Description

<style>.e_editor{font:14px/24px Arial,'microsoft yahei','Times New Roman','b8bf53';}.e_editor div,e_editor p,e_editor td,e_editor th,e_editor li{font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;}.e_editor ul{margin:-10px 0 20px;}.e_editor li{padding:5px 0;}.e_table{width:96%;border-collapse:collapse;empty-cells:show;}.e_table th,.e_table td{padding:5px;border:2px solid #eee;}.e_img{padding:10px 0;text-align:center;}.e_p{line-height:20px;padding:0 0 20px;text-indent:0em;}</style> <div class="e_editor"> <div class="e_p"> When you start learning about electronics, you might see a circuit diagram drawn with realistic looking drawings of the different components. </div> <div class="e_p"> But this method is not very effective. </div> <div class="e_p"> To make them more effective, all electronic components have been assigned much simpler symbols. And wires are drawn as lines to show how to connect them. </div> <div class="e_p"> It’s not always easy to understand a circuit diagram. But with practice and experience you will understand more and more. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> What is a circuit diagram? </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> A circuit diagram, or a schematic diagram, is a technical drawing of how to connect electronic components to get a certain function. </div> <div class="e_p"> Each electronic component has a symbol. After seeing a few circuit diagrams, you’ll quickly learn how to distinguish the different symbols. </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180805452.png" width="300" height="199" /> </div> <div class="e_p" align="center"> A resistor </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180805940.png" width="200" height="99" /> </div> <div class="e_p" align="center"> The symbol for a resistor </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> How do you read circuits diagrams? </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> Reading schematics is actually pretty easy. </div> <div class="e_p"> Each of the lines are wires. These show how the components are connected. If you want to build the circuit, you only need to get the components specified, then connect them as shown in the circuit diagram. This can be done either on a breadboard, a stripboard or you can design your own printed circuit board (PCB) if you like. </div> <div class="e_p"> A circuit diagram should be specific enough so that anyone can make the circuit just by following it. You don’t actually need to understand it in order to build it. </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180806424.png" width="300" height="213" /> </div> <div class="e_p"> For example, look at the image above. I can buy a light-dependent resistor (LDR), a potentiometer, a resistor, an LED and a transistor. Then I can connect these on a breadboard by following the lines on the circuit diagram. </div> <div class="e_img"> <img src="https://file.allpcb.com/bbs/p/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscom/wwwbuild-electronic-circuitscomc20170227180806929.png" width="300" height="225" /> </div> <div class="e_p"> I would then have a circuit that has the specific function that this diagram was made for – without necessarily understanding why or how it works. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> How do you understand how it works? </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> Understanding how a circuit diagram works can be a bit tricky. It comes from experience. You recognize the way some components are connected and identify known pieces of the schematic. </div> <div class="e_p"> In the circuit above for example, I would see the LDR together with the potentiometer in the middle. I know from experience that two resistors setup like this makes a voltage divider. And I know that the voltage out from a voltage divider is a result of the values of those resistors. </div> <div class="e_p"> I also know that the resistance of an LDR varies with the amount of light it receives. This means that the voltage out, i.e. the voltage on the base of the transistor, will vary with the amount of light detected by the LDR. </div> <div class="e_p"> Then I look at the transistor. I know that the transistor can be turned on and off by applying a voltage at the base. So from this information, I would have an idea that this circuit will turn on and off the LED connected to the transistor, based on the amount of light the LDR receives. </div> <div class="e_p"> BUT, if you are a beginner and you don’t know what an LDR is, what a transistor is or what a voltage divider is, then you won’t have the foundation to understand the circuit. So you need to start by learning those parts first before you can understand the circuit diagram. </div> <div class="e_p"> <h2> To Sum It Up </h2> </div> <div class="e_p"> Understanding comes with experience. You start by understanding small circuit chunks and later you’ll learn to identify those chunks in a bigger circuit diagram so that you can make sense of the big circuit diagram. </div> <div class="e_p"> But you don’t have to understand a circuit diagram to be able to build it. That’s the cool thing! You can build things beyond your understanding and as you progress you will learn and understand more and more. </div> </div>