Introduction: Building Circuits: the Beauty of Breadboards

In this instructable i will teach you how to go from a schematic of a circuit to the real thing. (this is a followup to "how to read circuit diagrams". so if you haven't looked at that instructable now would be a good time). because this is directed towards beginning electronics hobbyists we will work with breadboards. essentially breadboards are the legos of the electronics world. you simply stick the leads of components into little holes on the breadboard and BAM! you have a circuit. breadboards are extremely convenient and easy (and re-usable), and require no soldering! its all pop-in/pop-out.

a breadboard, however, is constructed in a special way and you need to understand the basics of this before beginning to build.

Step 1: Basic Breadboard Structure

a breadboard has holes all over it designed to fit the leads of electrical components. these holes are connected in columns by conductive metal strips. on each breadboard there are always two sets of two rows on top and bottom. these are connected horizontally. these are usually used for the + and - contacts of the battery.
below i have attached an image showing how this pattern is arranged by outlining connected holes in green. i did not outline everything, just enough to show the pattern.

you use special jumper wires to go from one column/row to the next. a box of multiple sizes of these jumpers can be found at most radioshacks for quite cheap

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103801

or of course in ible style you can make your own

Step 2: Getting Our Parts

so this particular instructable is really just a follow up so we need to get some parts so we can build our flash light. below there is an image with specifications for what parts to get. remember you also need some way to attach the nine volt to the breadboard. the other parts will just slip in.
here are some good dealers
mouser.com- cheap, fast delivery, my favorite
radioshack-expensive, but you dont have to wait for shipping if you have one near you
fry's- has a huge selection, reasonably priced

if you get the parts from mouser here are the exact parts''

Blue LED
604-L53MBC Kingbright T-1 5mm Water Clear, $2.52 each

Resistor
29SJ250-1K 1 kilo-ohm, 1/4 watt, carbon film resistors, $0.07 each

9-V battery clip
123-5004 EAGLE PLASTICS PREMIUM BATTERY SNAP BLK MOLDED,2PC,I-4", $0.36each

and here they are from radioshack

Blue LED
276-311 Blue LED (5mm lens) $3.29

Resistor
271-1118 1 kilo-ohm, 1/2 watt, carbon film resistors, $0.99/5

9-V battery clip
270-324 9-volt BATTERY SNAP, $2.59/5

Step 3: Building a Circuit

so now that you know how its arranged we can start building it

below i have attached a diagram to show one way of how we could go about this.

Step 4: GO BUILD

now you know all the basics!
get out there, find some plans for stuff you want to make, and MAKE IT

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