Adafruit Daily

Electronics

2025

May

21

LED overload? Psst. I’ll let you in on a secret.

14

Long live labels!

07

Counting Pin Numbers

April

30

Get Oriented!

23

Breadboard Capacitance

16

Hummm… 60Hz noise in your amplifier driving you nuts?

09

Get the scoop on crystal capacitors

02

Even lower power!

March

26

Test for interference on the cheap!

19

Function Generator Marketing

12

Oscilloscope Bandwidth

05

Disable unused channels!

February

26

Ew! Sticky!

19

Got flux?

12

SMT Tip

05

Why is my battery dead? – I haven’t even been using it!

January

29

SMT Tip – Stop moving around!

22

Lower power!

15

Low power?

08

Level Conversion Hack

01

Tristates!

2024

December

25

Servo Pulses

18

Heatsinks aren’t enough!

11

Crouching LED, Hidden Photodiode

04

Are you grounded?

November

27

Probe Compensation

20

Aliasing is ugly!

13

I touched my circuit, and now it glitches!

06

Oscilloscope Jumble

October

30

Trigger happy oscilloscope?

23

Alternate Triggering

16

I touched my glitchy circuit, and now it works!

09

My signal isn’t THAT noisy, is it?

02

When do I use X10?

September

25

When do I use X1?

18

Wipe your iron!

11

Autoscale is cheating!

04

Function Generator Outputs

August

28

Watch that ground clip!

21

Have any spare fuses?

14

Diode Test Current

07

Too much noise?

July

31

Multimeter Capacitance Measurement

24

Protect your multimeter!

17

Multimeter Peaks

10

Multimeter Bandwidth – AC Signal

03

Keep track of those rails!

June

26

Soldering Pointer!

19

LED Basics!

12

Tactile Confusion?

05

Desolder with… more solder!

May

29

The advantage of ‘Rail to rail’ op amps!

22

When is a via not a via?

15

If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.

08

Steady Headers

01

Sizzlin’ Chip Test

April

24

The Case Of The Disappearing Capacitance

17

Build It!

10

Probe Currents!

03

Simulate It!

March

27

The Glitchy Switch

20

Footprint Fail!

13

Free Heatsink!

06

USB Powered Mayhem!

February

28

Is your op amp going crazy?

21

Electrolytic Limitations

14

To Y5V or not to Y5V?

07

Have you met Charlie?

January

31

Inadequate volt signal

24

Diode-less MOSFET?

17

My MOSFET has parasites!?

10

1 Wire Woes

03

Beware expanding LiPos!

2023

December

27

Tricky Diode Vf

20

Diode Vf vs Voltage

13

Free ICs!

06

To shield or not to shield?

November

29

What the mF?!

22

Logic Analyzers On The Cheap

15

Print your PCB!

08

Design for test!

01

1k1? 4R7? Whaaa?

October

25

Never Get Lazy With Decoupling Capacitors

18

Spit in your eye

11

Proceed with caution

04

Linear Love

September

27

Trouble with LM741

20

Turn the heat up! when unleaded

13

The deets on Electret Microphones

06

Through Hole SMD

August

30

Switch Mode Power

23

Can’t afford a current probe?

16

Nasty fumes

09

Calc that whip!

02

Lead-free Soldering Temperature

July

26

Connect your grounds!

19

Transformers: More than meets the eye!

12

Motor interference

05

Higher isn’t always better

June

28

Stay disciplined with ERC

21

It sure is crowded in here.

14

Watch the gate voltage!

07

Meaningful gains

May

31

Capacitor ESR

24

Potentiometer conventions

17

N vs P!

10

Ground connections cooler via more vias

03

LED colors: what they tell you

April

26

Look to ferrites (no, not ferrets, the European polecat) when faced with high frequency

19

DRC Confusion

12

Lazy Libraries

05

Resistors are inductors?!

March

29

Copper keepout!

22

Audio amplifier advice

15

Lost signal? Have no fear!

08

You’ve got the power! (right?)

01

This tip’s a real circuit slugger

February

22

The 411 on 555s

15

Stay current with sourcing and sinking

08

Code like everyone’s watching

01

Shift away from basic arithmetic

January

25

Check out this shorthand shortcut

18

Keep this in mind when working on project layout

11

Working with sensitive circuits?

04

Diamonds may be forever… but components? Not so much.

2022

December

28

Must read MOSFET material

21

Cool your FETs!

14

What’s in a diode?

07

Have the need for speed? This diode might be right for you

November

30

Storage Safety 101

23

Solder braid quick fix

16

Let us clear up your aluminum confusion

09

Voltage drop from cables

02

Zener voltage

October

26

Fuse Safety

19

Dream big, start small

12

Hi-res mode for the (detailed) win!

05

Avoid serial confusion!

September

28

= != ==.

21

When to opt for alkaline batteries

14

How to make your LiPo long-lasting

07

Emergency ferrite

August

31

1, 2, 3, Freeze!

24

Help yourself with helping hands

17

Signature required?

10

Current limiting!

03

Solder isn’t everything.

July

27

Schottky power!

20

Electrical Tape and PVC Glue to the Rescue!

13

Relieve Strain with Hot Glue

06

Capacitor Polarity Markers

June

29

Damp Sponge vs Drenched Sponge

February

02

Don’t blow it with your microcontroller

January

26

Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your semiconductor is DOA

19

How to make your own magnetic field probe!

12

High voltage logic

05

Lithium chemistries

2021

December

22

A short lesson in RF protection

15

A way around surface mount snags

08

A few words on inductor resistance

01

Probes aren’t perfect!

November

24

Invisible Bugs

17

Designing a PCB?

10

Don’t float!

03

Blown transistor?