combine a DS3231 clock module and OLED to display the time while learning I²C and timekeeping backup.
IntermediateTest and Measurement
INA219 USB Power Monitor
Measure bus voltage and current for a small low-voltage USB load and calculate power in watts.
IntermediateRobotics
Obstacle-Avoiding Rover
Build a small two-wheel robot that drives forward and backs up/turns when its ultrasonic sensor sees an obstacle.
IntermediateSensors and Displays
MPU6050 Digital Inclinometer
Measure tilt from accelerometer axes and show an approximate angle on a small OLED.
IntermediateWireless Communication
nRF24L01 Wireless Sensor Link
Send a small sensor reading between two microcontroller boards over a low-cost 2.4 GHz radio link.
IntermediateRobotics and Motion
Stepper Motor Dial Controller
Drive a small unipolar stepper through a ULN2003 driver and move it with two direction buttons.
IntermediateDisplays and Games
MAX7219 LED Scoreboard
Display a changing score or countdown on an 8×8 LED matrix module using SPI-like serial control.
IntermediateTest and Measurement
HX711 Tabletop Scale
Read a load cell with the HX711, tare the platform, and calibrate against a known mass.
IntermediateSensors and Data Logging
Weather Data Logger
Log BME280 readings with timestamps to a microSD card for later graphing.
IntermediateInterfaces & Logic
One-Way 3.3 V to 5 V Logic Buffer
Use a 5 V SN74HCT125 to turn 3.3 V logic-high signals into 5 V logic outputs in one direction.
IntermediateDisplays & Logic
3-to-8 Logic Decoder LED Panel
Decode a three-bit switch setting into one of eight active-low outputs and visualize the selected channel.
IntermediateDisplays & Logic
Single-Bit Full-Adder Trainer
Build a one-bit full adder from XOR, AND, and OR gates, then check sum and carry for all input combinations.
IntermediateSensors & Indicators
Adjustable Dark-Threshold Indicator
Set a light threshold with a potentiometer and use an LM393 comparator to light an LED when a photoresistor sees darkness.
IntermediateSensors & Indicators
NTC Temperature-Threshold Switch
Compare an NTC divider with an adjustable reference and light an indicator when temperature crosses the chosen threshold.
IntermediateAudio
LM358 Line-Level Audio Preamp
Build a low-voltage non-inverting preamp for a small line-level signal. It boosts voltage, not speaker power.
IntermediateAudio & Test Equipment
LM358 Buffered Low-Pass Filter
Filter high-frequency noise with a one-pole RC network and buffer the result so a following stage does not load it.
IntermediateSensors & Measurement
Pico Analog Temperature Thermometer
Read the MCP9700A with the Pico ADC and convert its 500 mV offset and 10 mV/°C slope into Celsius.
IntermediateSensors & Measurement
TMP117 Digital Thermometer with Pico
Read the TMP117 signed temperature register over I²C and print Celsius values to the USB serial console.
IntermediateInterfaces & Logic
Eight-Button Serial Input Expander
Capture eight switch states in parallel with an SN74HC165, then shift them to the Pico over three GPIO wires.
Expert
ExpertRobotics and Motion
16-Channel Servo Controller
Control several hobby servos from a PCA9685 PWM driver without using one MCU pin per servo.
ExpertCommunications and Networking
CAN Bus Bench Network
Build two standalone CAN nodes and exchange short messages over a correctly terminated bench bus.
ExpertAudio
TPA3116D2 Stereo Class-D Amplifier
Assemble and characterize a stereo class-D amplifier using a properly laid-out TPA3116D2 module and a suitable DC supply.
ExpertSensors and IoT
BME680 Air-Quality Trend Display
Display temperature, humidity, pressure, and Bosch-algorithm air-quality estimates without mislabeling raw gas resistance as CO₂.
ExpertTest and Measurement
Dual Thermocouple Temperature Monitor
Read two Type-K thermocouples using two MAX6675 converter breakouts and compare temperatures on a display or serial console.
ExpertAnalog and Test Equipment
Four-Channel MCP4728 DAC Signal Source
Generate four adjustable low-voltage analog outputs and learn DAC resolution, reference voltage, and output buffering.
ExpertAudio
Digital Audio DAC and Class-D Speaker Chain
Build an I²S-to-analog-to-speaker signal chain with a PCM5102A DAC and a separate TPA3116D2 amplifier module.
ExpertAutomation and Power
Temperature-Controlled 12 V Fan
Use a temperature sensor, MOSFET, and PWM control to vary a small 12 V fan's speed as temperature rises.
ExpertRobotics
Line-Following Robot
Build a two-motor robot that follows a dark tape line using reflectance sensors and proportional steering.
ExpertEnergy and Automation
Dual-Sensor Solar Tracker
Compare two light sensors and move a small panel mount toward the brighter side; use it as a low-voltage demonstrator.
ExpertInterfaces & Displays
16-Output Pattern Panel with Cascaded Registers
Cascade two SN74HC595s to expand three Pico output wires into a 16-LED pattern panel.
ExpertTimers & Logic
Four-Bit Ripple Counter from D Flip-Flops
Use two SN74HC74s as toggle flip-flops to count 555 clock edges in binary and inspect ripple timing.
ExpertMemory & Interfaces
Pico I²C EEPROM Memory Notebook
Write a short byte string to an AT24C256C EEPROM, wait for its internal write cycle, and read it back over I²C.
ExpertSensors & Measurement
Eight-Channel Analog Sensor Scanner
Select one of eight low-voltage analog inputs with an SN74HC4051 and read it using the Pico ADC.
ExpertInterfaces & Logic
Two-Channel BSS138 I²C Level Shifter
Build a bidirectional open-drain translator for SDA and SCL between 3.3 V and 5 V I²C buses using two BSS138 MOSFETs.
ExpertPower & Lighting
LM317 10 mA Constant-Current LED Driver
Configure the LM317 as a simple current source and calculate LED current from the resistor between OUT and ADJ.
ExpertSensors & Measurement
Pico Bench Voltmeter with ADS1115
Make a hobby voltmeter for 0–3.3 V signals with an ADS1115 breakout, then compare it with a multimeter.
ExpertTimers & Logic
Four-Bit Ripple-Carry Adder
Scale the full-adder design to four bits and watch each carry propagate to the next stage.
ExpertTimers & Logic
Long-Interval Binary Frequency Divider
Clock the CD4060 from a 555 oscillator and compare the progressively slower binary-divided outputs.
ExpertInterfaces & Displays
Eight-Button and Eight-LED Pico Console
Combine serial input and output registers into a compact control panel: eight buttons in, eight LEDs out, using six Pico signals.
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