Tech Explorations Guides

Free guides to help you get started with technologies like
the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Altair Embed,
KiCad, ESP32, and the Oscilloscope.

Each guide consist of a series of pages that you can read right now in your browser.

If you want to ask a question, please feel free to use the discussion tool at the bottom of each guide page.

Our guides:

Beginning Arduino

Perfect for people new to the Arduino. 


This guide will give you everything you need to get your first sketch uploaded to your new Arduino.


Learn about the Arduino "origin" story, the various boards with this name, peripherals and components, programming, and libraries.

Arduino Sensors

If you have the basics, this guide will teach you how to use simple sensors with your Arduino.


In the tutorials in this series, you will learn how to use an LED and a button, and then go straight into learning how to use several popular and very useful sensors. 


By the time you complete these 11 experiments, you'll have a good beginner-level understanding of Arduino programming and components.

Beginning Raspberry Pi

Want to experiment with this super-popular microcomputer?


This is where you can start. 


This free guide will teach you how to setup your Raspberry Pi with an operating system, and use the Python programming language to work with simple components like lights, buttons and digital sensors.

Beginning KiCad

When you are ready to move your breadboard project to something more permanent and refined, you will need to design a custom printed circuit board (PCB).


This guide will help you with your first steps of printed circuit design using KiCad, the world's favorite open-source computer aided design program for PCBs.

Beginning ESP32

The ESP32 is a powerful micro-controller, at a low cost.


You can depend on your existing Arduino knowledge and use the ESP32 anywhere you would use an Arduino.


This guide will help you get started with the ESP32.

Unleashing ESP32

What's the best way to learn? With a project, of course!


In ESP32: Unleashed, you will learn how to use the ESP32, PlatformIO and VS Code to build an IoT gadget filled with featured.


This free guide will show you how to get started in this project.

Node-RED & ESP32 project

This course will guide you through the construction of an automated control system. The deliverable is a Terrarium controller.

Along the way, you will learn a great deal about useful technologies such as the Node Red programming environment and MQTT.

Learn how to use an oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is a test instrument that displays a waveform of voltage as it changes over time. 


After the multimeter, it’s probably the instrument that most people that work with electronic circuits acquire, in one of its various forms.


With the help of this free guide you will learn about the fundamentals of this amazing instrument, including its basic functions, controls, and probes.

Program the Arduino with Altair Embed

Altair Embed is an integrated development environment from Altair.


With Embed, you can develop firmware for embedded systems. Instead of text (as in traditional programming languages), you compose your program using a visual language to create a graphical model.


Embed can automatically generate executable code from your graphical block diagram (the "model") and upload it to your Arduino, or any of the many supported controller hardware.


Get started with model development with Altair Embed with this guide.

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