Adafruit Proto Shield for Arduino

Created by Jeff Donaldson

Last updated on 2013-08-06 05:00:28 PM EDT

 Guide Contents

Guide Contents 2
Overview 3
Arduino prototyping 3
Ideas for use 3
Make it! 6
Lets go! 6
Preparation 7
Prep 7
Tools 7
Parts list 10
Schematic 10
Parts List 10
Optional parts 12
Solder it! 14
Download 23
PCB & Schematic 23
Buy Kit 24
Forums 25

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 2 of 25

Overview

Arduino prototyping

This is a design for an open-source prototyping shield for Arduino NG/Diecimila. It has tons of
cool features, to make prototyping on your Arduino easy.

Compatible with NG, Diecimila, Duemilanove and any Arduino-clone in the 'classic' shape
and pinout.
Reset button up top
ICSP header
Lots of GND and +5V rails.
DIP prototyping area makes it easy to add more chips.
SOIC prototyping area above USB jack for up to 14-pin SOIC chip, narrow medium or wide
package.
Use 'mini' or 'medium' breadboard.
Two 3mm LEDs with matching resistors.
Extra 6mm button

Ideas for use

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 3 of 25

Larger breadboard for tons of working space!

Tiny breadboard fits nicely on top.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 4 of 25

2 LEDs and one button are availble for general purpose use!

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 5 of 25

Make it!

Lets go!

This is a vey easy kit to make, just go through each of these steps to build the kit.

1. Tools and preparation ([Link]

2. Check the parts list ([Link]
3. Solder it ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 6 of 25

Preparation

Prep
Learn how to solder with tons of tutorials! ([Link]
Don't forget to learn how to use your multimeter too! ([Link]

Tools
There are a few tools that are required for assembly. None of these tools are included. If you
don't have them, now would be a good time to borrow or purchase them. They are very very
handy whenever assembling/fixing/modifying electronic devices! I provide links to buy them,
but of course, you should get them whereever is most convenient/inexpensive. Many of these
parts are available in a place like Radio Shack or other (higher quality) DIY electronics stores.

So ldering iro n

Any entry level 'all-in-one' soldering iron

that you might find at your local hardware
store should work. As with most things in
life, you get what you pay for.

Upgrading to a higher end soldering iron

setup, like the Hakko FX-888 that we
stock in our store ([Link]
will make soldering fun and easy.

Do not use a "ColdHeat" soldering iron!

They are not suitable for delicate
electronics work and can damage the kit
(see here ([Link]

Click here to buy our entry level

adjustable 30W 110V soldering
iron ([Link]

Click here to upgrade to a Genuine

Hakko FX-888 adjustable temperature
soldering iron. ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 7 of 25

 So lder

You will want rosin core, 60/40 solder.

Good solder is a good thing. Bad solder
leads to bridging and cold solder joints
which can be tough to find.

Click here to buy a spool of leaded

solder (recommended for
beginners) ([Link]

Click here to buy a spool of lead-free

solder ([Link]

Multimeter

You will need a good quality basic

multimeter that can measure voltage and
continuity.

Click here to buy a basic

multimeter. ([Link]

Click here to buy a top of the line

multimeter. ([Link]

Click here to buy a pocket

multimeter. ([Link]

Flush Diago nal Cutters

You will need flush diagonal cutters to

trim the wires and leads off of
components once you have soldered
them in place.

Click here to buy our favorite

cutters ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 8 of 25

 So lder Sucker

Strangely enough, that's the technical

term for this desoldering vacuum tool.
Useful in cleaning up mistakes, every
electrical engineer has one of these on
their desk.

Click here to buy a

one ([Link]

Helping Third Hand With Magnifier

Not absolutely necessary but will make

things go much much faster, and it will
make soldering much easier.

Pick one up here ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 9 of 25

Parts list

Schematic

Parts List

Info rmatio n &

Image Name Descriptio n Qty
Distributo r

Printed circuit board Adafruit 1

LED1 3mm Red LED Generic 1

LED2 3mm Green LED Generic 1

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 10 of 25

 470-1.0K Resistors
for LED
R1 R2 Generic 2
Carbon 5% 1/4W

RESET
6mm tact switch Generic 2
S1

0.1uF 50V ceramic

C1 C2 Generic 2
capacitor

6 pin male 0.1"

ICSP Generic 1
header (2x3)

8 pin female 0.1"

Generic 2
header (1x8)

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 11 of 25

 6 pin female 0.1"
Generic 2
header (1x6)

5 pin female 0.1"

Generic 3
header (1x5)

36 pin male 0.1"

Generic 1
header (1x36)

Optional parts

Image Descriptio n Distributo r

Small breadboard (300 tie points).

Adafruit
This is a little more practical than the
larger 'standard' ones.

Tiny breadboard (170 tie points).

Also, 5 pin female header (1x5) for use

with 'tiny' breadboard as 'end rails.'
Adafruit
These are pricey but you can 'make it
yourself' by cutting a larger
breadboard down with a hacksaw!

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 12 of 25

 "Stacking" female header allows
'stacking' of shields. Our pack has all Adafruit
the parts you need

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 13 of 25

Solder it!

Time to solder the kit together! If you've never soldered before, check the Preparation page for
tutorials and more. ([Link]

First, check that you have all the parts!

Look over the parts list
here ([Link] and shown on
the left.

(NOTE we do no t include the 3pin

female header anymo re since it
was o nly used fo r very o ld NG
Arduino s!)

Put the two small buttons in. They will

snap in and should be flush with the PCB.
The buttons are symmetric so don't
worry about putting them in backwards!

With your soldering iron, solder each of

the 4 points on each switch.

Next, place the 6 pin ICSP header. If

you're never planning to use an external
programmer you can skip this step!

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 14 of 25

 Solder all 6 pins. You may have to tape or
hold the part in place or it'll fall out!

Next it's time to place the two 3mm LEDs.

LEDs are directional, and if you put them
in backwards they wont work.

LEDs have a positive lead and a negative

lead. The positive lead is longer. On the
Protoshield PCB you will see a small +
sign next to the LED silkscreen pictures.
That's the side you should put the
positive lead in.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 15 of 25

 Solder both LEDs in place.

Use diagonal cutters to snip off the long

legs so that they are about as long as the
legs of the buttons or ICSP header.

Next place the two resistors for the LEDs.

Resistors don't have a direction so you
can put them in either way.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 16 of 25

 Solder in the resistor legs and clip them
short.

Next, place the 4 8-pin and 6-pin female

headers as shown.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 17 of 25

 Turn the board over and solder them in,
you may have to hold the parts or tape
them to keep them from falling out!

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 18 of 25

 Next its time to make the male headers
from the long strip. use diagonal cutters
or pliers to clip off 4 parts, 2 6-pin and 2
8-pin, as shown.

If you have a Diecimila (2008),

Duemilanove (2009) or newer Arduino,
put the long ends of the male header in
to the female header on the Arduino, as
shown.

Put the proto shield on top of the

Arduino, so that the male header aligns
with the solder holes.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 19 of 25

 Solder every pin of the male header.
Keep the shield on the Arduino to make
the job easy.

Once you're done, you can remove the

shield from the Arduino.

If you're using a half-sized breadboard

you should stop now as adding the
remaining parts will make the breadboard
not fit as well.

Place the two ceramic capacitors. They

are symmetric so you don't have to
worry about putting them in backwards.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 20 of 25

 Solder and clip the capacitors.

(NOTE the image sho ws a 3pin

header but that is no t used
anymo re, igno re it!)

Solder in the 3 5-pin female headers.

These are especially useful if you're
using a tiny breadboard with the shield.

One of the headers is all ground pins,

another is all 5V pins. The final one is
'floating', which means you can use a
jumper to make it Vin or 3.3V or any
other value you need.

Solder in the headers.

(NOTE the image shows a 3pin header

but that is not used anymore, ignore it!)

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 21 of 25

 If you are using a tiny breadboard, you
can just take off the backing and stick it
on! (Or use double sided tape.

If you want to use the red and green

LEDs or the general purpose button,
simply solder solid-gauge wire (~22awg
is good) into the large solder holes near
the device. Then you can plug the other
end of the wire like a jumper into any of
the female headers. The two LEDs are
tied to ground through 1K or 1.5K
resistors. The button simply connects
the jumper to ground when pressed (use
an internal or external pull-up). Check the
schematic on the download page for
specific details.

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 22 of 25

Download

PCB & Schematic

Here's the latest EagleCAD sch ([Link] and brd ([Link] files.

And the schematic as an image ([Link]

Made available under CC 2.5 Share-Alike/Attrib. Have fun kids!

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 23 of 25

Buy Kit

Buy Kit ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries [Link] Page 24 of 25

Forums

Forums ([Link]

© Adafruit Industries Last Updated: 2013-08-06 05:00:30 PM EDT Page 25 of 25