Electronics > Beginners
Where to buy breadboards and prototype boards ?
lordvader88:
The prototype boards on ebay are pretty expensive, and there's not many sizes. I want 100 of them. That would cost $30 for 5x7cm alone . A single is $0.80, hmm, I'll run out of parts as i build stuff, this is an expensive hobby.
I only have 5 bread boards, 2 are small, but made by Archer back when products were made to last. 2 from ebay are no good for anything over 1/4W size'ed leads.
I have about 20-30 copper clad boards, I'll save them for RF and special stuff.
Where should a person on a budget get them ?
sokoloff:
What do you want 100 proto boards for?
Even for an avid experimenter, that seems like a large number. I tend to whip up small sub-sections of circuits on breadboards to verify that I understand how the circuit works and then jump straight to custom PCB, even for prototypes. Proto-boards for me live in that no-mans land of "not great for quick experiments" and "super annoying to try to make semi-permanent circuits out of".
If you want to knock around with them, buy a few (maybe even a size assortment, because you're not always going to want to deal with 50x70mm), but I wonder if you won't also find that it's easier to go straight to custom prototype PCB service.
lordvader88:
Well I like soldering stuff too, and think how many circuits there are on the web. Plus I finally have a good base of parts so I can built a lot more stuff.
But looking at the price of SMD vs through hole, I should change to SMD prototype boards and parts. I have a hot-air gun and even Bismuth solder.
KL27x:
If you buy 100's of vero/protoboard, you will probably learn to make PCB some day before you use those up.
You will probably convert to SMD when you learn to make PCB using CAD.
If you think you will convert to SMD ICs by using "SMD prototyping boards," you are just making your life harder. It's easier to bodge stuff together with 0.1" spacing, even if you clip or bend the leads on your thru hole IC's to make them SMD. SMD resistors and caps and diodes, OTOH, go for it. They solder great between protoboard pads. I suggest 0805 or 0603, to fit between two pads. SOT 23 are also doable on protoboard, and you don't have to bend and clip leads.
I use 0.05" spaced veroboard of my own design for adding SMD components to other boards, but to make an entire circuit like that would be a waste of time. I only do this because 99.9% of my parts are SMD, and sometimes I make mistakes or want to make small modification to an existing board. Used in this way, a 5x7" piece of this stuff is like a 20 year supply.
Kasper:
I havent seen prices as good as you've found. Haven't looked very hard. I usually go straight to custom pcb. Sometimes simulate and or breadboard. Rarely use proto boards.
When I use proto boards I often CAD the schematic and sometimes the proto board too. Makes it easier to build the proto circuit if I have drawing to follow and it is easier to change the drawing when it's in CAD and easier to move to custom PCB later.
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