Prototype Electronics
What are Prototype Electronics?
Prototype electronics are where the obsession with Maker culture started for me. The first time I walked into the famous SEG market in Shenzhen, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how many different types of components there were – I suddenly felt like I could build anything that could do anything!
Common Components
Breadboards
Breadboards are the canvas on which we create our prototype circuits. They allow us to push our components into electrically connected clips so that they do not have to be soldered together to stay connected. This means that if our prototype circuit needs to be changed or even dismantled completely, we can do so easily and at no risk of damaging the components.
Resistors
Resistors contain long, thin conductive material that has been made so that it is exactly the right length, width and material to provide a specific resistance to electric current. Resistors are useful for controlling the rate of flow of electric current…
Diodes
Diodes on the other hand, are not designed to control the rate of flow of electric current but the direction of flow. A diode will only allow a current to flow through it in a specific direction.
Light Emitting Diodes (LED's)
LED’s a very useful components indeed. Like Diodes, LED’s will only allow the electric current to flow in one direction through them but usefully, they also emit light when this is happening. This makes LED’s perfect for indicating when the electric current is flowing as intended.
Servo's
The servo motor is likely to be the first mechanical output component that you use, and it is certainly a very good place to start. Servo motors do not spin in the way that you have probably come to associate with the word ‘motor’. They have a much more controlled way of moving and can be programmed to rotate in a controlled manner to an exact position within their range of movement.