Breadboards going bad

Nightblade

I bought a few breadboards from different places, and it seems that they all have some reliability issues. When I use my Propeller on the breadboards it sometimes loses power. I then move the exact same circuit to a different spot on the breadboard and it works. So far the breadboard I got with my Propeller Education Kit is the only one that has been 100% reliable. The others are from other manufacturers and seem flakey.

I am just wondering if breadboards are known for being unreliable and what do people normally use to prototype their projects if not breadboards? Are there certain breadboard manufacturers that are good? My Parallax one has been working so far but maybe I just haven't used it enough to wear it out yet!

Beau Schwabe

They do wear out, but usually it's because the wrong gauge wire is used and/or a piece of wire breaks off in one of the holes. 22 gauge solid wire is the proper size for most SBB's. What can happen if you use wire that is too big, is that you get spreading of the contacts over time, and they don't make a good solid connection. The reverse is also true, if you use wire gauge that is too small, then it may not make a proper connection to begin with. Usually I have found that to be the case with faulty/intermittent connections.

xanadu

I mark with a marker a grid of holes that I only put large conductors in like a voltage regulator. Then only use the marked holes for large stuff from there out. I also trim the ends off any leads that were on a sticky tape even if they seem clean.

Solid copper wire works the best, stranded is impossible lol. Tinned leads are a pain with breadboards too I hate it when they bend at the insulator. To save your breadboard from this kind of abuse you could make or buy some kind of adapter. I have a bunch of short gender changers the male fits in the breadboard well.

Someone should make a breadboard with those spring loaded female connectors that are usually on the back of small stereos for the speaker wires, and tie it in with a few rails. The copper conductor inside the breadboard can handle a little extra current, why not make it easier?

Or why not just make a breadboard with a set of larger holes in it for crying out loud... Use bigger rails too. Blinking 20ma LEDs are out haha.

Leon

I very rarely use them. I just make a PCB at home.

One supplier (I think it was Global Specialties) used to supply replacement contacts. They are still around:

http://www.globalspecialties.com/premium-prototyping-boards.html

Their breadboards were better quality than most. They don't seem to supply replacement contacts any more, though.

prof_braino

Nightblade wrote: »

.. move the exact same circuit to a different spot on the breadboard and it works.

Finger grease or other crud can contribute to this issue. I tend to wear latex glove when I touch the solderable bits of parts. That spray cleaner for electrical contacts (used to clean scratchy volume controls. etc) can help with some of that.

Where in Chicago are you? I'm on the north side.

Nightblade

I am thinking that I probably damaged the board by connecting some things with pins that are too large. I am using the right gauge wire, but I notice that some ICs really stick in the board. I basically have to pry the Propeller off one board. Also I think I fried some of my chips by wiring backwards.. oops

Leon: It is pretty cool that you can make your own PCB... I looked that up and read about it - maybe it would be easier for me to just design circuits on the computer.

prof_braino: I didn't think of that..good idea. one breadboard I was having problems has been in storage for a while so it probably has some dust in it. Another was new though. I live in NW Chicago, near Foster & Austin.

LoopyByteloose

If you have to push really hard to get something in, it is likely going to cause problems later.

If you have old breadboards, you can actually do a repair from the backside by swapping bad rows with spares from another board.

If you have regular 4 wire telephone house wiring wire, that is an excellent gauge of solid copper wire for the breadboad and easy to salvage in 4 wire colors. I think it is 22 or 24 gauge solid copper. LAN cable might work too, but being twisted pair it is a bit weird and curly - also harder to remove insulation.

One of the biggest competitors of the 24pin BasicStamp uses different pins are are too big. It won't even go into a 24 pin I/C socket.

Leon

Nightblade wrote: »

Leon: It is pretty cool that you can make your own PCB... I looked that up and read about it - maybe it would be easier for me to just design circuits on the computer..

Here is a thread of mine about how I make my PCBs:

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?137896-Making-PCBs-at-home

LoopyByteloose

One can actually take a long, full sized breadboard and cut it into smaller sections with a hacksaw, then clean up the cuts with an Xacto knife. It may sound extreme, but the results are pretty good and an option of what to do if a section is bad and others are good.

The hacksaw cuts through both the plastic and the metal. Just draw a nice straight line for it to follow.

I use a process for PCBs that is very similar to Leon's. Only an HP printer seems to work for me as their inkjet ink sticks to transparencies quite well. Laser printer transparencies may require that you print two and double up with them. Alignment can be a bit tricky.

I do all my drilling by hand with a Pin Vise as power drills tend to annoy me by skipping around and breaking drill bits. Just sit down in a sunny spot with a latte and a newspaper and drill each hole by hand.