💰 Revenue-First Electronics

6 projects. ~8 hours. The 30% of skills that yield 80-90% of monetizable capability.

Philosophy: Learning is a means to revenue, not the end. These projects build sellable confidence—not kit coverage. After completion, further learning is driven by product needs, not components sitting in a drawer.
0
Completed
6
Total Projects
~8h
Est. Time
1
LED + Resistor + Ohm's Law
⏱️ 45 min
Light LEDs without frying them. Calculate current-limiting resistor values using Ohm's Law. Read resistor color codes. Understand forward voltage drop.
Money Skill: Don't fry components. Calculate values correctly. Every LED product you ever ship depends on this.
Breadboard LEDs (any color) 220Ω Resistors Jumper Wires Multimeter
Skills Acquired
Ohm's Law (V=IR) LED Polarity Current Limiting Color Code Reading Multimeter Basics
2
Button + Pull-up + Debounce
⏱️ 45 min
Wire a button with proper pull-up/pull-down resistor. Understand floating pins. Implement software debouncing to eliminate phantom triggers.
Money Skill: Reliable user input. Every product with a button needs this. Bad debounce = customer returns.
Push Button 10kΩ Resistor LED Breadboard
Skills Acquired
Pull-up / Pull-down Floating Pin Problem Software Debounce Digital Input Reading
3
Potentiometer Voltage Divider
⏱️ 30 min
Use a potentiometer as a variable voltage divider. Understand how analog signals are scaled. Measure voltage at wiper with multimeter.
Money Skill: Foundation for any analog scaling—brightness control, gain adjustment, sensor calibration. Used constantly.
Potentiometer (10kΩ) LED Resistor Multimeter
Skills Acquired
Voltage Divider Formula Analog Signal Scaling Variable Resistance
4
PWM RGB LED Control (Non-Blocking)
⏱️ 2 hours
Control RGB LED color and brightness using PWM. Implement smooth color transitions. This is the direct conceptual foundation for WLED and addressable LED control.
⚠️ Critical Constraint: This project must simultaneously handle button input, PWM output, and ADC read with no delay() calls. All inputs and outputs must update concurrently. This forces event-loop thinking and real-world control architecture.
Money Skill: Smooth LED transitions + non-blocking timing discipline. Direct transfer to WLED/ESP32. Also applies to motor speed control, dimming, any analog-ish output from digital pins.
RGB LED 220Ω Resistors (×3) Potentiometer Push Button GPIO Board
Skills Acquired
PWM Duty Cycle RGB Color Mixing Non-Blocking Code Event Loop Architecture millis() Timing
5
ADC + Analog Input
⏱️ 2 hours
Use ADC module to read analog values. Understand resolution, sampling rate, and noise. Read from potentiometer and photoresistor. Map raw values to useful ranges.
Money Skill: Read real-world analog signals (sound, light, sensors). Required for any reactive product. Your sound-reactive desk organizer depends on this.
ADC Module Potentiometer Photoresistor 0.1µF Capacitor
Skills Acquired
I2C Protocol Basics ADC Resolution (10/12-bit) Value Mapping Noise Filtering Sensor Reading
6
DC Motor + H-Bridge + Power
⏱️ 2.5 hours
Control DC motor speed and direction using H-bridge driver IC. Handle back-EMF with flyback diodes. Use decoupling capacitors. Separate logic and motor power rails.
Money Skill: Real power handling and debugging. Back-EMF protection, decoupling caps, flyback diodes, separate power rails. These are the failure modes that kill projects and teach you to diagnose "why doesn't this work" in any circuit.
DC Motor Motor Driver IC 100µF Capacitor 0.1µF Capacitor Diodes Potentiometer
Skills Acquired
H-Bridge Operation Back-EMF Protection Flyback Diodes Decoupling Capacitors Power Rail Separation PWM Motor Control

✅ After These 6 Projects

You are equipped to ship, debug, or commission real electronics work. You understand power discipline, reliable input handling, analog scaling, PWM output, non-blocking timing, and real-world failure modes.

Any further learning is driven by product needs, not kits. The remaining ~200 components in your drawer are reference material, not curriculum. Pull them out when a paying project requires them.

Go build your desk organizer. Ship 50 units. Let the market teach you what to learn next.

📋 Full Component Inventory

Freenove Raspberry Pi Kit + Inland Starter Kit (~250 components)

S Essential - use constantly
A High value - frequent use
B Useful - occasional use
C Learn once, then drawer
D Niche - pull when needed
F Filler - skip unless paid

LEDs & Displays

  • S Red LED ×20 F×10, I×10
  • S Green LED ×14 F×4, I×10
  • S Blue LED ×14 F×4, I×10
  • S Yellow LED ×14 F×4, I×10
  • A RGB LED ×2 F×1, I×1
  • C LED Bar Graph ×1 F
  • C 7-Segment Display ×2 F×1, I×1
  • C 4-Digit 7-Segment ×2 F×1, I×1
  • F LED Matrix ×1 F
  • C LCD Module ×1 F

Resistors & Passives

  • S 220Ω Resistor ×30 F×20, I×10
  • S 1kΩ Resistor ×20 F×10, I×10
  • S 10kΩ Resistor ×20 F×10, I×10
  • A Potentiometer ×3 F
  • A 10kΩ Potentiometer ×1 I
  • S Capacitor 0.1µF Ceramic ×12 F×2, I×10
  • B Capacitor 0.01µF Ceramic ×10 I
  • B Capacitor 10µF ×2 F
  • A Capacitor 100µF Electrolytic ×5 I
  • D Thermistor ×1 F
  • B Photoresistor ×3 F×1, I×2

Buttons & Switches

  • S Push Button ×6 F
  • A Big Push Button ×4 F
  • A Large Button Switch ×4 I
  • B Red Push Button Cap ×1 F
  • B Green Push Button Cap ×1 F
  • B Blue Push Button Cap ×1 F
  • B Yellow Push Button Cap ×1 F
  • B Switch ×2 F
  • F Vibration Switch ×1 F
  • F Ball Tilt Sensor ×2 I
  • F Keypad ×1 F
  • F Joystick Module ×1 F

Diodes & Transistors

  • A Rectifier Diode ×2 F
  • A Switching Diode ×2 F
  • B NPN Transistor ×2 F
  • B PNP Transistor ×6 F

Power & Audio

  • B 2×AA Battery Holder ×1 F
  • B 9V Battery Cable ×1 F
  • A Breadboard Power Module ×1 F
  • C Active Buzzer ×3 F×2, I×1
  • C Passive Buzzer ×2 F×1, I×1

Motors & Drivers

  • C DC Motor ×1 F
  • C Servo Motor ×1 F
  • C 9g Servo Motor ×1 I
  • D Stepper Motor ×1 F
  • D Stepper Motor Driver ×1 F
  • C Motor Driver IC ×1 F
  • C Relay ×1 F

Sensors & Modules

  • D Temp & Humidity Sensor ×1 F
  • D LM35 Temperature Sensor ×1 I
  • F Flame Sensor ×1 I
  • D PIR Motion Sensor ×1 F
  • F Ultrasonic Module ×1 F
  • F Accelerometer Module ×1 F
  • A ADC Module ×1 F
  • A GPIO Expansion Board ×1 F

ICs & Interface

  • C 74HC595N Shift Register ×4 F×3, I×1

Prototyping & Cables

  • S Project Board (Breadboard) ×1 F
  • S 830-Pin Breadboard ×1 I
  • B General Prototype Board ×3 F
  • A 40-Pin GPIO Cable ×1 F
  • A 40-Pin Male Header ×1 F
  • A 40-Pin Female Header ×1 F
  • A Pin Headers ×40 I
  • S Jumper Wires M-M (65 pcs) ×1 F
  • S Jumper Wires F-F (10 pcs) ×1 F
  • S Jumper Wires F-M (10 pcs) ×1 F
  • A Dupont Connector Wires ×1 I

Mounting & Storage

  • B Acrylic Mounting Plate ×1 I
  • B Mounting Hardware ×1 set I
  • A Parts Box ×1 I
  • A Plastic Storage Box ×1 F
  • S Resistor Color Code Card ×1 F
F = Freenove I = Inland

📦 Component Value Assessment

🟢 Worth Long-Term Investment

  • Resistor assortment (220Ω, 1K, 10K)
  • Capacitors (0.1µF ceramic, 100µF electrolytic)
  • Breadboards
  • Jumper wires
  • Potentiometers
  • Push buttons
  • LEDs (basic colors)
  • Diodes (rectifier, flyback)

🟡 Learn Once, Then Drawer

  • 74HC595 shift register
  • Motor driver IC
  • Relay module
  • 7-segment displays
  • Servo motors
  • LCD module

🔴 True Kit Filler

  • LED matrix (WS2812 is better)
  • Keypad
  • Ultrasonic sensor
  • PIR sensor
  • Flame sensor
  • Ball tilt sensor
  • Vibration switch
  • Stepper motor
  • Accelerometer
  • Joystick module