When schools start teaching STEM programs, or hobbyists embark on learning electronics, one of their first purchases is often breadboards. With lab power supplies costing hundreds of dollars, many users opt to power their breadboard circuits with a 9V battery connected to a 5V regulator circuit wired up on their breadboard. BPStick is designed to eliminate the hassles of powering breadboards using batteries – with a much more convenient, elegant, and less expensive solution than investing in expensive power supplies!

Simply plug the tiny BPStick (USB Breadboard Power Stick) circuit in to the power rails of a breadboard, and then power your circuit using an inexpensive phone charger, or with a USB cable connected to your computer or Chromebook. A power LED on BPStick indicates when 5V is available and being delivered to your breadboard.

For learners and hobbyists prototyping USB-enabled circuits, BPStick features pads for an optional break-out header or header socket. The 4-pins break out +5V, GND, and the D+ and D- data pins, making it an ideal solution for experimenting with USB-enabled microcontrollers and circuits.

BPStick has built-in 5.1k pull-down resistors on the CC1 and CC2 lines to request 5V at up to 3A from capable USB-C power adapters. BPStick is a slightly larger, through-hole version of UPS (USB Power Stick) – a similar surface-mount circuit designed for larger scale, automated manufacturing. Creating the BPStick variant using through hole parts, including a through-hole USB type-C connector, enables students in classrooms and makerspaces to easily assemble their own BPStick circuit boards as a learn-to-solder project. And, BPStick is inexpensive enough to allow learners to take them home to continue their electronics learning and use it to power their own breadboard circuits.