Hello Makers, I created this Instructable to teach you about two awesome breadboard tips that can save you time on your electronics projects.

If you're a maker, you understand that nothing ever works on the first try. You may have to troubleshoot your breadboard circuits for a long time, which can be very frustrating and might even cause you to give up. Having a well organized breadboard will help you succeed the first time and avoid making mistakes. Here are two simple tips to remember.

Step 1: Use Clean Wiring

Keep your wiring clean. Avoid excessively long wires which make it impossible to trace if there is a problem and are more prone to pull out. You can either purchase wires that are pre-cut to different lengths or make them yourself.

Here is a link for pre-cut breadboard wires:

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Piece-Pre-formed-Jum...

You can cut them yourself.

The YouTube channel Make: does an awesome job explaining how to this.

Materials Needed For Video:

- 24 gauge solid core wire

- Wire Strippers

Cutting Perfect Jumper Wires Video:

If you do decide to make your own wires, don't trash them when you are done. You can organize them by size and color and use them on future projects.

Step 2: Color Coding

Another tip is to organize your wires so that the color matches the circuits electrical property. This will help you identify what types of wires are which when troubleshooting your breadboard circuits. The most common wire color coding is that all POWER wires should be RED, and all GROUND wires should be BLACK.

As you get more advanced, you can have different colors representing different voltage levels and functions. For example you can add a separate color for digital signals with 5V logic, and another for 3.3V.

For analog circuits, you may want to have a specific color for a amplifier input or output, and yet another color to identify an ADC input.

Besides organization, this will really help you spot mis-wirings before you apply power and potentially damage your hardware. Keep a careful lookout for RED and BLACK wires connecting to the same terminal strip, as this could indicate a short.

Step 3: Conclusion

Thank you for reading my first Instructable! I hope you learned some time saving breadboarding tips.

If you learned something or like this Instructable, I would really appreciate it if you could vote for me in the Electronics Tips & Tricks Contest.

Thanks!