Before You start- Mastering Microcontroller Concepts
This topic is designed to help you master core microcontroller concepts such as GPIO, ADC, Timers, PWM, UART, SPI, I2C, and more.
These foundational concepts are consistent across both 8-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers, so once you gain expertise here, adapting to any microcontroller becomes significantly easier.
Each question and task is rooted in real-world scenarios, crafted to deepen your understanding and practical application of these concepts.
All exercises have been thoughtfully developed by industry experts, drawing on real challenges, insights, and years of hands-on experience. The aim is to help you think and debug like a true embedded developer.
You can practice using any 8-bit or 32-bit microcontroller of your choice. We recommend starting with any of the following options:
You are free to choose the microcontroller you’re comfortable with — the focus is on mastering the Controller concepts.
Before start
To get the most out of this topic, you should know:
Basic C Programming: Good understanding of C Coding, writing, Functions, loops, conditionals, arrays, and bitwise operations.
If you’re a beginner, we recommend completing 50+ problems in EWskills’ Embedded C section before starting. This will help you code confidently and focus on the core microcontroller concepts.
Digital Electronics Basics: Good understanding of Logic levels, LEDs, buttons, and pull-up/pull-down concepts, binary, hex, and bit-level operations
Basic Ideas about Microcontroller: If you are an absolute beginner, we recommend that you to start with these controller guides on ElectronicWings.
We recommend selecting an AVR or PIC controller to learn register-level programming. Use (EWskills + ElectronicWings) while practicing.
- AVR ATmega Controller
- PIC Controllers
- ARM7- ARM Controller
- Arduino
- ESP32
Tools Required
Getting hands-on is the most crucial part of practice. We’ve carefully designed the tasks to require minimal and affordable hardware. You can find this locally costing around $40 USD (approx. ₹3000) — a worthwhile investment for building real embedded skills.
Recommended Hardware
To download the list: click here
How to Practice
You can refer to the quick guides for concept refreshers, but true learning happens when you solve the problems yourself.
Each question has learning, the purpose of the question is not to test your knowledge but to teach you concepts in a practical way. Every question, task will strengthen your understanding.
What You’ll Learn
It will help you to gain a deep understanding of the following concepts
| Concepts | Key Concepts Covered |
|---|---|
| GPIO | Source/Sink current limits, High Input impedance state, Voltage levels (min, max) & state detection, Pull-Up/Pull-Down usage, GPIO precautions & safety, GPIO damage cases, Input debouncing, GPIO programming cases, Usage & applications |
| PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) | Duty cycle, PWM frequency, PWM resolution, Flickering, Efficiency, Programming & calculations, Practical usage & applications |
| ADC | Sampling rate, ADC channels, Resolution, Calculations, Reference voltage, Accuracy, Programming |
| EEPROM | Usage, Precautions, Programming, Write/Erase limits, Real-world use cases |
| SPI | SPI pins, Connections, Modes, Timing diagram, Communication flow, Data transfer, Multi-slave, Multi-master setup, Programming, Real-world use cases |
| I2C | I2C pins, Connections, Communication flow, Timing diagram, Data frame, Pull-up resistors, I2C modes, Addressing, Clock stretching, Voltage mismatch, Arbitration, Programming, Multi-slave/Multi-master, Real-world use cases |
| Interrupt | Interrupt types, Sources, ISR, Priority handling, Interrupt Vector Table (IVT), Nesting, Race conditions, Volatile keyword, Latency, Programming, Real-world use cases |
| UART | UART pins, Connections, Baud rate, Frame structure, Flow control, Logic levels, Parity, Start/Stop bits, Programming, RS-232, Real-world use cases |
| Sleep Modes | Sleep types, Wake-up sources, Use cases, Battery life calculations, Power-saving techniques, Programming |
| Microcontroller Timer | Timer modes, Crystal oscillator, Prescaler, Counter, Input capture, Compare, CTC, PWM, One-pulse mode, Programming, Applications, Real-world use cases |
| Watchdog Timer | Use cases, Applications, Configuration, Precautions, Operating modes, Real-world use cases |
| DAC | DAC types, Resolution, Sampling rate, Settling time, Linearity, Calculations, DAC vs PWM, Applications, Real-world use cases |
The goal is to help you think practically like an embedded developer.
Mastering microcontroller Concepts is a powerful step toward mastering embedded systems.
This practice will help you think practically and build the confidence to solve problems like a professional embedded developer.
Let’s build! 🚀