So, my proof of concept CircuitPlayground shield works. The concept was proved. What was the next step? Custom PCBs, naturally!
I spent New Years Day evening designing 3 different shield PCBs:
- A breadboard shield exactly like the prototype outlined here.
- A very similar shield with a 2x14 header rather than 2 1x14 headers. This is meant to connect a cable.
- A prototyping shield with a standard 0.1" spaced grid of holes..
This mix allows you to prototype on a breadboard, use the CircuitPlayground on the outside of a box with more hardware inside, or put some hardware directly on the shield.
The breadboard shield that converts the CircuitPlayground holes to a DIP-14 pinout making it ideal for use with a standard solderless breadboard.
The cable shield converts the CircuitPlayground holes to a 2x7 pin header format that is ideal for attaching a ribbon cable to connect with other hardware.
The prototyping shield provides space to add expansion hardware on the shield, connected directly to the CircuitPlayground.
The shield PCBs provide a far cleaner connection than the protoboard and wire.
