Shopping List: Experiments 16 Through
40 Chapter 2
Figure 2-2. This “breadboard” for quickly
constructing electronic circuits has a metal
base, and screw terminals for attaching
wires from a power supply.Figure 2-3. A breadboard without screw
terminals is almost as convenient, and is
cheaper.Tools
Wire strippers
Ideal model 45-121 wire strippers for 16- to 26-gauge wire, or similar. See
Figure 2-4. (The “gauge” of the wire tells you how thick it is. A higher gauge
means a thinner wire. In this book, we will mainly be using thin wire of
20- to 24-gauge.)
You may also consider the Kronus Automatic Wire Strippers, part 64-
2981 from RadioShack, or GB Automatic Wire Strippers, part SE-92 from
Amazon.com. See Figure 2-5.
The Kronus and GB wire strippers are functionally identical. The advan-
tage of their design is that it enables you to strip insulation from a wire
with one hand. But they do not work well on really thin wire.Figure 2-4. To use these wire strippers,
insert a piece of insulated wire in the
appropriate-sized hole between the jaws,
grip the handles, and pull a section of
insulation away. See page 45.Figure 2-5. These automatic wire strippers
enable one-handed operation, but are not
suitable for very small wire diameters. See
page 44.