5×2 patch board
posted May 7th 2010 2:00pm by Mike Szczysfiled under: tool hacks
Sometimes we want to sit on the back porch, crack a beer, and do some prototyping. Other times we’d like to do the same but on the couch in the livingroom. To that end we added a 5×2 pin to 10×1 pin patch board to our solderless breadboard.
The 5×2 pin form factor is pretty common, used as an AVR programming header, on development boards like the Dragon Rider 500 and the STK 500, and in small prototyping devices like the Bus Pirate. We like the freedom of using IDC cables as interconnects and that’s where this board comes in. Now we can patch into the IDC cables yet still quickly disconnect them when moving to a different prototyping location. Check out the PCB artwork and this handy device in use after the break.
Above is an image of the DS3232 breakout board we made a while back. We have probe cables that we could use to connect directly to the pins on the breakout board but as you can see, we need a smoothing capacitor and three pullup resistors in this circuit so we’re using a breadboard. In the past we’ve connected jumper wires directly to one end of an IDC cable but it’s difficult to ensure you’re made the proper connection and the wires frequently come loose. With our new breakout board attached to the breadboard, solid connects can be made to the 10×1 pin sockets while preserving portability with the 5×2 pin header.
If you want to make you’re own, the PCB artwork is below. We used 6-32 machine screws, nylon spacers, washers, lock washers, and nuts to firmly affix the PCB to holes we drilled in the base of the breadboard. Good luck and let us know how you like this addition.
I just plug a 5×2 header right into the protoboard, problem solved.