Introducing the Breadboard

The breadboard is a powerful prototyping tool that will let you take your electronic skills to the next level. With it, you can connect many components together!

Let’s learn how to use it by testing out a special type of LED called an RGB LED.

Let’s begin exploring each part of the breadboard.

Along the left and right sides of the breadboard are columns called Power Rails marked with - and + labels. These columns are typically used to provide power to your components by connecting to your power source (like a battery).

Instructions

1. Hover over any of the holes in the column next to the + symbol on the breadboard and notice how the entire column turns green. This means that all of the holes in this column are connected to one another. Try it out with the - column too.
2. Click + Components and add a 9V battery to your circuit. Rotate the battery 90 degrees and place it so that the positive end of the battery is connected to the + rail, and the negative one is connected to the - rail.
3. Continue to the next step.

For the rest of the breadboard, notice how the columns are labeled with letters (a-j), and the rows are labelled with numbers (1-30). These letters and numbers act like coordinates to help you identify where to add your components. This is especially handy when you’re sharing your design with others.

Instructions

1. Hover over a row and check out how the entire row is highlighted in green - that means they're all connected to one another. When you add a component to a breadboard, each pin of the component is typically connected to different parts of your design. As a result, you’ll want each pin to be in a different row.
2. Click + Components to add an RGB LED, and rotate it 90 degrees. Then place it on your breadboard, with the top pin (Red) in E13 (That’s column E, row 13).
3. Hover over each leg of the RGB LED to see the labels for each pin. This reveals what RGB stands for - Red Green and Blue. There’s also another pin called the Cathode that we’ll want to connect to ground through a resistor to ensure there isn’t too much current running through the LED.
4. Click + Components and add a 480 Ω resistor, with one leg connected to the cathode of the LED at D14, and the other connected to D18.
5. Finally, add a wire connecting the resistor to ground. Remember, all the pins in row 18 columns a-e are connected to one another. Connect the resistor to ground by connecting A18 to the - rail.
6. Continue to the next step.

In the middle of the breadboard, you’ll notice a gap that separates the two sides of the board. This gap is called the “ravine” and isolates both sides from one another. Many components take advantage of this so that pins on opposite sides of the component can be connected independently.

Let’s try this out with a pushbutton, which is a type of switch that makes a connection when pressed.

Instructions

1. Click + Components and find a pushbutton to add to your circuit. Rotate it 90 degrees and place it on your breadboard so that the top left pin is in E1.
2. Pushing the button while the simulation is running will create a connection between the left pins (E1 and E3) and the right pins (F1 and F3). We’ll use this to trigger each pin of the RGB LED. Remember, an LED turns on when it has connection to power and ground. To create this connection, wire the top left pin of the pushbutton (A1) to the + Rail.
3. Now wire the other side of the pushbutton at D3 to D13, the same row as the Red pin of the RGB LED.
4. Click Start Simulation and press the button. What color did the RGB LED turn?
5. Stop the simulation and change the wire color to match the color the RGB LED turns when the pushbutton is pressed.
6. Continue to the next step.

Let’s connect two more switches to the last two pins of the RGB LED.

1. Copy (Ctrl + C) and paste (Ctrl + P) the pushbutton to create another one and place it with the top left pin at E5.
2. Use wires to connect the top left pin to the Power rail and the bottom pin to the Blue pin of the RGB LED (C7 to C15)
3. Run the simulation and check that the RGB LED turns the color you expect it to.
4. Repeat with one last pushbutton whose top left pin is at D9. Use wires to connect the top left pin to Power and the bottom left pin to the Green pin of the RGB LED (B11 to B16).
5. Continue to the next step.

Congratulations on completing your first breadboard design and learning how to use the RGB LED!

Continue Tinkering

1. What if you want to combine red, blue, and green? If you start the simulation and hold down the shift key on your keyboard when you click on a pushbutton, it will keep the button pressed. Try holding down multiple buttons and see what happens to the RGB LED!
2. If you run out of room, you can always use a bigger breadboard. This design uses a Small Breadboard. Click + Components to check out the full sized breadboard and compare how many pins it has.