The Arduino Prototyping Shield makes it easy for you to design custom circuits. You can solder parts to the prototyping area to create your project,or use it with a small solderless breadboard (not included) to quickly test circuit ideas without having to solder. It's got extra connections for all of the Arduino MEGA I/O pins, and it's got space to mount through-hole and surface mount integrated circuits. It's a convenient way to make your custom Arduino circuit into a single module.

Getting Started

You can find in the Getting Started section all the information you need to configure your board, use the Arduino Software (IDE), and start tinker with coding and electronics..

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General

OSH: Schematics

The Arduino Mega Proto Shield is open-source hardware! You can build your own board using the following files:

EAGLE FILES IN .ZIP SCHEMATICS IN .PDF

Description

Board features as follows:

• 1.0 Arduino pinout
• 1 Reset button
• 1 ICSP connector
• 14 pins SMD footprint (50 mils pitch)
• 32 double row through Hole pads, standard Arduino breakout layout
• Proto aerea with multiple THT pads, 100 mils pitch

Power

The Proto Shield bring the power from the Arduino standard 5V and GND pins to the two power bus rows placed between the Through Hole package footprint, which can be used for powering the DIP sockets, or for power and ground rows.

Physical Characteristics

The maximum length and width of the Proto Shield PCB are 2.7 and 2.1 inches respectively. Three screw holes allow the shield to be attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance between digital pins 7 and 8 is 160 mil (0.16"), not an even multiple of the 100 mil spacing of the other pins.

SPI Connection

On the ICSP connector only 5V, GND and RST are wired to the respective pins on the header. MOSI and MISO are present only on the connector pads. For more information about the SPI communication see the SPI library.