Hi, I'm Becky Stern,
and today we're translating a solderless breadboard Arduino Prototype
to a soldered circuit board.
If you've got a working solderless breadboard prototype of your project,
the next logical step is to make it more permanent
by translating your project to a solder type breadboard.
Soldering your circuit will allow you to make your circuit
more durable, smaller, and it's a smart step on the way
to designing your own circuit board and enclosure if you choose to do so.
The first step I suggest is to draw a circuit diagram.
You can sketch it on paper or make it on the computer,
but the important thing to do is to draw every connection and label each component.
Some circuit software allows you to represent the breadboard as well,
so you can start by drawing exactly what you see on your solderless breadboard.
But the circuit diagram doesn't
have to have all of the parts laid out exactly how they are in your breadboard.
Instead, it documents the electrical connections required to make the circuit function.
It's an abstraction.
Using the webcam privacy device we prototyped together on a previous episode as an example,
See how the diagram shows the various components connected to where they go.
But the breadboard power and ground busses
and various rows aren't always depicted.
Abstracting your design to a diagram is always smart
and it's absolutely necessary if you want to get your circuit manufactured.
Once you have an accurate diagram, you can build a new version
of your circuit on a solder type breadboard, also called perf board.
This stuff has plated through holes
and it comes in a variety of different configurations.
Perhaps most useful type for beginners is the kind that takes the shape
of a solderless breadboard
so you can replicate the connections from your prototype exactly
and they end up looking similar enough to compare easily.
They even come in the shape of an Arduino shield
so you can plug your circuit board right on top.
I’ll put links to some of my favorites below.
It comes in different sizes too, but you can cut it smaller if you need to.
Oftentimes, this is when you'll switch to a smaller Arduino board format, too.
Most basic Arduino code will run just fine
when you put it on a different board with the same or similar microcontroller
with the caveat that the pin numbers might need to be updated
to match the appropriate corresponding pins on the new board.
So for example, I can prototype a NeoPixel project
on an Arduino UNO using pin 6 for data, like in the example.
And then when I switch to the TinyPICO, I'll have to change my code to reference
a different pin, since there is no pin 6 available to me on this board.
However, not all boards are created equal, so be sure you have enough pins
to move your circuit over.
For example, the ESP8266 boards only have one analog input pin,
so it would be an unsuitable substitute for a project with more than one
analog input, but mine's only got one.
You can usually find a pin out diagram in the product documentation
that explains what each pin can do.
If you're able to acquire two of every component in your circuit,
you can have the luxury of referencing your solderless prototype
as you build this ordered version.
If not, you can unplug and transfer the components
over one at a time, leaving the wires in place case
need to reference them, or just use a photo to refer back to.
So that's the concept.
But in practice there's a lot of physical construction to do to put it together.
To put it together, you can learn how to solder in a previous episode
of this series, then get your practice in by building your circuit.
It's a lot of trimming, stripping, and tinning wires,
plugging them into the board,
flipping it over, soldering, on repeat until everything's hooked up.
I like to use a little circuit board vise to hold it steady.
You may also want to add longer wires to your components to better suit
their final use case.
For example, I made a long extension for my servo motor,
so the privacy device controller can sit on the desk
while the motor perches on top of the monitor.
Soldering your whole circuit
will probably take a while, so check your posture and your ventilation
and remember to wash your hands when you're done.
If you make a mistake, hopefully it will be easy to spot
by checking against your diagram and solderless prototype,
in addition to the troubleshooting steps mentioned in our previous episode on the topic.
When checking continuity on a soldered circuit, try to probe the component
lead wire itself to avoid being fooled by a cold solder joint.
Once you're all done,
I hope you'll feel the satisfaction of making something that, in my opinion,
feels very much like a completely homemade gadget.
It's now ready to be put inside an enclosure,
which will be the topic of a future episode.
You may now also be incapable of watching movies and TV featuring DIY electronics
without dissecting the realistic-ness of said props and set dressing.
There’s nowhere near enough stuff in there to be a signal jammer.
Where’s the antenna?
My apologies unless you work in film and TV, in which case you're welcome.
You’re also ready to start
learning to layout your circuit design as a printed circuit board,
which you can learn more about
in Shawn Hymel's Arduino Project to Product video series.
I've got links to all the resources I mentioned in the description.
Leave your advice about transitioning from solderless
to soldered prototype in the comments so we can all learn together.
Check out the playlist with the rest of this series and subscribe
to be sure you don't miss the next one.