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prototyping / breadboard.md

Solderless Breadboard

The bench staple. Plastic block with sprung metal clips inside, arranged in columns of 5. Sold in 400-point (half-size, ~83 × 55 mm) and 830-point (full-size, ~165 × 55 mm) variants.

Buy on circuit.rocks

How it's wired

Two horizontal power rails (+ red, − blue) along each long edge, and vertical columns of 5 tie-points in the middle, split by a central trench.

+ ─ ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ──    ← red rail (V+)
- ─ ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ──    ← blue rail (GND)
  a   b   c   d   e   |   f   g   h   i   j      ← tie-point columns (5 holes each)
  1
  2
  3
  ...
                      |   ← trench (split a-e from f-j; DIP chips straddle it)
  • All 5 holes in a column (e.g. a1–e1) are connected.
  • a1–e1 and f1–j1 are separate (split by the trench).
  • Power rails run the full length, but some bigger boards split them halfway — check yours.

Tips

  • Insert components straight — bent leads scratch the clips.
  • Power rails of cheap boards often don't span the full length. Verify with a multimeter or just bridge with a jumper.
  • Use solid-core 22 AWG hookup wire — stranded splays inside the clip and loosens contact.

When to leave the breadboard

  • High-current loops (> 1 A) — voltage drop and contact heating kill reliability
  • RF circuits — parasitic capacitance changes layout-to-layout
  • Anything you'll ship — solder it on perfboard or order a PCB

Schematic

Not applicable — a breadboard is a wiring substrate, not a circuit.

Last updated: 2026-05-13 · Source on GitHub