- Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:31 pm
#193637
I am pretty new to the Arduino/breadboard thing, just got my first Uno starter kit. It is great fun but I am having a lot of trouble with my breadboard (the standard Small White Breadboard that comes with the kit). It's tricky to get jumper wires inserted, and impossible to get IC legs into the holes. The legs bend and buckle and refuse to insert. Even jumper wires have to be inserted at a 45 degree angle; and they don't always go in, sometimes they bend instead.
On looking at the board very closely with magnifier and strong lighting, I find that the lower layer (conductive strips with holes for component legs etc) is not aligned perfectly with the upper layer (white plastic with tapered holes to guide wires/legs into the lower sockets). The holes in the metallic strips are offset within their plastic "frames" and partially obscured by the plastic. So it looks like during assembly, the two layers were not registered quite right. The lower holes are offset in the long dimension of the board, which of course is perfectly wrong for IC legs which are aligned with that axis.
Is there a way to fix this? I have ordered another breadboard of course, in the hope that number two will be properly assembled. Was curious though, can I forcibly realign number one so as to make it usable? I hesitate to go at it with an awl or jeweller's screwdriver for fear of damaging it.
On looking at the board very closely with magnifier and strong lighting, I find that the lower layer (conductive strips with holes for component legs etc) is not aligned perfectly with the upper layer (white plastic with tapered holes to guide wires/legs into the lower sockets). The holes in the metallic strips are offset within their plastic "frames" and partially obscured by the plastic. So it looks like during assembly, the two layers were not registered quite right. The lower holes are offset in the long dimension of the board, which of course is perfectly wrong for IC legs which are aligned with that axis.
Is there a way to fix this? I have ordered another breadboard of course, in the hope that number two will be properly assembled. Was curious though, can I forcibly realign number one so as to make it usable? I hesitate to go at it with an awl or jeweller's screwdriver for fear of damaging it.