Electronics Guidebook: Basic Electronics, Programming, Learning Resources, Case Studies, Industry Insights and More!
Over the years, Seeed has remained committed to the mission of lowering the barriers of electronics and IoT development. Alongside effective and accessible hardware solutions, we have also worked extensively on our collection of blog articles, which cover content ranging from basic electronics, computer programming, trending technologies and industrial case studies!
This electronics guidebook serves as a one-stop collection of the articles that we’ve written at Seeed, so that you can easily reference it to find all of our resources that have been made to your disposal. Do you have something you want to learn about that isn’t listed here? Use the search bar on the top right or leave us a comment to tell us!
Learn Hardware: Electronics
In this first section, you’ll find links to blog articles that will help you learn hardware in electronics, all the way from basic concepts of electricity, concepts, and computers to more advanced topics like communication protocols, industrial technologies and sensors!
A. Circuits, Electricity and Basic Components
- What happens in an Electric Circuit: Voltage vs Current
- Resistors: Pull-up and Pull-down Resistors
- Electronics Circuit: Voltage Dividers
- Introduction to Diodes – What is it and How it Works
- Basic Electronics: Alternating Current (AC) vs Direct Current (DC)
- Basic Electronics: Electronic Load and Battery Testing
- Introduction to Measuring Instrument: What is a Multimeter?
- What is Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)? Applications and Accessories
- Integrated Circuits (ICs): Overview, Applications and Projects
B. Understanding Computers
- All about CPUs: Microprocessor, Microcontroller and Single Board Computer
- Introduction to the Arduino – What is Arduino?
- What is an Embedded Computer?
- What is an FPGA and Why Use Them?
- What is a Mini PC? – Things you should know before purchasing
- What is an Edge Server? – Edge Computing Embedded Systems
- Cluster Computing on the Edge – What, Why & How to Get Started
- Building Edge GPU Clusters – Edge Computing Guide
- Human Machine Interfaces in the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Types of Computer Memory: RAM, ROM and Secondary Memory
- How to use Raspberry Pi GPIO Pins? Python Tutorial
- SSD Form Factors: Variations and Interfaces
- What are NAS & RAID in Edge Server Applications?
C. Communication Protocols
WiFi, Bluetooth, Serial, etc.
- Bluetooth Protocol: Overview and Bluetooth Module
- Arduino Communication Peripherals: UART, I2C and SPI
- SPI – Introduction to Serial Peripheral Interface
- I2C Communication – All about I²C with Diagrams
- Serial Terminal Basics with CoolTerm
- Arduino Serial Monitor Tutorial: Basics and Alternatives to try
- What is Power over Ethernet (PoE)?
- What are AT Commands?
- All about RS485 – How it Works and How to Implement into Industrial Control Systems?
- RS232 vs TTL: Beginner Guide to Serial Communication
- RS232 vs RS485 – What are their differences?
LR& LoRaWAN
- How to Enable LR and LoRaWAN on Arduino and Raspberry Pi
- A Gentle Introduction to LoRaWAN Gateways & Nodes
- LoRaWAN Gateways – What You Need to Know!
- What is Peer-To-Peer (P2P) LRCommunication?
- Enhance LRCommunication with a LRAntenna!
- LR & LoRaWAN: Vertical Solutions for the Real World
- Create your own low-code IoT Application with SenseCAP LoRaWAN Devices on Datacake!
New Technologies & Industry Standards
- Intro to Time Sensitive Networking for M2M Communication in IoT
- 5G RF Technologies for the Internet of Things (IoT)
D. Batteries & Sensors
- Batteries: Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium Polymer Battery Explained
- Guide: Batteries for Embedded Devices
- Accelerometers: Piezoelectric, MEMs and Piezoresistive Accelerometers Explained
- Soil Moisture Sensor – How to choose and use with Arduino
- All about Proximity Sensors: Which type to use?
- What is a Force Sensing Resistor (FSR Sensor)?
- Touch sensors: What it is, How it works, Arduino Guide
- Thermistors: NTC and PTC Thermistors Explained
Choosing a Development Platform
With all the development platforms on the market, it can be difficult to pick between different MCUs or SBCs. In each of these guides, you’ll be able to get a comprehensive breakdown of the most popular options in each category, their features and what they’re best used for!
Grove – An Easier Way to Learn Hardware
For a complete list of electronics development tools, be sure to check out our Electronics Workbench Essentials article!
On the other hand, you might know now that we’re a strong advocate of our Grove ecosystem. Grove is a modular and standardised connector prototyping system that takes a building block approach to assembling electronics. By eliminating the need for jumper wires or solder, you can get straight into hardware prototyping and programming without the hassles that plague traditional methods.
We’ve also developed a comprehensive Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino to make it even easier to learn electronics and programming without the fuss of complicated wiring. Learn about how this kit enables electronics learning and more in our resource roundup!
There are over 300 Grove modules available for a variety of purposes, including sensors, actuators, display and communication modules, all of which you can find here. No matter the project you are working on, there will definitely be a Grove module for you. Alternatively, check out the following selection guides to pick the best Grove module for your use case!
- Seeed Accelerometer Selection Guide
- Seeed Barometer Selection Guide
- Seeed Biomedicine Selection Guide
- Seeed Distance Selection Guide
- Seeed Gas Sensor Selection Guide
- Seeed Light Sensor Selection Guide
- Seeed Relay Selection Guide
- Seeed Sound Selection Guide
Software: Programming
In this section, you’ll find resources related to software, including how to get started with popular programming languages like Python (MicroPython) and C++ (Arduino), the popular Linux Operating System, and more programming and project tutorials!
Learn Programming
- Introduction to MicroPython – Python for Microcontrollers
- ArduPy vs CircuitPython – Which is Better for MicroPython Microcontroller Programming?
- How to run Python Programs on Raspberry Pi? – Beginner Tutorial
- Which Raspberry Pi Programming Language should you use in 2021? Comparison Guide
Linux Operating Systems
- Get Started with Linux
- Embedded Linux: A Beginner’s Guide
- Best Linux Distros 2021 for Beginners
- 28 Raspberry Pi Linux Commands: A Quick Guide to Use the Command Line for Raspberry Pi
More Tutorials
- Multitasking with Arduino – Millis(), RTOS & More!
- RTOS Basics: Getting Started with Microcontrollers
- Arduino Bootloader Programming – Getting Started with ARM Microcontrollers
- How To: 3 Methods to Configure Raspberry Pi WiFi
- How to build a Raspberry Pi 4 NAS Server? – Samba and OMV
- How to Build Your Own OpenWRT Router with an SBC
Understanding Industrial Trends & Case Studies
Industrial trends and use cases build off of foundational knowledge to solve problems in the real world. This section features trends, technologies, solutions and case studies to further deepen your understanding of IoT, its applications, and its significance!
Industrial IoT Solutions
- What is Industry 4.0? – Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- What is Industrial IoT? [Case Studies]
- 6 Core IoT Technologies that You Must Know!
- How Machine Learning has Transformed Industrial IoT
- Getting Started with Gas Sensors in Industrial IoT
- 9 Ways to Use Industrial IoT for Industrial Safety
- IoT Security: How to Protect your IoT Systems
- IoT in Smart Agriculture: LPWAN Technologies & Applications
Partner Solutions
- What You Need to Know About 11th Gen Intel Core Processors – Tiger Lake UP3 for IoT
- OpenVINO for Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake Processors
- A Look at the Intel vPro Platform for Edge Computing
Community Projects & Resources
In electronics, the best way to learn is still to get your hands dirty with a project and learn as you go! After all, you’ll find that most things that seem to work well in theory somehow face unexpected challenges when attempted in reality. To get yourself started, check out our resource roundups for each of our most popular development platforms, along with their community projects collections below!
- Wio Terminal [Resource Roundup | Community Projects]
- Seeeduino Xiao [Resource Roundup | Community Projects & 2021 Update]
- ODYSSEY x86J4105 [Resource Roundup]
More Resources
Finally, be sure to check out our other resource collections, which each do a comprehensive breakdown on their respective topics!
- Everything About TinyML – Basics, Courses, Projects & More!
- All You Need to Know About the Raspberry Pi RP2040 – Guides, Projects, Accessories & More!
- All about Embedded Systems and Embedded Computer: A Useful Cheatsheet you’ll need
- All the Types of Interfaces (Cables and Connectors) You Should Know About (2021 Updated)
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