IC Test Clips, Vero Clamps

I discovered this nifty little hack today, maybe you already know about it, but it's new to me.

After improving my germanium transistor test kit yesterday, I thought I should also upgrade some dodgy leads I’ve been using with my breadboard.  

I sometimes start building on vero, then solder wires on temporarily to test different component values on the breadboard.  While it works, it was messy and time-consuming, and it turns out there's a much easier way to do this (at least for edge connections).   

I bought some IC test clips and wired them up for the breadboard.   As it turns out, the IC clips aren’t just good for ICs - they also grab the edge of vero board quite tightly, making them perfect for testing without resorting to tacking on wire.

At nearly 60mm long, these are a decent size clip and are quite sturdy.  The smaller 30mm version still works; they are just less stable and feel less solid.

The stock clip doesn’t fit through veroboard holes, but I did manage to bend one of the smaller clips slightly, so it will go through holes and clamp anywhere on the board.  Very handy indeed.

The stock clip is on the left and modified on the right.