On Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:46:30 +0000 (UTC), Don Kuenz
wrote:

Pease the jester put that tangle on the cover of his book. It posses
a certain charismatic enthralling aspect that draws me into its blooming
crazy.

When I was designing marine radios, we would build a breadboard on a
piece of plywood, using small PCB's representing sub-systems and
stages. Typically, one to four engineers and maybe 3 technicians
would contribute to the prototype construction. Artistic value and
neatness varied, but the final result usually worked quite well. For
many years, one such working plywood prototype was hanging on the wall
of the lab (the only safe place), permanently wired to a power supply
and antenna. It was very commonly used as a "reference" radio for
comparison with current production units. When something went wrong,
it was a big help. Anyone borrowing parts from the breadboard were
threatened with violence, so it remained functional for at least 5
years.

It reminds me of the open air boardless circuit that used to hang on an
old boss' wall as abusive art. Imagine, if you will, a perfboard circuit
minus the perfboard with lots of stiff wire "tracers" to keep everything
in place.

http://www.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/drivel/slides/e-hatband.html
This will require some explanation. I was temporarily in hospital
with a sprained ankle, torn ligaments, and a possible concussion.
After the first day, I became seriously bored. A friend delivered my
box of junk parts, a soldering iron, some small tools, and ordered me
to build something. The best I could do was a hat band, the remains
of which is in the picture. Solder and wire leads do not tolerate
much flexing, which caused the hatband to break. It may not look like
much, but as I was seeing double at the time, soldering all that junk
together was a real challenge.

I've built quite a few multi-layer 3D type circuits. However, I
always have built them on a piece PCB to provide the necessary
support. I also have a fair collection of 22M resistors, which I use
for standoffs and mechanical support.

But, it was also art. It was fun to look at.

The uglier the breadboard, the better it works.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558