During this workshop we might have available the following:
- Jumper cables
- Light Sensor
- Temperature Sensor
- Pressure Sensor
- Movement Sensor
- Light Bulbs
- Infrared Sensor
Ask us!
Breadboards are one of the most fundamental pieces when learning how to build circuits.
Breadboards are great for making temporary circuits and prototyping, as they require no soldering.
Prototyping is the process of testing out an idea by creating a preliminary model from which other forms are developed or copied, and it is one of the most common uses for breadboards. If you aren’t sure how a circuit will react under a given set of parameters, it’s best to build a prototype and test it out.
For those new to electronics and circuits, breadboards are often the best place to start. That is the real beauty of breadboards – they can house both the simplest circuit as well as very complex circuits.
A jumper cable, also known as jumper, is an electrical wire with a connector or pin at each end, which is normally used to interconnect the components of a breadboard to test the circuit.
Jumpers are fitted by inserting their "end connectors" into the slots provided in a breadboard.
Resistors are electronic components which have a specific, constant electrical resistance. The resistor’s resistance limits the flow of electrons through a circuit. They are passive components, meaning they only consume power (and can’t generate it). Resistors are usually added to circuits where they complement active components like op-amps, microcontrollers, and other integrated circuits. Commonly resistors are used to limit current, divide voltages, and pull-up I/O lines. (Don't worry if you can't understand all of this right now. Everything will be explained further)
The electrical resistance of a resistor is measured in Ohms. The symbol for an Ohm is the greek capital-omega: Ω. The definition of 1Ω is the resistance between two points where 1 volt (1V) of applied potential energy will push 1 ampere (1A) of current.
As SI units go, larger or smaller values of Ohms can be matched with a prefix like kilo-, mega-, or giga-, to make large values easier to read. It’s very common to see resistors in the kilohm (kΩ) and megaohm (MΩ) range (much less common to see miliohm (mΩ) resistors). For example, a 4,700Ω resistor is equivalent to a 4.7kΩ resistor (that can also be represented as 4K7Ω), and a 5,600,000Ω resistor can be written as 5,600kΩ, 5.6MΩ or even 5M6Ω.
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and a Diode is a electrical component that only allows current to flow from one side to the other, not the opposite. It is an awesome component when proggraming microcontrolers to give information to the user and as a debug tool. If you want to use a standard breadboard LED, you will need to add a resistor in Series with it.