CAN-BUS Shield

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

GPS

The US satellite navigation system used by GNSS receivers to calculate position and time. Support for GPS is important because it is widely available and often used together with other constellations for more reliable positioning.

LCD

LCD stands for liquid crystal display, a screen technology that uses a backlight and liquid crystals to show images or text. It matters because LCD modules usually need a display driver and enough controller pins or a bus interface to send image data.

LED

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a small electronic component that emits light when current flows through it in the correct direction. Because it only conducts one way, its polarity matters, and a through-hole LED must be soldered the correct way around to light up.

reverse polarity protection

A circuit feature that helps protect the board if power is connected the wrong way around. It matters because it can reduce the chance of damaging the breakout during wiring mistakes, especially in classroom or prototyping use.

Shield

An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.

SPI

A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.