Tip of The Day / Breadboard Wiring

[@EngineerNotFound]

In my current agency job at a large sports venue, there are two large skips and lots of recycle bins dotted all over the venue. I've been able to salvage quite a bit over the last several months, including cable. I found something similar to that cable a few months ago and kept thinking that it might come in handy some day. This video is exactly what I need to tidy up a button box I'm building for my current project. Thank you.

[@0033mer]

Thanks for sharing! Glad it was helpful.

[@PhG1961]

Cool!! I've been harvesting cables like this (and other stuff too) for decades. The problem is... like many of us... I can't throw anything away. It's all very valuable and useful some day...

[@pileofstuff]

Even easier for most people to get their hands on is a chunk of CAT5 cable. It's only 8 conductors, but with how common it is, finding a few random meters of it is pretty accessible to most people.

[@0033mer]

Yes, CAT5 works. It is also 24AWG.

[@TheTubejunky]

I have 500ft of it lol. Found in a rubbish pile.

[@larrybud]

Yeah, and you get a cable in everything you buy.

[@EngineerNotFound]

I think CAT5 cable is exactly what I have (although I didn't know it until I saw your comment). Just counted the cables; they come in pairs and there are eight of them. Someone dumped lots of electrical stuff including cables at my workplace in the electrical recycling that isn't collected for months at a time, and I kept the cable hoping to be able to use it some day. Today's that day. Glad I saw your comment.

[@albanana683]

For audio work I've found the inner strands of old SCART leads to be a good source of shielded cables. Also a good range of colors. Secondhand shops usually have a box of them and are pretty cheap.

[@ShellacScrubber]

Excellent, thank you Ken. I used to very occasionally be lucky enough to pick up similar bundles of pieces discarded from work done on telephone junction boxes but unfortunately those days are long gone. But now you've pointed out a potential new source for this wire which is perfect for breadboards !

[@0033mer]

Thanks for sharing!

[@johncatsoulis]

Great suggestion

[@romancharak3675]

I have salvaged cable just like that, Ken. Thank you for the tip!

[@0033mer]

Welcome!

[@simplelyf4072]

Thanks for the great tip o the day! So helpful

[@0033mer]

Welcome!

[@engineerabetterlife8301]

Nice to see the 8085 on the prototype. Fond memories of writing assembly code and data/address demultiplexing 😊

[@CDP-1802]

Back in 2005 my office was remodeling and I grabbed a box of leftover solid core CAT5e and have been using it every since for breadboarding… I think it’s 24 gauge, not sure but it fits 😂

[@0033mer]

Yes , that also works. It is also 24 gauge. The CDP1802 was my first microprocessor in high school.

[@CDP-1802]

@@0033mer Nice! My first was the 8085, which I spied on your prototyping board ;)

[@0033mer]

That project goes back to the early 80s. I have kept all my prototypes after the PCBs were made. Were you into the BlackBurg BugBook series? ... just curious.

[@CDP-1802]

​@@0033mer I have a ton of Blackburg books, including the 8080 bug book, although I got into electronics later in the mid 90s when everything was pretty much obsolete, I found an SDK-85 in a box of junk behind a computer store my brother worked at, it had been rained on but luckily the manual was underneath it and was spared getting totally soaked. A trip to the library for Lance Leventhal's 8085 book and I was hooked!

[@CDP-1802]

@@0033mer I replied to this days ago but my reply seems to have dissapeared... In any case I have a ton of Blackburg books, including the 8080 bug book, although I got into electronics later in the mid 90s when everything was pretty much obsolete, I found an SDK-85 in a box of junk behind a computer store my brother worked at, it had been rained on but luckily it had the manual was underneath it and was spared getting wet. A trip to the library for lance leventhal's 8085 book and I was hooked.

[@Perspectologist]

Great advice. Using this kind of wire is much easier than breadboard wire for anything of moderate complexity. I hadn’t thought of buying communication cable. I probably paid a lot more for single wire spools. The other benefit is the color patterns, I only have a few spools of different colors.

[@0033mer]

Yes, the color scheme comes in handy for tracing circuits around the protoboard.

[@RalphWLundvall]

Thank you for the tip. I discovered that if I standardized colors for certain repeating functions, I could return mny months later and figure out the circuit. Red & Green for vcc and ground (black does not photograph well), yellow and orange for I²C (SDA & SDL), white and blue (TX and RX). All yellow would stump me.

[@0033mer]

Yes, the colors come in handy. I use them when connectors are involved. Blue Orange Green Brown Slate is the color code used. It makes it easy to trace them from the connector onto the protoboard. Thanks for sharing.

[@mrwoodandmrtin]

Good tip. Good old telco's

[@0033mer]

You bet

[@Cyklonus]

👍👍

[@LousyPainter]

I use twisted pair used for punch down on bicks panels. It's great stuff and it was free. A box full.. Take all you want because it is going in the garbage.

[@0033mer]

Yes, if you know where to look there is plenty around. Thanks for sharing.

[@raym9691]

Great idea, question, where can you find small sections of that cable cheap?

[@0033mer]

Check out your local salvage yard that buys copper. They usually have small pieces laying around.

[@markgreco1962]

What brand is that stripper? Thanks for this, I have commented several times on your wire

[@0033mer]

C.K. made in Germany.

[@markgreco1962]

@@0033mer thanks

[@user.A9]

Pair colors: blue orange green brown slate Group colors: white red black yellow violet

[@0033mer]

That is etched into my brain. I have terminated a few to BIX and punch blocks

[@rickytomatoes]

Love it when people reuse electronic components. We've got too much unnecessary waste going to the landfills. People should repair/reuse first, before chucking it into the bin.

[@abpccpba]

Good one : = }}

[@lasersbee]

Basics that every new Prototyping Technician needs to know...