CHAPTER 23 ■ THE MOTHERBOARD
All of the Molex connector headers are located at the rear of the board. This makes sense since all of the
switches, motors, and other parts are at the back of the robot body. The locking ramp of each header faces
away from the center of the board to provide strain relief and help retain the connector in place if the wires
are pulled away from the board.
Obtaining an IC Socket
Use an IC socket (see Figure 23-6) instead of soldering the comparator chip directly to the circuit board. That
way, the comparator is spared the heat and abuse of the soldering process. Also, you can substitute a more
capable or advanced comparator (such as the TLC393, TLC372, TLV3402, or the LMC6772) in the circuit, as
long as the new comparator is pin-compatible with the LM393.
Figure 23-6. 8-pin DIP IC socket to allow chip removal
Figure 23-5. Breadboard with line-following circuit laid out. R3, R4, R5, R6, LED9, and LED10 are on the
underside of the board