I'm really new at this. The answer here is probably so obvious that no one writes it down. That said, I don't have anyone to ask in person, so here goes.
I want to connect the Arduino to something that uses larger wires, simply for convenience.
The Arduino female pins work well with 22 gauge solid; I'm trying to connect it to a button in a box 10' away, and it's much, much, much easier to wire that with something slightly heavier. (I also don't know if loss will be substantial, either with 22 gauge or something thicker; line loss may kill this idea yet, not sure.)
What's the best (most common?) way to go from the tiny jumper wires to something larger? How far away (via wire) can you put a switch or button from an Arduino?
talldean:
What's the best (most common?) way to go from the tiny jumper wires to something larger?
Cheap: Join a thin wire to the end of the thick wire.
Expensive: Buy a shield with screw terminals.
Complicated: Solder the thick wire to the bottom of the Arduino board where the pin sticks out.
Short version: Just connect it.
talldean:
How far away (via wire) can you put a switch or button from an Arduino?
A long way. If it was 100 yards you might have to add extra pull up resistors but 10' is nothing.
Awesome, thank you! I'm probably going 25', so that should work.
Sounds like I need to learn to solder a bit better; in the meanwhile, I'm just connecting jumper wires to a bigger wire with a bit clunkier soldering job.
Okay, "terminal block" seems the terrific thing to search for here as well.
Followup question; what's it called if the terminals aren't isolated from each other? That is, in a terminal block strip, you have pairs of two screws that aren't insulated from one another. If all of the screws were electrically connected, what words should I be searching for? (Trying to tie together ten or so things for a common ground.)
Interior, day. Talldean enters shop armed with photo from the forum.....
Talldean (showing photo): "I'd like some of these please, Mr Shopkeeper, but I have nfc what they are called"
Mr Shopkeeper: "Certainly Sir, what colour would you like?"
Talldean: "Blue"
Mr Shopkeeper: "You're in luck, here you are"
Sound effects: Ka-CHING
Exeunt
