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Springboard Breadboards??

B

bart

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone here might know if the old springboard-type
prototyping breadboards still exist and are still available.
The springboards are/were a grid of vertical springs on a plastic
board.
The springs are pretty much the same ones on those Radio Shack 101
project electronics trainer boards.
I'm often prototyping with power resistors / large components & miss
those suckers we had way back in my school days.
If not the boards themselves, maybe the springs to make one?

Thanks in advance! :)
B
 
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone here might know if the old springboard-type
prototyping breadboards still exist and are still available.
The springboards are/were a grid of vertical springs on a plastic
board.
The springs are pretty much the same ones on those Radio Shack 101
project electronics trainer boards.
I'm often prototyping with power resistors / large components & miss
those suckers we had way back in my school days.
If not the boards themselves, maybe the springs to make one?

Thanks in advance! :)
B
I know what you're looking for, they were a staple in training labs
pre-60s. I kind of think they went out with tubes and large discrete
components. You might find some in a surplus electronics place, but
those types of places are dying out, too. If you can find a ham radio
swap meet, that's probably your best bet. Leaded components are dying
off, too, surface mount rules these days.

Stan
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I know what you're looking for, they were a staple in training labs
pre-60s. I kind of think they went out with tubes and large discrete
components. You might find some in a surplus electronics place, but
those types of places are dying out, too. If you can find a ham radio
swap meet, that's probably your best bet. Leaded components are dying
off, too, surface mount rules these days.

In 5th grade (approx. AD 1959), I won a blue ribbon at the Science Fair
with one of those things. ;-)

Nowadays I use an ordinary proto-board, and if I have a component with
fat leads, I cut the leads short and solder a little pigtail of #24
wire to them.

If I need more power than that, I just solder them rat's-nest style.

Good Luck!
Rich
 
D

D from BC

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone here might know if the old springboard-type
prototyping breadboards still exist and are still available.
The springboards are/were a grid of vertical springs on a plastic
board.
The springs are pretty much the same ones on those Radio Shack 101
project electronics trainer boards.
I'm often prototyping with power resistors / large components & miss
those suckers we had way back in my school days.
If not the boards themselves, maybe the springs to make one?

Thanks in advance! :)
B

I think I had 3 of those in my youth..
I recall scavenging the kits for parts. Just springs left.. :)

If I had to find springs I'd check out:
Hobby shop
Hardware store
Online spring shop
Ebay
VCR repair shop or similar

Maybe buy the wire and make the springs...
D from BC
 
I know what you're looking for, they were a staple in training labs
pre-60s. I kind of think they went out with tubes and large discrete
components. You might find some in a surplus electronics place, but
those types of places are dying out, too. If you can find a ham radio
swap meet, that's probably your best bet. Leaded components are dying
off, too, surface mount rules these days.

Stan

I want to find the other style of breadboarding stuff:
the components were mounted on plastic strips or blocks that had Lego-
like metal tits that stuck into the breadboard, and the connections
were various lengths of wire with crimped-on clips that pushed onto
the component terminal posts. You could stack a lot of connections on
one post. I built an oscilloscope in high school wityh this stuff; the
storeroom had a huge pile of it that nobody used because they were
trying to figure out how to connect batteried to light bulbs. There
were vacuum tubes and sockets, a 2" CRT, coils and transformers,
everything. Regens were possible but superhets would have required
some coil winding.
Now I teach a class on AIrcraft Systems and it would be
nice to have this setup to teach some basic electronics. There are
kids out there that might find a real interest in it.

Dan
 
I was wondering if anyone here might know if the old springboard-type
prototyping breadboards still exist and are still available.
The springboards are/were a grid of vertical springs on a plastic
board.
The springs are pretty much the same ones on those Radio Shack 101
project electronics trainer boards.
I'm often prototyping with power resistors / large components & miss
those suckers we had way back in my school days.
If not the boards themselves, maybe the springs to make one?

I'd check the mcmaster carr online catalog (www.mcmaster.com) for
various springs - not the only source of course, and won't have the
most unique items, but often a good place to start.

Not quite sure about mounting them though - appropriately threaded
studs that they could screw onto might be a possibility. I think the
radioshack ones were stepped where they went into the cardboard. RS
had a mechanical "computer" kit that had probably about 100 of them
(and no "electronics" other than batteries, bulbs, and switches)... if
you could find one of those that might be a source.
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'd check the mcmaster carr online catalog (www.mcmaster.com) for
various springs - not the only source of course, and won't have the
most unique items, but often a good place to start.

Not quite sure about mounting them though - appropriately threaded
studs that they could screw onto might be a possibility. I think the
radioshack ones were stepped where they went into the cardboard. RS
had a mechanical "computer" kit that had probably about 100 of them
(and no "electronics" other than batteries, bulbs, and switches)... if
you could find one of those that might be a source.

The kind I got in the 1960s had a sort of wire loop that came up from
the bottom, something like this (please excuse trashscii art):


^
| |
| |
| |
/ \
\ /
===============| |===============
pegboard | |
==============/ \==============
-------- -------- < end of loop part

and the springs had a narrow end that locked onto the bulge. You'd
connect to it by pressing the spring down and sticking the wires through
the loop. The kit even came with a special tool to install them, which
was basically half a rubber ball with a hole for the spring; you'd poke
the loops through, lay it on the bench, and press the springs down over
them.

Hope This Helps!
Rich
 
T

Too_Many_Tools

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone here might know if the old springboard-type
prototyping breadboards still exist and are still available.
The springboards are/were a grid of vertical springs on a plastic
board.
The springs are pretty much the same ones on those Radio Shack 101
project electronics trainer boards.
I'm often prototyping with power resistors / large components & miss
those suckers we had way back in my school days.
If not the boards themselves, maybe the springs to make one?

Thanks in advance! :)
B

A related question....does anyone other than Radio Shack make
electronic educations kits?

TMT
 
H

Homer J Simpson

Jan 1, 1970
0
A related question....does anyone other than Radio Shack make
electronic educations kits?

Sure. And others sell them, R P Electronics for one.
 
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