Breadboard with terminals for power connections. Image: SparkFun.

Fluency in basic electronics is increasingly useful for anyone getting into citizen science. These days electronic kits from Make, SparkFun, Adafruit, and many other vendors are everywhere. Ardino and Netduino has created an entire subgenre of electronics with active, enthusiastic communities.

If you are new to electronics, you will need to learn to use a breadboard. This is a solderless connection device that lets you build a circuit without the need for soldering the components together. The learning process being what it is, the breadboard is a boon to those of us who learn through trial and error (i.e., everybody).

The idea behind a breadboard is pretty simple. Beneath all those holes are strips of metal, usually copper, that are arranged to allow connections using “jumper wires” between the holes in the plastic top. One word of advice I received early was to spend a few extra bucks and buy yourself some pre-cut, pre-bent jumper wires. Seriously, it does save a lot of time and trouble later on.

There’s a pretty good video introduction to breadboards from Make magazine.

Here are some other resources to help you get started:

Breadboard Circuit Techniques. Introductory lesson, .pdf file.

How to use a breadboard, also known as a protoboard Part I.

Video. Dry, but informative. Basic terminology, layout, and procedures. Part II of the video is here.

Printed and Perforated Breadboard Tips. Some nifty tricks usable by prototypers at any level.