Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

125

Introduction

As you learn more about electronics, you can use the information in the rest

of the data sheet. For now, all you need to know is how to connect the part

in the circuit you are building.

How to Use a Plug Board to Create

a Simple Circuit

The plug board is a circuit prototyping tool that allows

you to quickly build a circuit without soldering parts

together. It is a set of plastic blocks with holes in it spaced

0.1 inches apart; you can see what one looks like in Figure

II-12. Wires connect each hole horizontally and verti-

cally. Rows 1, 2, 3, and so forth are wired together as per

the dashed line in Figure II-13. The two slim outside and

center plastic blocks are wired vertically according to the

red and blue lines printed on them. Most plug boards on

the market follow this convention, but be sure to check

the data sheets for the particular model you want to use,

or check the plug board manually with a multi-meter.

You can create temporary circuits on a plug board by

pushing the metal pins on an integrated circuit into the

holes in the plug board, as shown in Figure II-14. You can

push resistors, capacitors, and other components into the

holes as well. Make electrical connections between parts

of the circuit by taking a piece of solid core wire, stripping the insulation

off of the ends, and pressing the ends into the appropriate holes in the ...