Mini-Protoboards

Sometimes you need a big piece of prototyping board, like my other products.

Other times, you just need a tiny little piece of it - and now you can do that without having to try to cut up big pieces of protoboard (which will ruin the blade on most things you might use to cut it - and shockingly fast too - and unless your cutting tool is a CNC mill, the results always look awful anyway. That is why I made these assortments of little bits of prototyping board and breakouts for very common SMD packages, most smaller than 1 inch square. Sold in packs of 4-28 pcs; these will arrive in a small panel as shown and can be separated easily (no tools are needed).

Mega-protoboard pack (V3 - Through-hole centric) - $6

Over 15 square inches of prototyping board, over two dozen pieces (a $10 value), for only $6, and you save a bundle on shipping too. Just about any little piece of prototyping board you could need, and then some! This package is focused on through-hole prototyping board - see below for the more SMD-centric offerings.

• 3 Pcs 2x4x3 - Two rows of 4 groups of 3 pins
• 2 Pcs 1x8x3 - One row of 8 groups of 3 pins
• 3 Pcs 1x3x9 - One row of 3 groups of 9 pins (great for power rails)
• 4 Pcs 2x8x2 - Two rows of 8 groups of 2 pins
• 2 Pcs 2x8x3 - Two rows of 8 groups of 3 pins
• 2 Pcs header-converter - One row of 8 groups of 2 pins, connected to row of 2mm and 0.05" pitch holes
• 1 Pc 3x6x2 - Three rows of 6 groups of 2 pins
• 1 Pc 3-4-3 - One row of 8 groups of 4 pins between two rows of groups of 3 pins
• 1 Pc 2x8x3+1x6x3 - Two rows of 8 groups of 3 pins, at right angles to one row of 6 groups of 3 pins
• 1 Pc 2-2-3-2-2 - One row of 4 groups of 3 pins between four rows of groups of 2 pins
• 2 Pcs 2x8x2/2 - Two rows of 8 groups of 2 pins, with two groups of 8 pins (for power and ground) in the middle - for very small projects.
• 1 Pcs 2x6x2/2 - Two rows of 6 groups of 2 pins, with two groups of 6 pins in the middle.
• 1 Pc RGBLED/SMD squares - two 5050 (RGB LED) or SOT23-6 outlines and 2 1206 outlines on top, 24 square pads on bottom, broken out to groups of 2 pins.
• 1 Pc TO-263/TO-252 prototyping board (AZV-3)
• 1 Pc SOIC/TSSOP-16 - SOIC-16 on one side, TSSOP-16 on the other, broken out to groups of 3 pins
• 1 Pc 1"x2" prototyping board (AZP-2)
• 1 Pcs 1206/SOT23 - 6x 1206 outlines on one side, 4x SOT-23 outlines on the other, broken out to groups of 2 pins. If MOSFETs are installed on the SOT-23 pads, you can use 1206 resistors on the other side for a pulldown on the gate

Micro 1x4x4 - 16 pcs - $3

1 "row" of 4 groups of 4 pins - a 4x4 array of holes in 4 1x4 groups. Since I made these, I have found them to get used up faster than any other type of prototyping board. Whenever I need to connect a component to a piece of pin headere, tie a few resistors to a connector - without it being any larger than it needs to be, these are what I reach for. I've made some improvements to my design protocols and the mini-pcbs are break apart than ever!

Mega-SMD-protoboard pack - $4

Almost 8 square inches of SMD-friendly prototyping board, over a dozen pieces for $4. This package contains breakout boards for many of the most common SMD packages.

• 1 Pc MSOP-10 - MSOP-10 (0.5mm) broken out to groups of two pins, with a ground plane
• 2 Pcs RGBLED/SM8 - 2 SM8 outlines on one side, two 5050 (RGB LED) or SOT23-6 outlines and 2 1206 outlines on other side, broken out to groups of 2 pins.
• 2 Pcs SOIC/TSSOP-16 - SOIC-16 on one side, TSSOP-16 on the other, broken out to groups of 3 pins
• 2 Pcs SOIC/TSSOP-8 - SOIC-8 on one side, TSSOP-8 on the other, broken out to groups of 3 pins
• 1 Pc 1206/MSOP-12 - 6x 1206 outlines on one side, MSOP/DFN-12 (0.65mm pitch) outline on the other, broken out to groups of 2 pins.
• 3 Pcs 1206/SOT23 - 6x 1206 outlines on one side, 4x SOT-23 outlines on the other, broken out to groups of 2 pins. If MOSFETs are installed on the SOT-23 pads, you can use 1206 resistors on the other side for a pulldown on the gate
• 1 Pc 6-way Switch - Outlines for six 6mm x 3 mm SMD tactile pushbuttons. These are available on AliExpress and eBay for about 2-3 cents a piece (there are a couple of AliExpress sellers with them 8 different colors too). These are my favorite cheap pushbutton - smaller and more efficient with board space than the 6mm x 6mm ones, but they don't have the terrible durability problems of the smaller ones. One side of each switch broken out to group of two pins, while the other sides of the switches are connected together (in a typical application, this would be ground)
• 1 Pc 1x3x8+1x6x2 - One row of 6 groups of 2 pins, at right angle to three groups of 8 pins (power rails?) - Not SMD related, but I had extra space on the PCB, so why not?

1" x 1.5" mini prototyping board $2.50/ 4-pk

An interesting take on small pieces of through-hole prototyping - perfect for prototyping with an assortment of passives or working with things in DIP-16, DIP-14, and DIP-8 packages. The long rails on the edges can be used for power and ground.

1" x 2.4" mini prototyping board $1.25/each

Like the 1" x 1.5" mini prototyping board above - only longer. This one is ideal for working with larger DIP packages, up to and including DIP-28, used on the popular ATMega 328p - in fact, this board is the perfect size for building a standalone Arduino!

3-4-3 Mini Protoboard 4-pack - $2.50

By popular demand, a package of just the ~1" square 3-4-3 mini protoboard. Great for small projects - you can fit a microcontroller in DIP-8, or even DIP-14 and it's supporting components.

SMD power-handling protoboard - $2.50

A selection of prototyping boards for some of the most common SMD packages for voltage regulators and similar. An effort has been made to keep traces short, since many of the interesting parts are switching regulators that require short traces between the chip and supporting components. The TO-252-5 and TO-263-5 packages are typically used for light-medium duty power ICs, like voltage regulators, buck/boost controllers ( like the LM2596 ), and constant current LED drivers. These components typically perform a simple well-defined task, and require a few external components - and often require that trace lengths be kept short. These boards are great for prototyping with parts like that, as they have some prototyping space right on the board so layout sensitive components can be kept close to the chip. You can't expect them to natch the performance of a custom PCB made just for your application, but all but the most sensitive parts should at least work (unlike on most prottyping boards)

• 2 Pcs SOT-89 prototyping board
• 2 Pcs TO-263-5 (front) / TO-252-5 (back) prototyping board

Mini-protoboard pack - $1

• Two rows with 8 groups of 3 pins
• Two rows with 8 groups of 2 pins
• Two rows with 4 groups of 3 pins
• Two rows with 6 groups of 2 pins, connected to 6x 1206 SMD footprints (top) and 4x SOT-23 SMD footprints (bottom). Solder mask color may vary. Currently shipping green. Improed "rat bites" are easier to break apart than ever!

Suggested uses:

• Converters between cables or connectors with different pinouts - you can also add some small components if needed - even basic level shifters!
• LED indicator board for test and debugging
• Use with SOT-23 MOSFETs - you can put the gate pulldown (or pullup) on the opposite side of the board on the resistor outlines.

0.1"-2mm-0.05" adapter - NEW VERSION $4.50

Convert between 0.1", 2.0mm and 0.05" pin header with these 8 and 16-pin converter boards. New in a larger package with new 16-pin versions at a better price (and best of all - they're in stock!) Currently shipping green as shown in photos - 3x 16-pin and 10x 8-pin per package..

Other protoboard offerings

2" x 4" Prototyping board, with and without SMD outlines and one for use with an ESP8266

Small 1" x 2" boards

"Solderable-breadboard" shaped protoboard with breakaway mounting tabs

Arduino Shield