Breadboard basics

OK, I know absolutly nothing about electronics but I'm trying to learn
some basic electronics/circuits by myself.
So, I got a breadboard, a book with some basic electronic info and
projects, some components and a variable power supply that has 3V, 6V,
9V and 12V.
My question is how do I connect the power supply to the breadboard.
The breadboard I got was one that has 3220 holes and is mounted on to
a black backing plate that has 4 connectors labled Va, Vb, Vc and
Ground.
Do I connect the red and black wires from the power supply to the red
and black connectors on the backing plate? Would I use the matching
red and black connectors from the breadboard? And where should I put
them? Va, Vb? What do I do about the ground?
From there how would I power the circuits so that my led will glow
like it says it should in the book.
I did search the internet for breadboard basics, but couldn't seem to
find any info on how the power supply should be hooked up.
Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

You need to learn the pattern of metal rails that connect groups of
holes in your proto board. Most designs have groups of 5 holes on
opposites of a groove connected together, so you can plug a .3 inch
wide integrated circuit package straddling the groove, with 4
additional holes for each pin to connect other parts. Along side of
those sets of paired 5 hole groups are long rails running the opposite
direction (parallel to the grooves) to act as supply distribution.
Some designs have the long strips divided in half at the center and
you have to add a small jumper at the center to have the rails go all
the way along the board. Do you have a multimeter, yet? You can get
one at Walmart for just a few bucks, and you will soon need it for
your experiments. You can wrap a short length of bare wire around the
probe tips, and explore what the grouping is on your board, before you
try to use it to connect things together. Once you understand what
you have to work with, there are no rules. You can plug the supply
voltages in anywhere you want. You can use the long rails for supply
distribution (if you have lots of things to connect to the supply) or
you can use them to carry signals across the board. They are just
connections, after all.

 

I found a picture of a typical contact layout:
http://www.eng.yale.edu/ee-labs/morse/app_help/proto.pdf

 

Dear Frnd

Actually I am not able to imagine the exact board which you ar
having, can you send me some photograph of the board

But,you may use following tips

1. Find out Va is being connected to other points in the breadboard
Where it is being connected, vertically or horizontally to th
holes

2. Take care that power supply positive and common does not short
through the breadboard, atleast check the connection twice befor

switching O

Hope this will help you. You can e-mail me on
Regard
YUVRA
Service & Development Eng
INDI

 

Those connectors are called "binding posts".

Yes.


Would I use the matching

Yes.

And where should I put

Yes - your red power supply wire connects to the red post - Va
and your black power supply wire connects to the black post - Vb.

What do I do about the ground?

Ignore it and Vc, at least for now.

You connect a jumper wire to each of the posts (Va, Vb).
The other end of the jumper wire is plugged into a hole
in the breadboard. Usually, you use a short jumper from
the red binding post to one of the red color coded holes
in the long strip immediately below the binding post. Repeat
fro the black binding post, putting the other end of the
wire into one of the blue color coded holes. That makes
all red color coded holes in that strip +, and all blue
color coded holes -.

Then you use separate jumpers from your circuit to
any one of the color coded holes in the strip.

Electrically, your board looks like this
(one vertical strip shown):


(Va) (Vb) (Vc) (Gnd)

..........................................Red
..........................................Blue

|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||
|| ..... ||

etc

All | characters are connected vertically
and not connected horizontally.
All . characters are connected horizontally and not
connected vertically.

Note that there is no connection to Va, Vb, Vc or gnd -
you must supply the connection you want with jumpers.

Ed

 

You mention that the supply has only the two wires - I'm assuming it
has a selector switch for the voltage? If so, then yes, the black wire
goes to the "Ground" post, and the red one can go to any one of the three -
that's your call (which is why they only have them labeled a, b, & c -
you can call them anything you want to.).

Then, I have seen those protoboards where they already have the buses
connected to the posts, but mine isn't like that, so I have to actually
wire from the posts to the buses where I want power and ground. If yours
_does_ have the posts connected to the buses (underneath or whatever),
then it should be clearly documented in the instructions. Otherwise,
just use the same #24 wire as you use for your breadboarding. A handful
of that 25-pair telephone trunk cable is a fabulous source of wire for
that sort of thing - you can even color-code your stuff. Or, if you
want it to look all cerebral, get some #24 bare tinned bus wire and
some #24 teflon tubing...

Have Fun!
Rich

 

Here's a site that tells you how to use breadboards, with pictures.

http://pheatt.emporia.edu/courses/2004/cs220f04/oopic/electronics/index.html

Go there, click on construction, then click on breadboard.

Thanks to Mark, a friend in Australia, who pointed it out.

Ed

 

Just wanted to say thanks to all who responded. I'v got my breadboard
setup, and my first projet working: the LED lit up!!

Onward to the next project!

GO! ME!

LOL