Breadboard USB Hack

HOW TO POWER A BREADBOARD USING A SPARE USB CABLE.



Breadboards are very useful for prototyping electronic projects. Instead of potentially permanently soldered circuit boards, a breadboard is good for testing and playing around with possible outcomes before creating the final product.

I used the Arduino Electrical Basic kit from RadioShack and a USB game controller to create this hack.

STEP 1: Cut the USB cord from a USB device. Strip the main USB cord to expose the wires. Further, strip the black (negative power) and red (positive power) wires to expose the bare wires to connect to the negative and positive power of the breadboard. Connect the power to the negative and positive sides of the breadboard (for this example. There are multiple ways to power an LED).

STEP 2: Use an indicator light with the positive end plugged into the positive rail, the negative end plugged into the main board (at 10a for example).

STEP 3: Place the resistor on the same row (row 10) as the LED (at 10c and 10g for example). The resistor should straddle the gap.

STEP 4: Run a male/ male lead wire from the second side of the board to the negative rail. (At 10j for example).

Double check all wire connections and plug in the USB end to the USB port on a computer to see the indicator light show that it is receiving power.