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.

[JPortici]

Where should a person on a budget get them ?

draw them on your favourite cad program and order them on your favourite cheap board supplier.
That's what i do, at least.

-The quality will be way higher than the average ebay/ali/amazon perfboard
-bonus: you can add specific sections like some soic/ssop/sot patterns (be smart, place those for the componetns you use the most) which then are routed to the neighbouring 0.1" spaced holes.  Also, you can add patterns for specific connectors that aren't 0.1" spaced

[lordvader88]

what about breadboards ?

[sokoloff]

what about breadboards ?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/3m-breadboards-for-cheap/

Get a (small) number of those very high quality breadboard(s) and then if you want a few small, cheap breadboards for knockoffs or items that might stick around a little longer, I've had acceptable results from cheap breadboards from Aliexpress. But, I would get at least one good breadboard and become accustomed to using that for your regular work. It's annoying when you can't be sure whether your circuit isn't working because of something you did (most likely) or because a wire is making an intermittent connection because of poor tolerances or manufacturing defects with your tool [breadboard].

[lordvader88]

Well how many bread boards do most folks have ? Sure it limits the size of what u can build. I have 2 MB-102 ~830pins broads, 1 or 2x ~700pin boards, and 2x 250pin boards

well thats not enough

on ebay for me it like $3.5/~800pin board or about $30 for ten, so just as well to buy ten oooorrr wheres a better place to buy in Canada

IDK, I wish I lived near all this, rather than getting retail prices 2-3 months later from Shen Zen ??

[lordvader88]

I should live in Shen Zen or were ever, I bet it would suit me great

like getting bowls of food u would just walk around and get a bowl of parts to make what ever..........meanwhile I'm trying to keep my hobby in stock with a 2-3 month shipping lag, and wow as soon as I start building stuff, certain parts are gone and going fast for sure all ready


So next order I want 1000 each of  1k, 10k, 100k, 4.7k, what else? I guess a few others, and a bunch of pot's, and 1/2W and 1W resistors, etc....price in ebay thats about the limit if u want top spend $20-50/lot of parts, so I'm at ebay retail., I want better

I wish I lived over there

[KL27x]

You saying Canada doesn't have Digikey, Mouser, Newark, Arrow, ...

Design, buy, build. Buy extra when it is practical, for the price breaks. Stock the leftovers. If you buy stuff because you like to "have the ability to build stuff whenever I want," you are deluded in the time it takes for the design phase.

I have a few solderless breadboards, just for testing stuff I'm not 100% sure off. I wouldn't build anything big or complicated solely on breadboard. If I need 14 breadboards for some project, I'll know when I am undertaking the project. And I think I have a week to kill sorting out other details while the breadboards are being shipped.

You're in a phase. Some people go all out in this phase and amass giant labs filled with raaco drawers of parts. They or their families eventually rid this junk in firesales. 

The entire awesomeness of electronics over mechanical machines is the ability to recreate or mass produce insanely complex things rather easily. But if you are hodge-podging things together in a breadboard and protoboard, you will have to debug your own mistakes in order to reproduce them. You shall learn to use CAD to make schematics and PCBs, eventually, and have ERC/DRC checks. You will also change over to SMD components. Or you are simply doing it wrong.

Almost every analog circuit that you might ever "discover" by sitting in a room full of components and randomly plugging them together has already discovered 50 years ago. And it now available in an integrated circuit in 2000 variations.

Don't fall down this rabbit hole. It's a phase. 

[Kasper]

You're in Canada? So am I. I get custom PCBs in a few days from AP Circuits.  I usually order from seeed though and wait 2 weeks so I can get 10 for the cost of 2 from AP Circuits.

Parts from digikey in a couple days with $8 shipping and no surprise duties charges. 1 day if I order before noonish.

I have 1 big bread board and 1 small one. Rarely use either.

If you really want to play around and try various stuff quickly I recommend getting familiar with a simulator (if you aren't already). LT Spice seems pretty popular.

[lordvader88]

Mouser/etc in Canada still cost a lot, especially for hobby parts. I can get 1,000 1/4W resistors for $4US on ebay, or $12 +$14 shipping from Mouser. Even if I ordered it all there for free shipping, it's way more expensive.



For quality caps, and real IC's etc, I should get a big order from somewhere legit, I guess it will cost a fortune tho.

[KL27x]

$4US on ebay, or $12 +$14 shipping from Mouser.

I should get a big order

Don't micromanage yourself. Consider what it costs in your time and effort to design and test and tune or debug the entire circuit. The shipping charge for this part or that is what your surgical assistant costs. The sooner you get over it, the faster you will learn and grow. You don't know what set of compromises you will ultimately end up settling at when you first start the project.

If you think you are going to save money by buying in bulk, your short term future will be in learning to organize and retrieve stuff. And your long term future will be in deciding when inventory is actually just junk.

[Buriedcode]

I tihnk quite a few people have been telling you about "buying parts as and when you need them".  The idea of buying up a lot of parts and tools "just in case" will only cost money.

Also you mentioned how cheap breadboards are on aliexpress and ebay - those cheaper ones are frustrating to work with, very difficult to insert component legs making them effectively useless.  Unless you're running a college or school I don't know anyone who would require 100 breadboards.  Or even 10.  There is no reason to leave circuits/ideas on a breadboard when PCB manufacture, and even prototyping boards are so cheap, more rugged and more reliable. (I say, with 3 breadboarded circuits on my desk right now...)

We are spoiled for choice these days, and we can get almost any part qw want within a day or two, so there really isn't much of a need to add more "stuff" to my stock just in case, I already have a huge surplus, so please - order stuff when you know you need it.  If you want free shipping from mouser/digikey/newark then create a spreadsheet or list, and as you start projects, add what parts you need to that list.  Once the total price goes over the threshold, send the order.

[lordvader88]

For me for now it's just cheaper to order 100-$200 of stuff from ebay. That will last me months. Some of it is stuff I really need , like lot of potentiometer's and common sized 1/4W, 1W resistors. Switches, and connectors, binding pots, volt/amp meters.


If I had the investment money I ship over a few tons of parts and sell them


But I will change to SMD or 1/2 SMD, and I get what you're all saying about really modeling and breadbroading something right the 1st time before making it. I use way too much solder on perf. boards. I use LTspice but only know the basics.


Does that have PCB layout ? I really should try a PCB layout program.

[fixit7]

They have some good prices here. You have to wait a month, but many things are half what ebay and amazon charge.

https://www.aliexpress.com/