Arduino Prototype Shields

Adafruit Proto Shield for Arduino

2018-08-04

One of my favorite Arduino prototype boards is the Adafruit Proto Shield for Arduino. They are discontinued now but I wanted to gather all the documents here in case all the information disappears.

adafruit-arduino-proto-v5-01.jpg

This board has standard 0.1"x0.1" prototyping grid with big pads
It has an IC pattern in the center for adding integrated circuits (DIP) up to 20 pins
Power rails down the middle and sides
A reset button and an extra general use button
There are (2) 3mm general use LEDs, red and green, as well as 2 matching resistors that can be used for anything.
A surface-mount chip area for up to 14 SOIC size parts (see note below about shorting it out.)
Every pin is laid out to the edge of the pcb
2 x 0.1uF capacitors on either side for extra power stability.
Quality construction with gold-plated pads
A pass-thru ICSP stacking header so you can stack any kind of shield on top, and/or use an AVR programmer
Last but not least you can use stacking headers or plain headers if you assembled it and choose either.

adafruit-arduino-proto-v5-02.jpg

Parts List

Bare PCB (1)
LED1 3mm Red LED (1)
LED2 3mm Green LED (1)
R1 R2 470-1.0K Resistors Carbon 5% 1/4W for LED (2)
RESET S1 6mm tactile switch (2)
C1 C2 0.1uF 50V ceramic capacitor (2)
8 pin female 0.1" header (1x8) (2)
5 pin female 0.1" header (1x6) (2)
36 pin male 0.1" header (1x36) (1)
Mini-Breadboard (optional) (1)
adafruit-arduino-proto-v5-03.jpg

If you're using the mini breadboard you may want to solder in the two 5-pin headers to the 5V and GND rails near the end of the Proto Shield,

You can also use double-sided tape and attach a mini-breadboard like this.

adafruit-arduino-proto-v5-04.jpg

There are two buttons. One is connected to the Arduino reset line. The other is not connected to anything. You can of course, connect to anything.
C1 and C2 are used to keep the 5V supply clean.

In order to use the LED you solder 22-ga wire to the large pad near the leds and then plug the other end of the 22-ga wire into one of the various female headers coming from the Arduino or to part of your prototype circuit. This is the same method to use the second push button as it is waiting to be wired into something as an input. The two leds are tied to ground through R1 and R2.

NOTE: I recommend using a piece of tape on the bottom right above the Arduino Uno USB port. It looks like it could short to the bottom of the prototype board it is dangerous without insulating the bottom of the PCB.

Schematic

Adafruit-Arduino-Prototype-Plate.jpg

This schematic seems to be from a newer version than mine, there are some subtle differences namely lack of headers for the SPI/ICSP connector. It is completely missing the 2x3 pin SPI/ICSP support but that is the only difference that I have noted between mine and the document I located.