GikfunSolder-able Breadboard Gold Plated Finish Proto Board PCB DIY Kit for Arduino (Pack of 5PCS) GK1007

Like many electronic hobbyists, I use "proto-boards" to tryout a design. Of course, the designs may be simple or complex. In this case, I was prototyping an Arduino-based LED controller for an outdoor display. I needed only an Arduino NANO, 3 FETs, and 3 resistors. So, a small proto board worked out well.With my design tested, I needed to make a hard-wired equivalent. In the past, I used similar sized pwbs which are cheap and readily available. The problem is that, although the other pwbs are cheap, each "pad" is independent. So, if you need jumpers, you have to add them manually. This board simulates a small proto board with pads already "jumpered". So, if you have a working design based upon a proto board design of this size, you can easily and quickly transfer it to a soldered up design using these boards.Not having to solder additional jumpers seems like a simple thing to do. But, from past experience,, it's extra work and it's easy to make mistakes, and, you can end up with a lot of extra wires. With this board, design to fab is quick and should work. I also like the fact that they have larger mounting holes as well as gold plating.Good quality and seemed like a good price for 5.

I've always used cheap boards so these are a huge upgrade. Solid boards with near perfect traces.

These are great boards. Their hole pattern matches solderless breadboards of the same size. You prototype on a breadboard, then when you are happy, you can solder a version on this board. The soldermask is great and makes it easier to solder. The copper is thick enough that you can rework connections a few times at least without having the copper foil tear off the substrate. You can also use an exacto knife to cut the foil between holes when necessary. The mounting holes are also great, and make it easy to mechanically attach the board inside a box.

I purchased these boards to build some small projects. I put them in my parts bin and recently took one out to build a project I saw in an electronic magazine. I had no trouble soldering to the board. Unlike some boards, the columns of the board are all connected on each side of the board. Thus installing an IC or in my case an Arduino Nano gave me plenty of open and connected spots to solder wires. No of the copper material lifted during soldering or unsoldering when I made a couple of connection errors. I will purchase more when I run out.

These are a clone of the Sparkfun solderable breadboards, with the exact same dimensions and layout. This is fine, because Sparkfun designs are open-source, so these are a good value if you need a lot of them. The only downside is that with these, the silkscreen labels for the rows and columns are only printed on one side.Other than that, they are perfectly functional and I haven't had any issues. The connected rows (+, -) and each 5-pin row are connected by traces on both sides, so if you screw up like I do a lot and have to desolder the pads over and over, you don't have to worry as much about breaking the traces.