Breadboards (And how to easily use them)

[slacker]

I don't do layouts when breadboarding, and if I did you definitely wouldn't want to see them, mine are always a mess.



I normally start by putting the first transistor or opamp somewhere near the centre of the board. Then I just work outwards from there.
Just start with something simple and take your time and you should be able to figure it out.

[8mileshigh]

For those who are just starting with breadboards, I have found it much easier to work from schematics than layouts.  Just follow the schem and plug in components as required as Doug suggests.  My Kay Fuzztone is still on my breadboard and I consider it a luxury to be able to swap parts on the fly.  

Chris

[dano12]

Hey Dano, how's your MFOS sub commander coming along?

It sits, 70% completed, on a corner of the bench. Like the fat kid waiting to be picked for soccer.

[StephenGiles]

You guys are actually drawing up layouts for how arrange components on a breadboard for experimenting?

Yes, it's called a schematic.   

or if you live in England - a circuit!!!

[kismet78]

I've found out that having more than one breadboard is also essential. Even if you're only working on one project. It helps when you want to breadboard multiple variations of different stages, tone controls, etc.

I've just started clipping my leads short too. It helps keep things neater if you don't have a million resistors swaying in the breeze an inch above the board. And because I started dong this I also started using hemostats to install/remove flush parts in tight spaces. No more stubby fingers trying to pry out a component and knocking all the surrounding components out.

[Baktown]

When I first started this hobby last year, I bought a decent breadboard from Radio Shack, along with a nice set of color coded jumpers, but I would get frustrated trying to prototype even the most simple circuits, so I put it away and went straight to soldering stripboards.  As you can imagine, I now have quite a collection of non working stripboards....

I've now decided that learning to use my breadboard is essential, so I'm asking these questions of more experienced and knowledgable builders.

Rock on!

Rick

[DougH]

The place to really start is to learn how to read a schematic, that's the first step. Once you do that, it's easy to translate it to a breadboard. After that it's not too hard to translate it to a perfboard or PCB. Then you'll find that other people's layouts have less value, because it's easy enough to do it yourself. The schematic is the thing- really.

[ConanB]

When I first started this hobby last year, I bought a decent breadboard from Radio Shack, along with a nice set of color coded jumpers, but I would get frustrated trying to prototype even the most simple circuits, so I put it away and went straight to soldering stripboards.  As you can imagine, I now have quite a collection of non working stripboards....

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Originally bought a breadboard with the intent of testing out everything before I soldered anything but ended up just soldering together stripboards. A couple working pedals and a few duds latter and I'm finally trying to prototype a fuzz on the board, hoping that this way I might be able to tweak things to get the sound I want instead of building something and finding out it isn't the sound I was after.

[antojado]

The place to really start is to learn how to read a schematic, that's the first step. Once you do that, it's easy to translate it to a breadboard. After that it's not too hard to translate it to a perfboard or PCB. Then you'll find that other people's layouts have less value, because it's easy enough to do it yourself. The schematic is the thing- really.

I think something that really helps when learning how to read a schematic is to get a layout and trace it using the schematic. Follow the connections on the layout with those on the schematic and note how things are connected. The breadboard is a tool for getting things to a working point for testing and fiddling and once you have that then you can do a layout for the final circuit board. Like Doug said, if there is a 'layout' for the breadboard, it's the schematic.

[Baktown]

It's good to know I'm not the only person here who has frustrations (not that I wish frustration on anybody!) with this hobby.

There are a lot of really smart people here who give freely of their knowledge, which is greatly appreciated, but I get a little envious sometimes of how easy things seem to be to them.  Then I stop and realize that they've worked long and hard to acquire that knowledge, and that I need to be patient and keep slogging forward.

I wish I had something to give back to the DIY community here, but I doubt if anyone has much interest in my area of expertise, which is drilling and producing oil wells (please don't blame me for the high price of gasoline or petrol).  I just produce the stuff, I don't set the prices...

Rock on!

Rick J

[ConanB]

I wish I had something to give back to the DIY community here, but I doubt if anyone has much interest in my area of expertise, which is drilling and producing oil wells (please don't blame me for the high price of gasoline or petrol).  I just produce the stuff, I don't set the prices...

I'm hoping in time I will eventually have something to give back, but for now I'd say we're both just the "newbies" learning as much as we can from the more experienced in the field.

I'd like to eventually get into the digital FX since my programming background could be of some use there, but for now tinkering with analog on a breaboard will do

One thing I may suggest is throwing together your breadbaord on some sort of "prototype" setup.
I based mine off Paul M's...



I've put together a voltage divider that I mean to stick onto this somewhere along with a DC jack and hopefully the whole setup will help me when trying to divise interesting sounds.

[antojado]

It's good to know I'm not the only person here who has frustrations (not that I wish frustration on anybody!) with this hobby.

There are a lot of really smart people here who give freely of their knowledge, which is greatly appreciated, but I get a little envious sometimes of how easy things seem to be to them.  Then I stop and realize that they've worked long and hard to acquire that knowledge, and that I need to be patient and keep slogging forward.

I wish I had something to give back to the DIY community here, but I doubt if anyone has much interest in my area of expertise, which is drilling and producing oil wells (please don't blame me for the high price of gasoline or petrol).  I just produce the stuff, I don't set the prices...

Rock on!

Rick J

You give back something everytime one of us ques up outside the local pump!
I live in Santa Maria, which is also an oil town and I've done work over in Bakerfield with some of the oil companies. What's really funny are the wells right in the middle of town in parking lots and stuff! Do you work over the Kern River area?

The tough part about helping others to learn is that sometimes people forget what it was like to be at that stage and how what seems so simple to them isn't to someone else. I teach geometry at a local JC and although math isn't my normal vocation (structural engineering is) I find it faily easy and it's really a challange to slow down and help others to grasp what I think are simple concepts. I think what was said about getting down how to read a schematic is key. With the layouts that are available online for effect circuits, it's easy to skip over that part or learn only part of it, but if you really want to understand what's going on spend sometime learning what the schematic is telling you. Also, like I said earlier, try tracing some layouts that others have done with the schematic. It helped me anyway.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I have always done much better with soldering to strip board, because when I use a breadboard stuff falls out, or I knock it over.
(I drop & knock over the stripboard protos too, but being soldered, they are OK!)
But many, many people are happy with breadboards, so good luck to them.
If you are stripboarding, please make one of those pot & socket holding rails like ConanB. Otherwise the wires will fall out while you are tweaking & you will be very unhappy.

[tonefreak]

Breadboards are my best friend.  Like many have stated before me, it serves both as a proof of concept and convenient tool for experimentation.  Once you get the hang of it, you just start putting together circuits in no time... huge time saver for me and I can recycle the parts.

[bean]

Here's my board

I use it constantly...much more than actually soldering Having three or four linked together and plenty of jumper wire lets you keep your board pretty clean. I also keep a little plastic organizer just for breadboard components.

It's just takes time and practice...there's no shortcut.

[Baktown]

That is really cool!

This is what I need to do, make something functional AND fun!

Rick

[earthtonesaudio]

One caveat about breadboards... don't try to prototype radio frequency stuff like Theremins with them.  The main thing that gets you is the long leads on resistors and capacitors (extra inductance), but there's also capacitance of the breadboard itself. 

But not-too-critical audio frequency stuff is just fine, though sometimes the breadboard takes away a little of the high frequencies.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Those prototype pot panels - if you put whiteboard adhesive film on the front, you can keep track of the knobs!

[greigoroth]

Here's my board

I use it constantly...much more than actually soldering Having three or four linked together and plenty of jumper wire lets you keep your board pretty clean. I also keep a little plastic organizer just for breadboard components.

It's just takes time and practice...there's no shortcut.

MB that is freaking great!