Dollar Solderless Breadboards
erco
Posts: 20,256
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIJOUXCASA-SOLDERLESS-BREADBOARD-170-TIE-POINTS-FOR-ARDUINO-SHIELD-CL-0151-/121117932662?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3330fc76 99 cents, free shipping!
I ordered three to try. Same size and 17x10 grid as used on the BoE/HW boards, in random colors. For a buck, it might make sense on some projects to just build "permanently" on these and throw them in a project box. But maybe not for mission critical, outdoor/humid/corrosive environments.
Next goal is to find a matching plastic project box for a buck. The ones I have found seem overpriced. Best I've found is two for $4.84 shipped. These are small, and those breadboards might just be a press fit widthwise (saving a mounting screw, even faster to use!) : http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-DIY-B70x41x23mm-New-Black-Plastic-Project-Box-Electronic-Case-/160878034740?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257513ff34#ht_2018wt_679
Some enterprising robot builder will use these breadboards as a chassis for a microbot. Double-stick-tape two micro CR servos and a LiPo battery on the bottom, and the top is your playground.
@Duane/Martin_H/Whit+/TommyT: Who will beat me to it?
I ordered three to try. Same size and 17x10 grid as used on the BoE/HW boards, in random colors. For a buck, it might make sense on some projects to just build "permanently" on these and throw them in a project box. But maybe not for mission critical, outdoor/humid/corrosive environments.
Next goal is to find a matching plastic project box for a buck. The ones I have found seem overpriced. Best I've found is two for $4.84 shipped. These are small, and those breadboards might just be a press fit widthwise (saving a mounting screw, even faster to use!) : http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-DIY-B70x41x23mm-New-Black-Plastic-Project-Box-Electronic-Case-/160878034740?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257513ff34#ht_2018wt_679
Some enterprising robot builder will use these breadboards as a chassis for a microbot. Double-stick-tape two micro CR servos and a LiPo battery on the bottom, and the top is your playground.
@Duane/Martin_H/Whit+/TommyT: Who will beat me to it?
Comments
Gotta love that random color thing.
BTW, Our research here shows that you guys tend to favor, Blue, White, and Black (in that order). We can barely give away Green.
Jeff
What don't you like? The low price, the convenience, the rapid assembly, or the no-soldering?
Heck, you burn through a dollar's worth of electricity just warming up the soldering iron, plus another fitty cent for solder & flux! And no breathing those nasty solder fumes!
Well I usually use the 400 point boards with the top and bottom power bus. I have some strip board which matches the layout so going from prototype to hand soldered production model is easy. And I know they're bad for you, but I kinda like the smell of solder fumes.
Tl;dr I'm holding out for the 400 point for a buck.
If a 30-point buck is a big deal, a 400-point buck may be over the top: http://www.snopes.com/photos/hunting/30ptbuck.asp
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SYB-120-PCB-Bread-Board-60x12-Test-Develop-DIY-700-Point-Solderless-PCB-/200932773970?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec886d052#ht_1812wt_945
140point for $0.60
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-new-White-Solderless-Prototype-Breadboard-170-Tie-points-for-Arduino-NEW-/230995816489?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c86c7029#ht_2625wt_894
830 point with 'distribution strips' (bus bars) at a whopping $1.60
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MB102-Breadboard-830Point-Solderless-PCB-Bread-Board-DIY-TEST-USE-MB102-Arduino-/230996992727?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c87e62d7#ht_2471wt_945
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-400-Pts-Solderless-Breadboard-w-Dovetail-Slot/251288316036
http://www.mouser.com/catalog/catalogusd/646/2908.pdf
It kills me that these two Bread Boards are listed as being for Arduino... Wonder what makes them different? :nerd:
The spacing between tie points 7 and 8 is 160 mil.
Good one, Martin!
I thought the Arduino one made you handle interrupts in your wiring!
I just wish somebody would invent a sticky conductive SMD breadboard as DIPs are getting less and less useful.
I have a theory about the origins of this little breadboard. I'm pretty certain that the original inventor of this exact size was 3M - we used them on the first Board of Education for BS2 in 1997. There were no other sources anywhere and we paid about $5/breadboard - really expensive part on our bill of materials!
This breadboard became very popular and was imitated and copied throughout Asia. In fact, we've looked at at least a half-dozen different Asian sources of this particular breadboard. The quality varies greatly, tremendously in fact. Using a standard 22 AWG solid core wire as a test you'd be surprised how the copper strip pressure and holding force varies. Try a 1/4 watt resistor as well - do they wiggle out or are they difficult to insert without crunching the resistor leads? These aren't big issues for you, of course, but try putting 30 of these in a class of students. If it doesn't work well they'll mutiny on you out of frustration.
I'll be curious how these work out for you. Drop me one in the mail if you could. I'm not interested in selling them, as they've been commoditized and over-distributed, but might like one for a couple of special robot projects.
Excellent day to you and welcome back from Asia! I've just got invited to go back myself in August to a major robot convention in Xi'an, CN.
Ken Gracey
They're open source and from China. Open source is only a new trend in the western world, but it's a time honored tradition for the last 25 years in China!
Amanda
We should all send Ken a mini board when we get ours to thank him for all he does for us!!!
Martin,
Could you expand on this? I see a normal bread board, and can't see any correlation to the wield Arduino breakout.
Ni hao, Ken!
True story: back when Rubik's cube came out ~1980, Ideal had a very hot commodity on its hands. China was knocking them off faster than Ideal could manufacture them, and the demand was incredible. My old boss Richie was part of Ideal's team sent to China to attempt to shut down all of the knockoff manufacturers, when they decided instead to partner with them to meet the increased demand. They licensed the ones who could deliver quality products, and shut down those that were sub-par. The ultimate win-win!
Sure, I'll be happy to send you a board or three when I get mine in.
It's a normal breadboard, I'm just making a joke at the Arduino's expense, and how everything has to be labeled Arduino compatible.
Martin, Thanks so much! I really didn't know that...I am a Parallax guy all the way.
Edit: Okay Martin! You got me... In the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a Gulli-Bull!"
Thought so. They should say it is interrupt ready.
It's more about having them show up while searching for "Arduino" than compatibility... It's just a marketing strategy, not a specification detail.
dgately