Well, I agree with the 0.1" strips (go on eBay and find someone selling
a bag of the breakaway ones cheap, you'll use them often) but I prefer
using jumper cables from there to the solderless breadboard. Just take a
peice of wire and put a high density D-Sub pin on one side and high
denisty D-Sub socket on the other. Don't use regular D-Sub parts, the
regular pins are a bit big for breadboards (although I can attest they
will fit, they're just big) and the regular sockets won't grip the
header pins. This is also a good way to connect IDC connectors to a
breadboard.

Examples:
   http://www.cs.odu.edu/~olson/piclist/RibbonEnds.jpg
   http://www.cs.odu.edu/~olson/piclist/PinsToBreadboard.jpg

As a note, the ribbon cable done like that is occasionlly very useful
for keeping things neat, I'd probably use individual wires for a demo
board. I highly recommend the shrink tube as well.

You can also use a 0.1" header connector on one end (those are actually
meant to connect to the pins). It's also possible to put a 0.1" header
onto your breadboard by getting one of the 90 degree connectors and
straightening out the pins. I don't like doing that because they also
seem to be right on the board of what a solderless breadboard can
handle, although I've been know to do it to provide an easy hookup for a
ICSP.

-- Michael Olson

Bob Axtell wrote:

> The BEST way to use the demo boards is to install 0.025"sq .1"ctr strips
>   into the active IO port holes, then use wirewrapped connections.
>
> Most people today are unfamiliar with wirewrap, but the method is a very
> reliable way to make temporary, reuseable connections. This makes the
> demo cards endlessly reuseable; I have some from 10 years ago, as
> pristine today as the day I bought them.
>
> You can google up wirewrap tools and sources.
>
> --Bob
>
> Lindy Mayfield wrote:
>
>> How do people normally work with the IO ports on PIC demo boards?  I
>> have been soldering wires from the ports on the demo board and
>> plugging them into a bread board as needed.  Is this correct, or is
>> there a better way?
>>
>> The board looks strange with all those wires hanging from it.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Lindy
>>
> --
>
> Replier: Most attachments rejected
>       --------------
>         Bob Axtell
> PIC Hardware & Firmware Dev
>   http://beam.to/baxtell
>       1-520-219-2363

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