Read datasheets and schematics lesson plan
The skill every hardware job asks for: schematic symbols, a first page, absolute maximum ratings, timing diagrams, register maps and pinouts, each checked on real parts. Ends with a sensor brought up from its datasheet alone.
Objectives and materials
By the end, students can
- Schematic symbols, and what page one of a datasheet tells you.
- The numbers that keep a part alive, and the diagrams that say when.
- Register maps, pinouts and packages, mapped onto real hardware.
- A new sensor brought up from nothing but its datasheet.
Materials for the whole unit
- 74HC595 shift register
- Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050
- Ambient light, VEML7700
- Arduino Uno R3
- BMP180 pressure sensor
- Capacitor
- Full-size breadboard
- Half breadboard
- LED x 8
- Pushbutton
- Resistor x 8
- Temperature sensor, TMP117
- Transistor (NPN or PNP)
Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too.
Read the drawings
Schematic symbols, and what page one of a datasheet tells you.
| Lesson | Time | What students do |
|---|---|---|
| Schematic symbolsResistor, capacitor, diode, LED, transistor, rails, ground, nets and junctions: read a real schematic, find every symbol on the breadboard, and probe each part to prove it. | 55 min |
|
| Reading a datasheet's first pageThe BMP180 barometer against the first page of its own datasheet: what the part is, the supply range, the interface and address, the block diagram and the modes, each checked on the bus. | 50 min |
|
Materials
- Arduino Uno R3
- BMP180 pressure sensor
- Capacitor
- Full-size breadboard
- Half breadboard
- LED
- Resistor x 2
- Transistor (NPN or PNP)
Check for understanding
Each student finishes "Reading a datasheet's first page" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go.
Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "What to read next".
Limits and timing
The numbers that keep a part alive, and the diagrams that say when.
| Lesson | Time | What students do |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute maximum ratingsAbsolute maximum against recommended operating conditions: an LED and an ATmega328P pin, a resistor chosen from the numbers, a pin budget, and one LED burnt out on purpose. | 55 min |
|
| Timing diagramsA 74HC595 driven bit by bit from its timing diagram: data set up before each rising clock, a latch that moves eight bits at once, a byte in the order the diagram says, and a setup violation on purpose. | 50 min |
|
Materials
- 74HC595 shift register
- Arduino Uno R3
- Full-size breadboard
- LED x 8
- Pushbutton
- Resistor x 8
Check for understanding
Each student finishes "Timing diagrams" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go.
Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Break the setup time".
Registers and pins
Register maps, pinouts and packages, mapped onto real hardware.
| Lesson | Time | What students do |
|---|---|---|
| Register mapsAn MPU-6050 by its register map: WHO_AM_I first, the reset value that leaves it asleep, a read-modify-write, a two-bit field, a signed 16-bit reading high byte first, and a read-only register. | 50 min |
|
| Pinouts and footprintsPin 1 markers and counting round a DIP, package names from DIP to QFN, a 74HC595 pin table mapped to breadboard holes with two pins left to wire, and the ATmega328P under the Uno. | 50 min |
|
Materials
- 74HC595 shift register
- Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050
- Arduino Uno R3
- Full-size breadboard
- Half breadboard
- LED x 8
- Resistor x 8
Check for understanding
Each student finishes "Pinouts and footprints" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go.
Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "The chip under the Uno".
Boss
A new sensor brought up from nothing but its datasheet.
| Lesson | Time | What students do |
|---|---|---|
| Boss: bring up a new sensorA TMP117 temperature sensor with nothing but its datasheet: find the address, prove the identity, write a configuration word for 125 ms conversions, and turn counts into degrees. | 55 min |
|
Materials
- Ambient light, VEML7700
- Arduino Uno R3
- Temperature sensor, TMP117
Check for understanding
Each student finishes "Boss: bring up a new sensor" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 7 of its 7 steps as they go.
Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Your bring-up checklist".
Teach this unit as a class
Start a class from this course and its 7 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you.
The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way.