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[on:]

I'm interested in building a prototyping shield, so I'm wondering which of these would be better.

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/7914
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MSMS01
http://www.adafruit.com/products/51

[Reply #1 on:]

I have one of the sparkfun shields, and it isn't bad - but I'll tell you what is (IMO) best: a 2520 tiepoint breadboard

These are sold by many companies and on ebay; essentially they are 3 of 840 tiepoint breadboards side-by-side, with a separate power-bus set of tiepoints at the top, along with banana-plug jacks at the top on a piece of plastic (or in the better models, alluminum or steel).

Get yourself one of those, then mount it and the Arduino on a piece of plywood, mdf, or a cutting board (HDPE or wood - whichever) with some screws and standoffs, and you'll have an experimentation kit to be envious of. You'll also need a set (or two - or three) of jumpers (but I typically use solid-core stranded wire from 25-pair telco cable, or solid-core cat5e).

[Reply #2 on:]

I've used and been happy with the Sparkfun boards in the past but I found their costs, in fact the costs of prototype shields in general, a bit expensive. So lately I've been using Oomlout's budget proto shields. Not quite the same quality (singled sided PCB as opposed to double-sided PCB) but they do the job.

[Reply #3 on:]

If you are making a semipermanent project the proto shields are good.  You can make stuff like this:
http://yourduino.com/camera-control.htm

If you are doing a lot of experiments, I agree the larger breadboards are better.

DISCLAIMER: about to Mention stuff from my own shop... but you can buy it elsewhere too..

What I really like and use every day is this combination:

- sensor shield: http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/SensorShield
- Breadboard: http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=125  (Nice with these power-ground busses!)
- Cables: http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/Cables  (Make it easy to connect to external board modules too)

I hate trying to stick jumper wires directly into the Arduino socket holes. And as soon as I need more than two grounds or Vcc  Grrr....

Things like this are a lot less frustrating: http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/PROJECT-Temp-Humidity-Display

Any suggestions for good prototyping ideas or products appreciated!

Regards, Terry King
...On the Mediterranean in Italy
terry@yourduino.com

[Reply #4 on:]

you can check also our proto shield http://www.olimex.com/dev/proto-shield.html
you have access to vcc and gnd near every pad
also it allows you to prototype with SMD ICs

best regards
Tsvetan

[Reply #5 on:]

I hate trying to stick jumper wires directly into the Arduino socket holes. And as soon as I need more than two grounds or Vcc  Grrr....

That's what I like about the screw-shields. I use the one from Adafruit, and a breadboard.

[Reply #6 on:]

I found their costs, in fact the costs of prototype shields in general, a bit expensive.

If you have a cost-sensitive situation, school etc, look at:

Bare Proto Board $2.50  http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=96
Assembled Protoboard with Mini Breadboard: $6.50  http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=93

DISCLAIMER: Mentioned stuff from my own shop... 

[Reply #7 on:]

I found their costs, in fact the costs of prototype shields in general, a bit expensive.

If you have a cost-sensitive situation, school etc, look at:

Bare Proto Board $2.50  http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=96
Assembled Protoboard with Mini Breadboard: $6.50  http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=93

Nice price, much cheaper than other proto-boards