Skip to content
Sign in
Theme

Beginner path

Start with embedded systems

Ten short lessons in order. Each one explains one idea in plain words, checks it with a few questions, and ends with a small project to build on a real board. Nothing here needs more than a cheap development board, a breadboard and a handful of parts.

The lessons are free to read. Sign in to answer the questions, so your answers count towards your level. Sign in

  1. 1What a microcontroller isThe one chip that runs your program, and where the program and its variables live.3 questions, project: Blink the on-board LED
  2. 2Your first output: an LED and a resistorOhm's law, what a GPIO pin can drive, and why every LED needs a series resistor.3 questions, project: Traffic light on a breadboard
  3. 3Reading a buttonFloating inputs, pull-up resistors and why one press can look like ten.4 questions, project: Button counter with debounce
  4. 4C for microcontrollers: bits and registersSet, clear, toggle and test single bits, because that is how every peripheral is configured.4 questions, project: Binary counter on LEDs
  5. 5Time: delays, timers and PWMWhy busy loops are a trap, how a hardware timer counts, and how PWM dims an LED.3 questions, project: Breathing LED and a servo
  6. 6Talking to your computer: UARTThe serial port, the one tool you will use on every project from now on.3 questions, project: Serial monitor and a command line
  7. 7Reading the real world: ADC and sensorsTurn a voltage into a number, and turn a resistor that changes with temperature into a voltage.3 questions, project: Night light with a knob
  8. 8Talking to other chips: I2C and SPIThe two buses that connect sensors, displays and memories to your MCU.4 questions, project: Read a real sensor over I2C
  9. 9Interrupts: reacting without waitingLet the hardware call your function when something happens, and the rules that keep that safe.4 questions, project: Button interrupt and a reaction timer
  10. 10Debugging, datasheets and staying safeThe debugger, the two datasheet tables that matter, and the capacitor that stops random resets.4 questions, project: First complete device: a small weather station

After the ten lessons

Take the level test to see where you stand, then continue on the learning path, which covers every topic from the basics to interview level.