'..

OPERATIONAL
AMPLI FIERS

BLrcnOilIC HER I'ONIOR

Copyright 1984 by

TECH-QUBST

INC., Calabasas,

C.A

iltlroDuclroN

TgT

#F

Anplifiers are devices that increase the porder of

an electrical signal. A cotmon example of an
amplifier is that of the audio anplifier in a
stereo system. Other anplifiers are contained in
radios, televisions, tape players, ard nost
electronic instruments.

C*ffiTffi$TS

li

lv
22

.rp'e:::dii:i;

* -

Before the invention of auplification, electronics

was rather linited.
The tape recorder was
inpossible, although Thomas Edison had invented a
purely mechanical phonograph. GugIielno Marconi
sent a messge by radio across the Atrantic ocean,
but such transmissions were Linited to Morse code.
The telephone existed more that 30 years before the
invention of anplification, and long distance calls
could be made to distances of 1000 niles. I{ithout
anplification, though, the caller was required to
yell into the nouthpiece, and the quality of voice
transnission was poor. Also, the wires used for

long distance calls had to be very large

expensive in order to reduce the signal loss.

T-lsrxd 1.he <Jdet'less r"eaei.r:*'3

The

and

first practical electrical auplifier was the

three elenent vacuum tube invented in Ig12 by Lee

De Forest. The vacuun trbe nade possible the
invention of television, broadcast radio, and many
f i-h* Teshr:i.ce.l -*rls i;sed in l;hie, fe:":t
rn lii"e r*lera*er1u" {i1-f Terr*s c*ltr.ned *r'i' l'e
e.r:ei r:'f, l.i:ii."s i;e.';lt. ?h,t*e',e*y-(;-# defr,led *'r"'e px"i.xL*d
zr: i{:*irs anlren t.br'al -:r:*'; i:-sl; ",s,*r],.,

Ii[:
ll'*

is,*ny

c,ief"'inecl

electrical
instnnents
such as
the
electrocardiogran. loday the transistor has
replaced the vacuun trbe in almost all

applications.

the invention of anplification itself was not the

conplete solution to nany problens. Although
anplifiers did increase the poreer of a sigDal, they
also distorted it. the output of an uplifier was
not a true reproduction of the signal that went

-3-

into it.

Distortion can usually

inexpensive radios and phonographs as
in the sound.

be
a

heard in
tinniness

Arother problen is that the motmt of

anplification, knoryn as the d:ain, of an anplifier
nay char6e. This change may be brought about by a
charge in tenperature or sinply by the aging of the
anplifier's components. The qnat@al. qifier,
or op-amp for short, is the answer to aII these

project

uses an integrated circuit that contains

two complete, separate op-amps. It looks very much
Iike an insect with eight legs.

problens.

section of this booklet will describe

the basic operation of several op-anp circuits in
sone detail.
It is ained nainly at discussng the
circuits that r*ill be used in constructing the
electrocardiograrn. .Applications of olFamps are so
ntrterous that we ca't hope to nention but a snall
fraction of the uses for this versatile component.

is an auplifier that feeds sone of its

output signal back to its input. This is done in a
way that reduces the gain of the anplifier.
Reducing the gain in this way is called 4ative
fa
and increases the stability of the

This booklet does not cover the fine points of

op-amp circuit design. AIso, there are nany other
useftI op-amp projects not nentioned here. ttle
encourage you to pursue the subject further when
you conplete this project.

The op-aup

anplifier

ald reduces

its distortion.

in L92l by Harold
quality anplifier
that would iuprove the sound quality of long

Negative feedback was invented

Black. He was searching for a

distace telephone calIs.

These first otFa[ps were made using vacuum tubes,

and were rather large and expensive. Today a1l the
electrical cponents of an ol>_anp, including
transistors, cnn be formed on a tiny piece of
ciranit or IC. Since
silicon, called an intqtztd
are
so snall and
integrated circuit op-anps
inexpensive, they are n considered as electronic
components thenselves.

Most quality stereo systeus today use olFanps' as

do electronic measurinS instruments. Becanse the
integrated circuit has made op-anps smaller and
Iess expensive, they are now being used in other
applications where quality is less inportant. Tbis

-4-

The theory

Many books and articles have been written about

op-aps. Several are listed in the bibliography at
the end of this booklet. Your local library or

bookstore should contain several of

references as well as many others.

these

TtrE ffiAFT

heart is an electrically controlled prmp. Each

individual heart cell creats a voltage between its
inside and outside. If this voltage reaches a
threshold value, then the cell will dis'charge the
voltage. Itlhen the cell does dscharge, it
contracts in length. The discharge also triggers
nearby cells to discharge and contract. This
produces a chain reaction of discharges and
contractions that spreads through the heart like a
wave, This "wave" is a heart,beat.
The

-5-

starts in a group of cells called the

sinrterial de. This sinoarterial node is the
heart's natural pacenaker. If the sinoarterial
node should fait to function, or if the waves of
discharge are blocked from reaching part of the
heart, then an artificial pacemaker may be needed
to replace the sinoarterial node.
The heartbeat

shocks can disrupt the heart's

electronic re8ulation. This is why they can be so
dangerous. the most hazardous electrical shocks
are those that pass current through the heart such
as those received by touching a high voltage with a
hand while standing on a wet floor.
Electrical

of discharge in the heart create voltages

that are detectable on the surface of the skin.
These electrical signals are very weak, only about
a thousandth of a volt. The electrocardiogrnm, or
EKG, is a device that displays these voltages.
The waves

Doctors can use an EKG to see if the waves of

discharge go through the heart as they should.
The EKG that you will build in this project is not
designed for diagnosis of heart problens. You will
not be able to trace the waves of discharge through
the heart with the EKG you build in this project.
Ho+rever, you should be able to observe the overall
charging and discharging of the heart cells.
MBORY

People in the analog couputer field gave the

operational auplifier its name. These analog
computers were

quite different fron the digital

conputers that are nor comron. An analog conputer

used an auplifier to add or subtract voltages on

-6-

different wires. Thus the anplifiers perforned

nathenatical operations, and were dubbed
operational enplifiers.
got their nodern structure fron this use in
analog conputers. Each op-anp has two inputs that

Op-arops

to affect one output" One input, called

the iaverting invt, causes the output voltage to
go donn if the input goes up. The inverting input
is labled with a ninus sign in the schenatic
drawing sybol of the op-anp. Signals on the
inverting input of the op-arp are algebraically
subtracted fron the op-amp's output.
combine

The other input, called the ninvertia inxtt wLL

cause the output voltage to go up if the voltage on

this input goes up. The noninverting input is

Iabled with a plus si$n. Signals on the
noninverting input of the op-amp are algebraically
added to the op-amp's output.

Figure I shons the way op-anps are drawn on

electrical schenatics. the V* and V_ power leads
provide povJer to the op-amp.
Both the

inverting and noninverting inputs

have

high gain; that is, a snall voltage change on en

input will create a very large voltage change on an
output. In fact, the output change is usually over

100,000 tines that on an input. Since the

amplifier circuits constructed using op-amps
generally require nuch less gain than this, the
excess gain is used as negative feedback to
stabilize the anplifier and reduce its distortion.

The high gain

is the same for both inputs.

This

allows playing one input against the other. For

exanple, if 2 volts are applied to each input, then

-7-

the inverting and noninverting Sains will cancel,

leaving zero volts on the output. Such
reiect
cancellation is called o(m de
because voltages co@ton to both inputs are
rejected.

the inputs of an op-aup have hig tistan. This

means that they pass little electricaL currt. The
high resistance keeps the olrau fron placing a
heavy load in any circuitry connected to its
input.

have a lon output resistance,

that they can put out a lot of current.

Op-arps also

NONINVEBTING INPUT
OUTPUT

INVERTING INPUT

means

which

Circuits that use oIFatrPs need to be provided with

a a oc grolmd reference voltage. This ground
is a voltage established to be less than that of
the battery, usually half of the battery voltage.
The ground is necessary for two reasons. First'
current must always come fron someplace and go
somenhere. The current from an op-amp's output
flors through a load and then goes to ground.
FIGURE

1_

THE OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER

Secondly, a voltage nust be referenced against some

comon point in the circuit. The voltages in and
out of an olraup circuit are referenced to the
ground point. Thus, a voltage of +I volt has a
potential of one volt above ground, while a voltage
of -2 volts has a potential of two volts belovr
ground.

the term ground originally refered to the earth,

for this was the connon reference potential for
telephone and telegraph circuits. Today a "ground
point" nay or nay not be tied to earth. Often it
is not, and the tern is sinply used for convenience
to nean a co@on reference point for the circuit.

-8-

-9-

As nentioned

earlier,

op-anp

circuits use negative

feedback. .A sinple op-anp circuit is shom in

Figune 2. the output voltage is fed directly back
to the orarnp's inverting input. A,Ithough this
circuit produces no gain, it's
helpful in
understanding other op-amp circuits.

If a one volt signal is applied across this

circuit's input terninals, then the voltage on the
op-amp's noninverting input causes its output
voltage to rise. Since the op-amp's output has
been wired to its inverting input, both nust have
the same voltage. The inverting input voltage
therefore rises with the output's. l{tren the output
and inverting input rise to one volt, then both the
inverting and noninverting op-amp inputs are at one
volt.
The signals of the inverting and
noninverting inputs cancel when their voltages are
the ssme, so the output stays at one volt.

INPUT
OUTPUT

circuit in Figure 2, known as a foll, has

no gain. ,II of the op-amp's gain s fed back to
its input. Horvever, the output follows the input
very closely. There is very little distortion.
The

gain, an op-amp circuit needs rcistots.

A resistor is an electrical component that resists
the flow of current through it.
Its electrical
value is neasured in ohns. Figure 3a shor.s the
synbol used for a resistor on electrical diagrnors.
To produce

FIGURE

2-

NONINVERTING FOLLOWER

Figure 3b shows two resistors wired together in

series. the 4000 ohn and 1000 ohn resistor together
act like one 5000 ohm resistor. The resistance
values sinply add. I{hen a current flor.'s through a
series of resistors, the voltage drops along the
way. This is sinilar to the drop in water pressure
along a long garden hose.

-t0-

-lt-

Figure 3b shorys five volts applied across the two

resistors together. Ore volt would be neasured
across the 1000 ohn resistor. This is because the
1000 ohn resistor is one fifth
of the 5000 ohn
total, so it drops one fifth of the five volts.
sinilarly, four volts would be neasured across the
4000 oh resistor. Resistors like these are used
to determine the gain of an op-amp circuit.

circuit with gain is shon if Figure 4,

The oramp's inverting input has a very high
resistance. This neans that it has little effect
on the voltage produced between the resistors.
An op-amp

FIGURE 3A . THE RESISTOR

As before,

the 1000 ohn resistor drops one fifth of

the total voltage &cross the two. This neans that
the inverting input of the op-amp is at one fifth
of the output voltage. One fifth of the voltage is
fed back fron the output to the inverting input.
5 VOLT BATTERY

FIGURE

3b-

RESISTORS IN SEFIES

circuit in Figure 4 is sinilar to the folloer

circuit of Figure 2, but with one fifth of the
feedback, it has five tiles the ain of the
follorer. The gain can be nade higher or lower
than five by choosing different resistors.
The

this circuit with gain is called a ainverting

qifier.
It is used in the EKG project to
produce a gain of over 100. In the EKG project,
22O,OOO and 2000 ohn resistors are used in the
anplifier circuit.
circuit

in the EKG is the diffe.mtial

in Figure 5. This anplifier is a
noninverting auplifier with two extra resistors on
Arother

qlfier

used

shofln

the other op-ap input.

-L2-

-13-

OUTPUT

FIGURE

4-THE

NONINVERTING AMPLIFIER

differential anplifier is especially good at

neasuring only the voltage difference between its
inputs. That is, it doesn't respond to a voltage
between glb inputs and some other part of the
circuit but it will anplify the diffenence in
signal between its inverting ard non-inverting
inputs. This allos it to reject noise vol.tages
that are on both inputs while still anplifying
signals that appear betneen its inputs.

CONSlrlrcTION

The hrnan body can act like a radio nntenna,

picking up noise voltages. Any such voltage witl
appear on both leads to the EKG. A differential
anplifier is used in this project to reject such
signals while still detecting and anplifying the

AII the rords of holes on the breadboard are

Iettered, and all the columns are numbered. This
allows each hole to be represented by a letter and
a number, such as ,{7 or GI2.

The

weak

parts for the EKG will be plugged into a

solderless breadboard. The use of this breadboard
is explained in Appendix B at the end of this
text. this Appendix niII help to explain how these
breadboards are constructed and how connections are
nade with then. Shown in the Appendix is a cutaway
view of the breadboard.
The

Most of the parts to the EKG are resistors. They

can be identified by the colored bands printed
around then. These colored bands are read by the
ristor -Lor c&, to determine their value. The
resistor color code is described in ApPendix A.

signals from the heart.

A conplete circuit diagran of the EKG is shown in

Figure I at the end of this booklet. The BKG is
forned from a differential arnplifier coupled to a
noninverting anplifier. these circuits are coupled
together through a ncitor.

there is one capacitor included in this Proiect.

It is nuch larger than the resistors and has no

placed on the body, can act

Iike weak batteries and generate a snall voltage.
This voltage is blocked frm entering the
noninverting anplifier by the capacitor, which is a
The elecro&s, when

colored bards.

circuit, which contains two op-amps'

is the heart of this project. It looks very. much
like an eight-Iegged insect. Note the indentions
in the plastic on the top side of the integrated
circuit; they designate the end with pins I and 8.
The integrated

couponent which can block steady (Irc) siSnals while

allowing pulses and AC sigals to pass through it.

is established for the EKG circuit by two

220 resistors placed across the battery. The
voltage between the resistors is about half the
battery voltage 'and is used as the comon or
A ground

ttgroundtt reference.

-16-

li

Figure 6 will help you identify the parts contained

with the project.

Line up the integrated circuit on the breadboard as

shown in Figure 7. The pins near the notch in the
plastic case should line up with holes E6 and F6.
Carefully press the integrated circuit dorrn into

-L7-

____{IID_

REssroR

s!

fr
I

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nnnn
b
|

ffi
fL,,.
,

t--F

FIGURE

6-

c.
D.

OB

Itt-- I

---

20

A.
a.

E.

cAPAcrroR

F.

G.
H.

t.

J.

,*r=u*ArED cr*curr

JUMPER WIRE

E,.G

qETr-E

BATTERY CLIP

COMPONENTS OF EKG PROJECT

FIGURE

7_

INSTALLING THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

the holes in the breadboard. Be careful that no

Ieads are bent under the IC as it is inserted.
Check to be certain that the IC is not installed
backwards or it may be destroyed when the battery

is

TABTB

connected.

of the parts, the wire leads are much

is helpful, but not
.onger than needed. It
absolutely necessary, to trim some of the extra
Iength fron each wire lead as you proceed. This
prevents the wires from touching each other and
creating a short circuit.
For nost

Insert the parts into the breadboard by following

the steps in lable I. It doesn't natter which end
of the part goes in which hole. Check off each
step as it is conpleted.
After aII conponents are installed according to
Table I, install the battery clip. Do not install
the battery yet. Plug the red wire into Ct8 and
the black wire into HI8. Don't get these backwards
or the IC wiII be destroyed when the battery is
connected.

Connect the two eight-inch wire leads to the

terminals of the neter--use the end with the

Iongest uninsulated end. Insert the other end of
the wire connected to the meter terninal marked
of the breadboard.
with the + to terninal
^2 meter lead to CI3.
Connect the wire fron the other

()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
(')
()
()
()

I00K (br:o+m-black-yetlow) nesistor between G2 & G7

l00K (brown-black-yellow) resistor between H3 & HB
l.Blrt (brorn-grey-green) resistor between O [ .fZ
l.Bttl (brown-grey-green) resistor between J8 & JI3
220 ohn (red-red-brown) resistor between FI3 & FIB
9. IK (white-brown-red) resistor between 82 & A6
4.7K (yellow-violet-red) resistor between D2 & D7
22OK (red-red-yellow) resistor betrse.en C? & CB
2K (red-black-red) resistor between BB & BI3
l00K (brown-black-yelloro) resistor between Ag &.413
220 ohn (red-red-brown) resistor between EI3 & EIB
.68 nfd. capacitor between H6 & Cg
connect short jrnper wire between Ig & IIB
connect short jrnper wire between 86 & Bt8
connect short junper +ire between DI3 & H13

wires, each with a netal disk on the end

are provided as EKG electrodes. Plug one wire into
F2 and the other into J3. The netal disks wiII be
used to pick up electrical signals from your body.
1\+o long

-20-

-2L-

that u1l components are

connected correctly before applying power to the
EKG. tlten you do connect the battery, be careful
not to reverse the teminals when connecting it to
the battery snap. If power is applied backwards
the integated circuit will be destroyed. the
neter should rise to about half-scale after the
battery is connected to the battery clip. If the
neter tries to nove baclcwards (to the left), the
ft's a Sood idea to

check

neter leads nay be reversed.

If the neter pointer does not give a reading of

between .3 and .7, be sure a fresh battery is used
conponents and
ard carefully check aII
connections. r.r, & n^f.e.r '!
usure

lrB BrG

electrode over the heart with your left hand,

the other one on the leg with your right.

electrodes should be held with a firm

pressure. the circuit wiII respond to
novements, so try to sit still.

the chest electrode to a

position.

slightty

different

If you olserve the needle carefully, you shoutd be

able to see it kick quickly toward one side, and
then for a longer tine torard the other. This
shorys the charging and discharging of the cells in
the heart.

pick up the weak signals

will work best when wetted
with salt water. Mix a snall anornt of water with
as nuch salt as will dissolve in it for this
PurPose.

electrode will be placed over the heart, while

the other goes on the inside of the right leg about
a third of the way between the hip and knee. Both
these areas of skin nust be wetted, preferably with
the salt--water solution, before the electrode disks

One

are held ag;ainst then.

ferr ninutes for the skin to absorb
get a good signal. The skin
to
enowh noisture
nust be kept wet during this tine and while the EKG
is in use.
a

battery to the EKG, being careful

not to apply povJer backwards. Hold one disk

Now connect the

_tt_

steady
your

Af,ter a fer seconds, the neter needle shuld settLe

into a. regular kicking motion. This is the signal
fron your heart. If the signal is weak, try noving

The electrodes used to

produced by the heart

It nay take

and
The

-23-

GIflssAnY oF

ltRts

Calncitor - An electronic couponent that blocks

direct current (DC) voltage but parses

F
J

alternating current (AC) voltages

and

pulses.

rl

Cmn

- The ability of an op-amp to

anplify a signal on either input, but
reject any signal comon to both.

tlode Bejection

o
o

r
J

Cuor -

as "ground". The point in a

circuit used as the reference for all
The same

voltage and signal neasurements.

Current The flovr of electricity through a

circuit, sinilar- to the flow of water
through a pipe.

Ilifferential trylifier
Shorn in Figure 5, a
good at
differential anplifier is
responding only to voltage across its
inputs. It does not respond to a voltage
between qlh inputs ard some other part of
the circuit.
Blectrode - A contact used to collect voltages from
the body's surface.

ol:
F

Follqer - ,{n op-anp circuit,

F]GURE

8. THE

EKG SCHEMATIC

-24-

shown in Figure 2, in
which the output voltage follows the input
voltage exactly; There is no gain in the

fol loer.

-25-

Gain

- The amount of anplification that a circuit

provides.

Grormd

- A voltage, established to be less that the

battery voltage, that is used as a
reference by an op-anp for signals and
voltages.

rfryIifier - A high-gain anplifier with

two inputs, one inverting ard one
Modern operational
noninverting.
anplifiers (or op-anps) are constructed as
an integrated circuit which contains aII
the resistors and transistors used in its

Operational-

construction.

Integrated Circrrit - A great nrnber of electronic

components that are constructed together on
a single snall piece of silicon.

BesistaDce - the ability

inpede the flor

Inverting Input

An electrical component, marked by

Resistor
colored bands, that is designed to have a

The input of the operational

auplifier that produces an output that is
the inverse of the input; that is, a
positive voltage on the inverting input
produces a negative voltage on the output,
and a negative voltage on the inverting
input produces a positive voltage on the
output.

of an electrical device to
of current through it.

stable resistance.

- Resistors are narked with

various color bands. These colors are used
to deterine the resistance value of the
resistor and are read using the Resistor

Besistor Color

Code

Color Code. See appendix

tegative Feedbadr A nethod of decreasing an

amplifier's distortion by feeding sone of
its output back into its input. this
decreases, but stabilizes its gain and
reduces the distortion of the anplifier.
l{oninverting rylifier - A kind of op-amp anplifier
with gain, shorrn in Figure 4.
I|oninverting Input - The input of a operational

anplifier that produces an output of the

same polarity as the input; that is, a
positive voltage on the input produces a
positive output voltage ard a negative
input voltage produces a negative output

Series - the connection of components end-to-end so

flow from one to

that current will

the

other.

Sinoarterial lfode - The part of the heart that

tells the rest when to beat. The heart's
natural pacenaker.
Yoltage - The electrical
wires.

"pressure" between

voltage.

-26-

A.

-27 -

two

BIBLIGNAPtrT
Suggested hrtbr Beading

APPXDIX A

- lbe Resistor Color Code -

4g_Istrs4ncligLlq_Qpsreli9lel_uplfierq' Luces M.
Faulkenberry, John tliley ard Sons, Nerr
York, L977
Ig_:Up-9qe!ge!, ltlalter Jug, Hotard ltl. Sms and

Co., fndianapolis, Indiana,

1980

of their snall size ad irregular shape,

it's not possible to print many electronic
components with their part nrnber or value.
Resistors have traditionally been marked with
different color bands which are read with the aid
of a .Ior & to determine their resistance
Because

value.

Eer--Iq--Dsrld-sud-Use-EIec!reuic--Devieee--Ui!bsg!
fuslgatlgn -Pg[ig'-UgUn!eigg--9f-U9!--or
g!__EpgU9ef!g___Degee, Stuart Hoening,
little Brorr ard Co., Boston, 1980

QprCliqUql--4plifigrS, Robert Seippel, Reston

Rblishing Co., Reston, Virginia, 1983
"Hohr to

Design Analog Circuits--Operational

mplifiers", Mannie Horonitz,

Elelrenig-UgggUine, January 1983,

"Designing

Bgdiq

p.

63

tlith Linear IC's", part 2, Joseph Carr,

Bcdis-Elelt9lrq--Usgcslse, May 1984' p.

80

IC's", Part 3, Joseph Carr,

Bcdle__Elelreqiss_cgcaile, JuIy 1984' P.

"DesigDing With Linear

54

Figure At shos a typical carbon corposition

resistor and the arrangelnent of its color bards.
The resistance value in ohns is deteruined by first
noting: that the color bands are spaced closer to
one end of the resistor body. With the resistor
placed to the bands are grouped to the left as in
Figure AL, read the bads frorn left-to-right 'nd,
referring to lable AI, write down the ntmber
associated with the first two color bands. For
exanple, if the first two bands are red and black,
the nrmbers are two and zero or 20.
the third band is kno+rn as the nultiplier-band and
its value is also found in Table.,1. For exanple, a
nultiplier color band of orange neans to nultiply
the value of the first two bands by 1000 (103),
etc.

The final color band on the res.istor is the

tolerance-band. A gold band on the resistor means
that the actual measured value of the resistor nay
differ fron its narked value by no more than plus
or minus 5 percent of the marked value (that is, 5B
higher or 5% lower). A silver band means the
measured resistance value nay differ no more than
pl-us or ninus l0 percent fron its narked value. If

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-29-

no tolerance band is present, a plus or ninus

percent tolerance is alloed.

20

ABI

_ lUB RSISTOR

Tighter tolerance (and higher cost) resistors are

available when the circuit is critical enoqh to
require then.
c9]sr

silver

gold
black
brown
red
orange
yellovr
green

blue
purple
grey
white

4th COLOR (TOLERANCE}

3rd

FIGURE AI

- THE

AAND

A1

COIOR @DB _

value in

Is!-ei-Znd-eEd

not
not

used
used

3Fil

SanA

x .0I
x .I

xl
XIO

x I00
x 1000
x l0,o0o
x 100,000
x 1,000,000

2
3

4
5
6

not used
not used
not used

7
B

gold fourth band means plus or ninus 5t tolerance

ilver fourth band means plus or minus l0l tolerance
no fourth band neans plus or minus 20t tolerance

COLOR (MULTIPLIER) BAND

RESISTOR

-30-

value in

-31 -

APPIIDIX B

Ursing

the Solderless Breadboard -

Solderless breadboards provide a quick and easy way

to interconnect circuit elenents. the solderless
breadboards consist of a nunber of holes thru which
component leads car be inserted. These holes are
connected together in groups by neans of spring
clips which serve to hold the leads and to connect
fron lead-to-Iead.

basic types of breadboard are available and nay

provided
be
with the project as required. These
types will be referred to as the "bus bar" ad the
"circuit board". The circuit board is shorm in
Figure BIa, while the bus bar is shown in Figure
BIb.
1\o

circuit board consists of rovs of holes labled

ttAtt, trBrtr ItrC', etc. These ro?Ys are separated by a
space between royts ttEtt and ttFtt. The holes in each
row are nrmbered across the top ard botton of the

ffifi
FIGURE

Bla- THE SOLDERLESS

CRCUIT BOARD

The

breadboard.

FIGURE Blb

- THE

SOLDERLESS BUS BAR

the letter and number desigation, each

bg described by a unique "address". that
is, the hgles in row A are called ttAltt, "A2", ttA3tt,
etc., whil'e those in row b are called "8I", "82",

By using
hole can

ttB3tt, etc.

The holes in the circuit board are connected

together in groups of five. Holes AI' Bl, CI, DI'
ard Et are connected together as are holes 42, 82,
C2, D2, and 82, etc. Holes on either side of the
space between ros E ad F are not interconnected.

-32-

-33-

Figure B2a shows how the holes of the circuit board

are connected in groups.

If your project contains a bus bar, it connects to

the circuit board by means of the pins and sockets
nolded into it and the circuit board. Attach it by
placing the circuit board on a flat surface and
pushing the sockets of the bus bar down over the
pins of the circuit board.
holes of the bus bar are connected differently
than those of the circuit board. The bus bar
consists of two rows of holes separated in the
niddle by a space. Il the holes in each row on
either side of the space are connected together.
This is shonn in Figure B2b.
The

_-..cc\r{FtiD ,l Giol}Ps cF

The bus bar is comonly used as a tie point for

p(xrer and gronnd or other points in a circuit which
have many connections.

,{fter you

have completed this project, keep the

solderless breadboard and use it whenever you need
to build an electrical or electronic experiment.
It's a valuable addition to your laboratory.

FiGUlE '2a* il3**l{CT'i}a 3F HOLES ii, ll1CJlT BtF0

,--7
7-:"_-_*i
rr,**__.1
Ill-.1i
*'.-"
--"
"
'
"'
i
-"

F{Lir[ 2b - ohii{c.tii}:

-34-

-'?{-

-lt

l.)t:

Hi-;s ili ail$

9,1l