Breadboard and Wiring

 

 

In this lab you’ll use a breadboard to implement simple circuits consisting of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, and various integrated components.  Breadboards provide you with a general wiring fabric in which to make connections among circuit components.  Learning how to use this wiring fabric effectively takes time and, more vital, practice.  Figure 1 shows you the basic layout of the breadboards you’ll be using in ECE443.

 

 

 

Figure 1: Basic Breadboard

 

 

As you can see, the surface of board is covered in pinholes into which you can insert wires or electric component leads.  Beneath the plastic surface, the holes are connected with a network of metal tabs.  But not all pinholes are connected together.  Every row in each of the two main columns is wired together.  [Note: The rows are NOT connected across the column.]  You can also see a series of pinhole groups arranged in columns along the left and right sides of the board.  These are useful for wiring global signals and power supply voltages.

 

 

 

Figure 2: Special Sections for Global Signals

 

 

Making a connection between two components is simple once you understand the internal wiring of the board.  Let’s take a simple example of connected two resistors in series or in parallel.  The general wiring fabric of the breadboard provides an unlimited number of possibilities, but we want to focus on the efficient implementations.  Never use more jumper wire than necessary!  Let the breadboard do the work for you.

 

 

 

 

Figure 3: Basic Wiring Combinations

 

 

Figure 4 shows 3 examples of series wiring and 2 examples of parallel wiring.  The pinholes where the component leads connect to the board are exaggerated with big circles.

 

 

 

Figure 4: Example Uses of the Breadboard

 

 

These few examples show you the basics and give you enough knowledge to do the labs.  A few general points to remember when you begin wiring a circuit: