4x ProtoShield Basic for Arduino

Note: This is for a pack of four shields. They're so handy it's worth having more than one around.
You can get 6 and 8 pin headers, 40 pin heads, buttons and other stuff at the bottom of the page.

Breadboards are great for quickly prototyping Arduino projects on the workbench, but they're really inconvenient if you want to make something a bit more permanent. The solution: a prototyping shield!

ProtoShields fit directly onto an Arduino or Freeduino such as the TwentyTen and have a large general-purpose area in the middle where you can solder on your own parts for a durable, long-lasting project. 

Enter the ProtoShield Basic, the cheapest Arduino prototyping shield on the market. They're designed to be so cheap that you can keep a few around "just in case".

Don't be deceived by the price though. They may be cheap, but they're not cheap - if you know what we mean. The PCB surface is gold-plated for maximum durability, and it has connection markings on both the top and the bottom so you don't get RSI turning the PCB over every 3 seconds to see what connections go to which pins.

Features

• Gold plated PCB: solders easily and very resistant to corrosion.
• Top and bottom overlay.
• Yellow soldermask so you can write notes on the PCB with a Sharpie.
• Mounting pads for "reset" button wired through to Arduino reset line.
• Mounting pads for "power on" LED and current-limiting resistor.
• Mounting pads for 2 x 100nF power supply smoothing capacitors.
• Clearly marked GND and 5V rails beside prototyping area.
• Sexy rounded corners.

Note that the ProtoShield Basic comes without any extra parts at all: no headers, no reset button, no LED, no resistor, no caps. Just a bare PCB, ready for you to fit whatever headers and other parts you happen to have handy.

Resources

• "Fitting ProtoShield Basic Parts" tutorial
• "Soldering Arduino Shield Headers" tutorial
• Schematic / Project Worksheet (PDF, 24K)
• ProtoShield Basic design files