Help buying first breadboard :)

IronBrain

As a current undergraduate computer engineer, sophmore division, I still have quite a way to go but I want to start putting things together in front of me more physically on the home front...nothing massive just some simple circuits to start with such as

Simple:
7- segment display with decoder repeating with clock impulse implementing flips flops?

What would I need to buy exact besides the bread board so I can power up some simple circuits to begin with?

I've seen some bread boards with the whole shindig but I am unsure it comes powered as Ive only used a breadboard on a giant bread board simulator with the whole shebang.

Also would I be able to simply run a 7 - segment display for fun? what would I need? thanks

IronBrain

Bump.

berkeman

Good goal. It would help us a lot to see pointers to what you are looking at. A simple solderless breadboard, some assorted solid wire colors (24AWG), wire strippers, needlenose pliers, and a power supply are about all you need for your basic kit. The simplest power supply would be a 5V wall wart transformer adapter, with appropriate adapters to plug its output into the power distribution rails of your breadboard.

(EDIT -- or 3.3Vdc, depending on what logic you want to experiment with first. If you want analog too, then you should invest in a basic 5/3.3V and +/-12V DC power supply.)

waht

Also need a multimeter, and a wide assortment of parts - resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, ICs ...

have a look at the electronic bench suggestions:


http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=351351

of course, don't need all these at first, but it will give you an idea.

Topher925

Sparkfun sells tool kits for getting started in electronics for a decent price. These kits don't include a breadboard but the ones they sell aren't that good anyway.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/pro...oducts_id=9465
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/pro...oducts_id=9466

As for a breadboard, I highly recommend you get something of good quality and not one of those cheap plain white ones you can get at radio shack. I've got one of these:

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/sto...roductId=20774

and its pretty nice as breadboards go. Just make sure you ground the breadboard to the aluminum plate everything is mounted on.


I would imagine he would be able to get all this stuff from his university/IEEE office. Universities are usually good for basic through-hole components and sometimes they are nice enough to order parts for you even if its for a personal project. Also, don't forget about free samples. I've gotten a ton of stuff from microchip and analog devices just for being a student.

A good first project might be to modify a PC power supply to use for your projects. Its a pretty simple thing to do and much more economical than buying a bunch of wallwarts or a benchtop supply.

dmtr

Breadboard. So 20th century. IMO modern approach is to use simulation software, like Multisim, CircuitLogix, etc. And student versions are usually free.

IronBrain

@ berkeman

Thanks for the great suggestions!
I am fixated on your edit:
As powering the bread board would be my main objective.

@waht

I do need a new MM, I have a few old ones laying around but nothing worth bothering with. I'll stock up on resistors, capacitors, transistors, when I become more familiar with them, I am just gonna start off with a bunch of combinational logic IC's to start off with to get things going

@ Topher925
Thanks for the links, I will be definitely checking those out
I def. love the second link alot, I already have a solder and a good set of precision screw drivers and pliers, however I am gonna invest in a new MM, that magnified holder for the solder, and whats that gold stuff? Sorry I still fairly up and coming and I havent seen it before


As for the breadboard I was checking out the fairly decent one on spark electronics
Also good looking out for the University idea, I am unsure if they will carry these items but its worth a look.
Also I like this idea alot...
Any tutorials? I seen one vide once where he had a simple 12 volt wall jack and some adapter and regulator drop to lower voltages

@dmtr
I've used multi-sim before, as well as eagle, but I am more hands on and like getting hands dirty. Better experience for me

dmtr

Tutorials? Salvage one from an old PC, wire the connectors and the switch. And you have a high quality +/-5V; +3.3V;+/-12V PSU.
BTW. Obviously you can get electrocuted if when you poke inside while it's on (or have been on) and touch that heat sink.

http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...owersupply.htm



Breadboards are for 5-year-olds.

story645

Some times you need to actually make things in the real world, and bread boards are a great cheap way to prototype. The robotics club at my school uses them all the time precisely 'cause they're easily replaceable. Plus not having to solder/desolder is great when you're still in the prototyping stage.

Google turns up a lot of labs, 'cause it's a standard for EE labs. They all have material lists. The hardest part is gonna be properly generating binary signals, but use a microcontroller for that bit. The ones you can get for free may be up to the task, and mplab may be floating around your school.

The purely hackish (and dangerous) way to do this is to look up the power schematic for atx connectors of different voltages. That'll tell you what the power and ground lines are for each voltage. Then you can just run wires straight from the pins to your bread board (you just have to short something, google for what it is) and you're set.

For the record, adjustable voltage supplies are about 5 bucks on ebay, and poor enough quality that you'll probably have to repair 'em a few times, but it's basic. You can make a power supply out of any adapter pretty much by buying the oppositely gendered connector and attaching a wire to it.

dmtr

Can somebody find a neat vid with a smart looking five year old boy playing with some LEDs? That's the closest I've been able to find so far: http://www.vimeo.com/4313755

He is a second year college student. Engineering. He should know what he is doing. Besides, I've given the link to the tutorial. This tutorial is adequate (though IMHO that dump load is bit of an overkill).

story645

I've worked with lots of second year college students (and all the other years) a lot and I know technical skill and knowledge vary widely. I wasn't suggesting that he doesn't follow the tutorial (honestly I'd totally rig something like that up), just that if the tutorial doesn't work for him for whatever reason, there's a quick and dirty way to do it to that doesn't require him opening up the psu or wrecking it if he ever wants to use it again.

I never said children can't use them; I actually totally support that. Breadboards are a good tool for all ages.

Topher925

The "gold stuff" is just an abrasive pad for cleaning the tip of the iron. A moist sponge works well also.

Theres lots of tutorials for making benchtop supplies from PC PSUs. I know one has already been posted but heres another.
http://letsmakerobots.com/node/1355

No, not really. While most basic circuits can be easily simulated, many can not. For example, circuits that have high impedance components or are very sensitive to temperature or external noise can be very difficult if not impossible to simulate. Optical circuits, such as a pH meter, are notoriously difficult to simulate accurately and usually require physical prototyping.

There is also something to be said for hands on experience, especially when starting out. While software is nice and can save you some time, if you don't completely understand what it is that you are actually simulating then you're just wasting your time anyway.

story645

Just keep a water bottle with a sports cap nearby, 'cause it dries out fast.

That's the whole point of having labs in EE; Shiny physical implementations so you can see the difference between the theoretical (simulated) and real results. We always had to simulate circuits in multisim before throwing them on a breadboard, which was very useful 'cause then there was a map of where all the little wires go. (And yeah, if doing a bread board, keep the layout clean or debugging it will be torture.)

Sometimes you also just want the physical device 'cause you want a blinky led set up.

IronBrain

Thanks for the suggestions fellas, that what we would do last year, play around on multisim then implement it on a bread board. I ll be digging around for an older PSU I got laying around some where, any other recommendations for sites other than sparkfun?

story645

digikey and Jameco stock just about all the parts you'll ever need, as does good old ebay. Radioshack is also decent when something breaks or runs out and you don't want to wait for shipping.

IronBrain

**** I am just trying to find a dirt cheap PC PSU to convert, I went looking around for one to buy put the nearest half way pc shop was closed so I dug through the trash but all 3 I found were dead :( boo

berkeman

I would LOL, but doesn't sound like you're in the mood for that...

BTW, if you want to go for the cheapest PC PSU that you can find, what do you need to keep in mind (add extra) compared to standard PC PSUs?