Make:

Step 1: Solder the (2) buttons and ICSP header

Snap in the (2) buttons and ICSP 6-pin header and solder them in place.

Step 2: Add the (2) LED's and resistors

The shield has (2) LED's that you can use for your projects. Make sure you insert them with the correct polarity. The longer lead is the "+" one! The resistors can be inserted either way.

You have to solder the resistors in a slightly "standing" position. This allows for more room in the center of the shield for the breadboard.

Step 3: Adding the female headers

Next solder in the (4) female headers to the shield. You may have to hold them in while soldering. Just tack in one pin, let it cool, then let go and solder the rest of the pins.

Step 4: Adding the male header pins

Cut and place the (2) 6-pin and (2) 8-pin male headers into the female sockets of the Arduino. Next, place the Proto Shield onto the Arduino, lining up all the pins. Finally, solder all the pins to the Proto Shield. This way all the pins will line up exactly with your board, making it easy to plug it in.

If you have an NG Arduino, you may want to solder in the 3-pin female header pin in the ICSP area of your board. Place the female socket on your board and solder it to the Proto Shield, similar to the male header pins.

Step 5: Adding the capacitors

The (2) ceramic capacitors don't have polarity so don't worry about orientation. Just add them to the board and solder.

Note: If you plan on using a 1/2 size bread board, omit this step.

Step 6: Adding more female headers

There are (3) more female headers to add to the board. (1) for extra ground pins, (1) for more 5V connections, and the last one is floating. This allows it to be what ever you want!

Step 7: Adding the mini breadboard

All you have to do is peel off the tape on your 1/4 size breadboard and stick it onto the board. That's it, you're all done! Prototyping on your Arduino has never been so easy.

You can purchase the ProtoShield in the MakerSHED.

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Posted by: vivi on July 30, 2008 at 11:56 AM

It's annoying that you keep presenting these kind of posts like any other and not like what they are : ads.

Perfect timing. I just built my protoshield tonight! Check it out here: http://blog.joshuamcginnis.com/post/44150930/i-spent-this-evening-soldering-together-the-proto

Posted by: Marc de Vinck on July 30, 2008 at 8:30 PM

@Joshua

Nice timing! Now what are you going to make? I made a 7 LED POV and a few other things just for fun.

@Marc de Vinck

The POV looks like fun. Actually, I'm working with the Parallax RFID reader and I've been working on a project to build a free point-of-sale solution that's built on Intuit's QuickBase (http://quickbase.intuit.com).

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