Help Reading Schematics - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: tony3d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 02:28:22 pm
content: Hi all, just wondering if you could give me some insight into this. I seem to be having a real issue translating a circuit from a schematic to a breadboard. I can look at a simple circuit, and lay it out on a breadboard, but as soon as it is in the form of a schematic I get very confused. I have a hard time tracing the current path. I have no problem understanding a breadboard, and laying out a simple circuit on my own, but I just don't see the same thing on a Schematic. How can I get over this? Anyone else have this issue?I find this difficult to believe since I am a computer 3d modeler by profession, and can easily visualize what an object should look like when built in 3d from a flat 2d drawing. I have translate many products from photographs for my clients, and yet find reading Schematics daunting!

author: oaliey
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 03:15:23 pm
content: I do remember finding schematics rather daunting, unfortunately I have no idea what it was that got me over that. However my main issue was more understanding what the circuit did. Maybe if you could give an example of a schematic you are having trouble with we can show you how to break it up into smaller blocks which are more manageable?There is also an EDA program called Fritzing which has a breadboard layout tool, I have never used it so can't comment on how useful it might be. It could be terrible. I only know of it as someone sent me a design file from it that they wanted help with.

author: darko31
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 04:01:58 pm
content: I have the opposite problem, having hard time translating circuit from schematic to breadboard. Fried a thing or two because of that. I like to use some system, for example, if there's a an IC, I connect what's needed to one pin and the move on to the next, etc.

author: tony3d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 05:21:45 pm
content: Ok, I think my main problem is I'm trying to make the breadboard layout look identical to the actual schematic. That very rarely seems to be the case. If I totally ignore what I think it should look like, and just connect the points I'm much better off.

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 05:46:43 pm
content: Maybe you are looking at badly drawn schematics. Some can be really confusing (Bob Pease style). In a good schematic you will typically see some patterns very easily. Signals flow from left to right, voltages are higher on top and lower on bottom. Components are grouped together to form functional blocks. If you don't have that even an experienced designer will have problems in reading schematics.

author: Christe4nM
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 06:14:40 pm
content: Quote from: tony3d on October 13, 2013, 05:21:45 pmThe schematic is first and foremost a drawing of the circuit that is to be presented in a way that theintention of the designer is as clearas can be. Now lines on paper carry no current and can be drawn as one pleases. The actual circuit however will be put together in such a way that itfunctionsas intended. This means that actual currents, voltages and their influence on each other are taken into account while doing the layout of the actual circuit.On the other hand, looking at the actual circuit you should be able to identity the building blocks like in the schematic. This is something that comes with time. The more schematics you see, the more building blocks you know, the easier you can identify them both in schematic and on the PCB.

author: Nerull
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 04:25:57 am
content: Quote from: tony3d on October 13, 2013, 05:21:45 pmYou understand them better than you think, you just don't know it.A schematic is not intended to show the physical layout of a circuit, but the functional layout of the circuit. It should make it easy for you to understand what connects to what. How to lay it out physically is up to you to figure out.

author: Kryoclasm
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 08:41:01 am
content: I remember learning schematics from those Radio Shack Engineers mini notebooks when I was 10 or 11 way back in the 1980's.Making bread boarded circuits from schematics were never hard for me.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 10:57:01 am
content: A suitably pointed tool is often very useful when you're tracing where a net goes, especially if it's running parallel to a bunch of several others.

author: geraldjhg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 12:36:28 pm
content: hii generally redraw a schematic in protel and get an understandig, list ofcomponents and able to print itif it ever gets to pcb satus, it is alresy in schematicsaludos