Hi all 
I'm building an open-source quadcopter that will use a SparkFun 9 Degrees of Freedom sensor array as its IMU, controlled by an Arduino Uno SMD. I chose this hardware for its simplicity; only 4 points to solder, and there is existing code for all the sensor components. I've bought a proto shield, but I have a questions before I start soldering:
How do you hook up the points on the shield? It's not like a breadboard where the horizontal rows are connected. I know that there are rails for 5V and GND, but what about everything else?
They're not connected - you'll need to make connections yourself. Basic 22-28 AWG wire is fine, or even leftover component leads.
Some holes on the proto shield are connected and you can use them as breadboard rows but you have to solder instead of plugging in jumper wires.
I don't suppose you can buy electrically joined pin headers, can you? Say I want a row of 6 pins that are connected, is there something that can do this easily?
6 pins on an IC? Just solder a bare piece of hookup wire along the 6 pins.
LogicalUnit:
I don't suppose you can buy electrically joined pin headers, can you? Say I want a row of 6 pins that are connected, is there something that can do this easily?
I don't know enough to answer. Will a small breadboard help? It stacks on top of standard proto shield just fine then you can solder a few wires on the proto shield and jump them to the breadboard.