Breadboards are a really helpful tool for quick prototyping. Boseji made a roundup of breadboard tips and tricks available online. His article includes useful tips like how to breadboard a power supply, and even how to build one yourself.
We have all used breadboards, or those who plan to jump into the fascinating world of electronics need to know about them. This article focuses on introducing breadboards inside out, to help people use them and prototype their innovations faster. We would walk through Bread board concepts, connecting various chips & devices, efficient prototyping and documenting the designs.
I like the idea “CR2032 Battery Holder for Breadboard” he use the dual male pin header as the holder, clever :)
Staples make for good simple jumpers, or so I hear.
Paper clips, if the right size, can be a very good very durable connection to the breadboard. If you have a wire that constantly pops out, solder a piece of paper clip to the end, shove it into the breadboard, and it will never fall out again.
Ethernet and telephone wires are NOT a good wire for breadboards, they are far too thin (forgot awg), so not really reliable. You put them in and they seem to stick, but they are hard to bend easily pop out.
If you have stranded wires and want to use them in your breadboard, just twist the stranded core, dunk in some flux, and put it to your soldering iron with solder. Even a tiny bit of solder would suffice. The solder makes the stranded core solid so it can be put into a breadboard. Best part of this is the wire is very flexible, so it is no longer a horrible PITA to bend on a crowded board. I often use old IDE cables for this type of wire.
I use some 25 -30 pairs telecoms cables. They’re made of 22 awg copper and they are tinned, so no oxydation problems. They are not even twisted and coded in 50 different colors combinations. They fit snuggly in breadboards.
Maybe we use different breadboards then, as I always have problems with the wires slowly and easily popping out from the breadboards. I think mine are 22 awg too, but they are originally twisted pair. The way they are colored though is a major plus, very help full when trying to organize. :P
I made my own breadboard jumper from old ATK PSU cable, in both edge of cable I solder it with the with LED leg pieces ==> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=354274664583309&set=a.354274624583313.94591.138892036121574&type=3&theater