Timeline for How can I diagnose possible problems with my breadboards?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
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| Dec 7, 2016 at 19:22 | comment | added | W5VO | Three quick comments - in my experience teaching a lab, students incorrectly wiring the circuit was the usual issue, and sometimes it was difficult to visually diagnose a missed/misplaced connection. My preference with probing a suspect circuit is to probe the actual package pin - it eliminates breadboard continuity questions as you see exactly what the chip is seeing. Rebuilding the circuit almost always fixes the problem because the students are much more attentive the second time around. | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:15 | comment | added | Adam Calvet Bohl | Very nice explanation! And totally right from my point of view. In my work I once had an analog + microcontroller proto running on a breadboard during more than 2 months without any failure. | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:10 | comment | added | Marcus Müller | @OlinLathrop true, but we both agree that the 20MHz oscillator works fine because it's actually an oscillator that is actively driven, so a bit of loss due to dampening and radiation don't matter – and also, you wouldn't want to run a sensitive analog signal close to that, either. So that's actually what I implied with understanding the breadboard as component. | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:07 | comment | added | Olin Lathrop | @Marcus: I added a small disclaimer. However, I think the point about low bandwidth is over-stated out there. 20 MHz crystals to drive microcontrollers work fine. It's not one of those never-do things. There are things you need to be aware of (like the 20 MHz crystal load caps may need to be different), but by being sensible you can get good milage out of breadboards, even at modest frequencies. | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:04 | history | edited | Olin Lathrop | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:04 | comment | added | Scott Seidman | I'm almost superstitious about testing those subcircuits that can be breadboarded on a breadboard. I keep DIP breakout boards for SMDs handy, and sometimes I run at lower frequencies than the end product. I do this especially for products new to me. I suppose it costs a little bit of time, but I also use the process as a tool to keep the design straight in my head, and to work out the boundaries of subsystems. Probably once or twice, it saved me a silly mistake in a board, and saved me the week or so turnaround on a new prototype PCB. | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:02 | history | edited | Olin Lathrop | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 7, 2016 at 14:02 | comment | added | Marcus Müller | nice answer; I'm hesitant to edit it, but I personally think the last sentence deserves to read: I guess the reason this was appropriate for a breadboard was that it was a low-bandwidth analog circuit, reiterating the point that you cannot build an exact, reliable, stable multi-megahertz oscillator on a breadboard without considering the board itself a component rather than the idealized wires in your schematic | |
| Dec 7, 2016 at 13:54 | history | answered | Olin Lathrop | CC BY-SA 3.0 |