exhi:bit Prototyping system for micro:bit

This is a must-have MB accessory! Makes life alot easier when pushing the MB to new places

Generally a well constructed board, let down by the fact that they put the breadboard at an angle on its plastic carrier. Would it be too much trouble to have a jig to ensure this is placed square? Every time I look at it the misalignment disturbs me. Other than that, it could merit 5 stars.

really helps with doing anything useful with the microbit, allows you to create complex circuits without all the faffing about

I recently ordered the exhi:bit Prototyping System from Proto-Pic having previously seen a video demonstration of it on their website. It looked to be very well designed and it seemed particularly suited for the Education market, I intend personally to use it with my two grandsons who are in their primary years. When it arrived in the post, promptly as always from Proto-Pic, it was clear that a tremendous amount of thought had gone into designing this system. The perfect size of the base board has allowed the ideal amount of space for every terminal to be well separated and clearly labelled for its end users. It also includes a further panel at the bottom end which lists the terminals along with the lines and components to which they are connected on the BBC micro:bit. This makes it unnecessary to require a drawing of these connections to be at hand. Like the five larger terminals on the micro:bit, which are actually slightly larger on the exhi:bit, they enable connections to be made using crocodile clips or 4mm banana plugs to all of the lines on the micro:bit, including three each of the 3 volt and Ground lines.<br /><br />I have personally handled and designed many printed circuit boards over four decades and I must say that the finished quality of the exhi:bit board equals the best I have seen. It is protected with a nicely shaped, clear acrylic sheet which also strengthens the PCB so that it will be robust in use. It is accompanied by a half-size plug-in breadboard which itself is mounted on a sheet of acrylic and fits very neatly onto the master board when in use. I tried out various circuits on this system with a micro:bit attached securely at the top end, running both Python and Block Editor programs to test it all out. Everything I tried worked exactly as I expected.<br /><br />In addition to being powered by the micro:bit via its Micro USB connector there are two other ways in which the prototyping system can be powered. There is a standard 5mm DC connector which can run off a battery pack or Mains DC plug pack of 5 to 9 volts and also a further Micro USB socket with only its 5 volt and Ground lines in use, both of which I have tried. These connectors lead to an on-board DC voltage regulator to bring the supply down to 3 volts for safely connecting external components to the micro:bit via two each of 3 volt and ground pins conveniently placed adjacent to the top end of the breadboard. When using these external DC connectors the exhi:bit has a very useful on/off switch on the right hand side with an on-board micro LED to indicate when the external power is switched on. This LED is also illuminated when power is supplied to the BBC micro:bit via its USB lead connected to a computer.<br /><br />It is clear that I am going to have a lot of fun experimenting utilizing the Proto-Pic exhi:bit both with my grandsons and on my own! Keep up the good work Proto-Pic!

This has clearly been a well thought out product which enables you to easily design external control circuits for the micro:bit. delivery was super quick too