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Breadboards are coming my way - TIPS
4) Break your circuit down into sections and buildThis is a variation of the tip I offered when you first started. make smaller boards as plug and play units. you can put an op-amp on a board with all the supporting pots and whatever and then only have a few leads to deal with. there are certain circuits you use over and over, so making them as plug in modules makes things much easier later. a couple notes on that. you can buy individual recpticles for resistors ends. that way, you can swap out resistors much easier. cutting apart an chip socket yields similar plugs, but the holes are usually too large for resistors. using a 90 deg single row header allows you to plug your board into your prototype board in an end-on fashion. saves space. Also, as you build, some circuits will act funny. proto boards are notorious for poor connections. And if you have a circuit you need to isolate, either because it makes too much noise, or it is too suseptable to noise, you can put that on a smaller board. Another possibility is to put 2 rows of 25 sq pin headers on opposite sides of the board (for stability) and in your final project, you can plug that section in as a daughter card. or optional feature. Dave |
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Wow,
Keep these tips and pointer coming! I need all the help I can get to work with them (I don't like using them). What is helping... Modules when I can. I am making them up as I need them. Slows down the process overall, but much better in the long run. Taking a bit more time on checking/rechecking, double checking etc. It's so easy to get messed up with a lot of wires and ICs. What I have trouble with... Loops on wires - I am getting to be a Klutz! Which is a very bad thing considering what I do for a living! It seems as though if there is a wire with a loop, or even a component with leads long enough that can catch on something, it will! All it takes is one catch and I have a mess to deal with - very, VERY frustrating. Keeping component lead from shorting out against other components and leads. I suspect that two things will help here. 1) Bigger boards allow for more room between components 2) Triming the leads of resistors, leds, caps, etc. before placing on the breadboard. Right now I use them with stock lead lengths. Fat fingers and pushing in those tiny wires - so often a wire or lead would rather bend over than go into the hole. Then there is the problem of getting the fingers down in-between the components to push in the wires and leads - I think I need to work more with needle nose pliers and perhaps a larger board will give me a bit more finger room. Working backwards after the changes and taking the prototype from the bread board and re-creating a circuit for the final build. I screwed up big time on the last two attempts at this. To help with that, this time I am working from a layout that is "ready for printing". Then, hopefully with a bit of dicipline, as I make changes on the breadboard, I will also change the layout in the software. I am sure there are many other frustrations too that I have experienced, but will try to remember them as I go along. You guys have all done this so many times, I am sure all the hassels I have you have already solved many times over :-) Chris |
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Stefan Trethan
On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:53:12 +0200, lcdpublishing <lcdpublishing@...> wrote:
I'm always outright amazed how little problems i have with all those blank leads in easy touching distance. In the beginning i slid pieces of wire insulation over the leads, somewhat color coded for resistor value (e.g. orange for 10k, red for 1k, yellow for 100k), but now i just don't bother not having had any real problem with it. What helps with the "fat fingers" is to make meter probes that are stiff and a little longer, so you can "poke them in" through the ratsnest from above the mess. those probes are what i need to move most often so it pays to have them easy to handle. I would expect tweezers could help also. Most annoying is when those boards get old and the springs get tired and intermittent. I gather 3M made/makes boards with some warranty for that, not sure... ST |
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Daniel Nicoson
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI use a pair of small needle nose pliers that are spring loaded open.? They are my fingers for moving everything. ? Even when I¡¯m on a roll, thinking I¡¯ve got the circuit fully worked out in my head, I force myself to create a complete schematic before starting at the breadboard.? It¡¯s amazing what you realize needs to be considered as you work through the schematic. ? Then as I build the circuit on the breadboard, I have a print out of the schematic laying right on the work space.? As I change a resistor value etc I can note the change right then with a pen, takes no time.? Then before finishing the work session I update the schematic file on the computer.? All my schematic files start with that day¡¯s date.? That way I can always go back to the previous schematic if I have a real problem.? This makes for a lot of schematic files but hard disk space is cheap.? ? I also try to make some basic notes on the day¡¯s work session.? Primarily this is to record my mind-set for the day¡¯s work session.? What did I think I was doing, what did I learn, what were my reasons for a particular change.? That has been helpful when I come back to a project after a long period of time. ? I do check the value of every resistor and cap with my multi-meter before I insert it into the breadboard.? Sounds slow and it is, but I am always sure what is going on with this method. The color codes on many of the resistors I use don¡¯t seem to be easily read anyway, so this insures accuracy. ? Just some thoughts. ? Dan Nicoson ? -----Original
Message----- ? Wow, |
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-----Message d'origine-----... I use stock leads until I determine the proper component. Once I establish the value, I trim the leads and try to keep it just above the breadboard, less risk of screw-ups. I used to keep stock leads all the time, but lately I've learned that trimming is VERY useful. Fat fingers and pushing in those tiny wires - so often a wire orI can't tell you exactly what gauge wire I use, but it is stiff enough to stand on end and keep 'bends' easily. I buy it in multi-wire cables, strip the cover with an exacto and yank out the different colour-coded single-strand wires. I cut 10 feet lengths and roll them into little balls, when I run out of one colour I cut another length. Working backwards after the changes and taking the prototype fromI try to keep several 'versions' of a working circuit; schematic in QCAD, a breadboard and an actual complete PCB if possible. Robert :) |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýIn a message dated 4/28/2006 8:49:11 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
dave_mucha@... writes:
proto boards are notorious for poor connections.<< I would have thought so, after the first few years of using
several.? But in 30+ years using the "breadboard socket things", I have
NEVER experienced a bad connection nor a "short" inside the socket!? And I
have BAD luck, so they MUST be built right!?
?
I also TRY to always use bright-tinned wire, not "bare
copper".?
? |