Breadboard That Mod Before You Build It

Nothing is more frustrating than building a new mod, only to find out after you do all the soldering, drilling, clipping, etc ... that it doesn't work for some reason. For this reason I always 'Breadboard' a circuit and test it before I begin the assembly process.

I use Prototyping Breadboards for all my projects and thoroughly test the design before I ever plug in the old soldering iron or clip a single lead. That way, if it isn't a good design, I can modify values or change wiring or just disassemble the circuit without wasting components. Breadboards are really cool. You merely plug each of your components into the board, add a few jumpers, and you have a fully-functioning circuit you can try out.

Here's a closeup of a breadboard:


Here's a picture of me vaping my latest design. I am trying out a different MOSFET and needed to be sure it would work at 3.7 volts. I assembled the test circuit, added a battery and a carto with a 20" wire for the test. It turns out that it works great!


I know to many modders this is a given, but thought some of you newbies would find this a good tip.

 

I don't finalize anything I'm designing before I make it on a breadboard first, one of the few things that stuck with me from training.

 

-------amen!!!-------​

 

Alright , throwing out a dumb question....... but how do you know where to put what on a breadboard? I don't know much of the technical stuff but I have made a few 3.7 box mods just by following instructions.

 

Hi Snails .. The breadboard is really for experimenting and testing new designs before you actually commit yourself. Breadboards are an easy way to try out things, if you want to change a resistor, just unplug the old one, plug in the new one. Want to try a different voltage regulator, unplug the old one, plug in the new one. Once everything works good, then you can plug in the solder iron and get busy. This way, you don't waste components on designs that don't work right.

 

On a breadboard there are lines. As per the picture above from Asnider you see numbers like 10 and 15, each one of those lines is a solid bar that will connect up to five things to one connection, so if you have a power feed that you want to connect to an atty/switch but also to a resister that's going to run to a LED you can put the power at the top of 10 then the wire that runs to the switch in the "B" of 10, then power end of the resistor in the "C" of 10 and they'll all be connected to the power. it's grid-lined out like that where you have A,B,C,D, and E of each individual line. I know it's not a great explanation but without literally sitting down and showing ya it's about as good as I got.

Devil

 

Well thanks for the explanations, I am waiting for parts for a vv mod I want to make, I will have to pick up a breadboard and experiment a bit , I should be able to grasp the idea fast enough.

 

That's the way to do it. I breadboard always before modding.
No matter how I plan ahead with calculations for regulator mods, there is always some value tweaking. Especially for Mosfets.

 

Breaktru, I am going to purchase one and give it a go.. Mosfets?( I will probably be asking about that sooner or later) Baby steps LOL

 

Yes snails, baby steps indeed. You need to learn how to walk before you can run... LOL
The Ladies are taking over. Watch out Mamu, snails will be on your heels.

 

i doubt I'll be taking over anytime soon, we snails are slow but mighty!!!

 

I just learned this lesson the hard way.

I built a box only to find it didn't work. So I started from scratch and rebuilt it, but didn't solder anything. It worked great until I soldered everything, and now it's back to not working again :facepalm:

 

Sure is . Where would the world be without the breadboard lol. I always have something on my BB's.Make sure to pick up a 1000 pack of jumper leads on ebay as well