Steps:
(1.) Familiarize yourself with the standard symbols
here is a little guide that shows you the basic symbols for all sorts of components. its handy to keep a little guide like this around in case you forgot some.
(2.) Look at the connections
physically parts are connected by wires, in the diagrams you will see black lines going from one part to the next. this means that you connect them with a wire
when the black lines cross in a diagram there are ways of telling whether or not the wires should be connected to each other.
(3.) Don't forget the polarity
some components to a circuit board are polarized, meaning one side is positive and the other is negative. this means you have to attach it in a certain way. for most symbols polarity is included in the symbol. in the the photos below you will find a guide to distinguishing polarity for various symbols.
*** TRY TO READ THIS SCHEMATIC ***
Okay, so now that we've gone through the basics, lets try to read a real world schematic of a circuit. so lets dissect this circuit!
the first symbol you see is the one with two horizontal lines, one smaller than the other. do you remember what is this? you can always look back at the guide, its a battery.
Next you can see that there is a line connecting the positive side of the battery to the second part which if you look back at the guide you will find is a switch with two positions: closed (on), and open (off). seems backwards? its not because if you think of that little door like thing on the symbol closing than it would complete the circuit, thus being "on".
So when we flick the switch closed where does the electricity go next? that squiggly line is a resistor. this is a symbol you REALLY want to memorize. they are in almost every circuit. Basically in just makes sure that the not too much power from the battery is sucked up by the next part by resisting the flow of electricity.
So the final part is the triangle thing. that is a diode (as you can see on that handy chart in this ible). in this case a light emitting diode, or LED. remember LEDs are polarized so when you actually go to make this circuit make sure you put it in right.
finally you can see that the negative side of the LED connects back to the negative battery terminal and the circuit is complete! And after this, you can now make your own FLASH LIGHT.
Next you can see that there is a line connecting the positive side of the battery to the second part which if you look back at the guide you will find is a switch with two positions: closed (on), and open (off). seems backwards? its not because if you think of that little door like thing on the symbol closing than it would complete the circuit, thus being "on".
So when we flick the switch closed where does the electricity go next? that squiggly line is a resistor. this is a symbol you REALLY want to memorize. they are in almost every circuit. Basically in just makes sure that the not too much power from the battery is sucked up by the next part by resisting the flow of electricity.
So the final part is the triangle thing. that is a diode (as you can see on that handy chart in this ible). in this case a light emitting diode, or LED. remember LEDs are polarized so when you actually go to make this circuit make sure you put it in right.
finally you can see that the negative side of the LED connects back to the negative battery terminal and the circuit is complete! And after this, you can now make your own FLASH LIGHT.
you can now continue on to building the actual thing!
Reference: http://www.instructables.com
in your example circuit, what if i change that resistor into ceramic capacitor, and your battery into 9V. what will happen to my LED?
ReplyDeleteHI Mark! Even though you change the battery into 9V and replaced the resistor with ceramic capacitor the circuit can still abide it's function. We all know, resistor restricts the flow of current in our circuit and since you only apply 9V the LED will remain secure and regarding on the function of resistor and ceramic capacitor both of them allows the flow of current in a given circuit.
Deleteyehey! thank you mam :D
DeleteYOUR WELCOME!
DeleteMaam Christine, based on the picture you've shown about basic electrical symbols, Is that an IEEE symbols(old) or IEC symbols(New)? Thanks Maam :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rica! If you noticed some of the components are represented by two or more symbols so in my given example both of the old and new symbols in some components are being shown.
DeleteThanks Maam Christine :)
DeleteWhy do we need a resistor here?
ReplyDeleteHi Romel! We need to have a resistor into a circuit because it's resistance limits the flow of current, so that we can avoid our LED to become damaged. And for more details about the significance of Resistor you may visit the blog of Ma'am Rica at www.rarrogante.blogspot.com.
DeleteThanks for tagging of my blog Maam :)
DeleteWhy do they have to change the symbols?
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian! The reason behind was the old version of symbols is created by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE and the newer vesion was created by International Electrotechnical Commission so as you noticed the old version was just created by an Institute and for further innovation it is being changed by an International Commission, so as you can see the newer version was accepted internationally. So the changes occurs, when most people agreed to have an innovation or development in a specific matter.
DeleteMa'am can you please give us list of common components which has polarity, so that we can keep it in our mind during circuit making. Thanks for the response :)
ReplyDeleteHi Alyssa! Some of the common components which has a polarity are diodes, LED or light-emitting diode, IC or integrated circuits, electrolytic capacitors, transistors, voltage regulators and batteries.
DeleteMa'am, what is the difference between Transducer and Transducer 2? And how it is use?
ReplyDeleteHi Daisy! there is no difference between the two, tha picture only shows the different symbols of the component transducer. While transducer is use to converts energy from one form to another.
Deletehai po ma'am ... tanong ko lang po ano po mas madaling gamitin ang schematic diagram o semi-schematic diagram?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean about the semi-schematic diagram?
DeleteAs I surf on the internet, semi-schematic diagram is a compromise between a purely abstract diagram and an exclusively realistic representation. From the definition itself, it is more effortful to create.
DeleteHi ma'am, based on the example, is it necessary to put resistor on the LED? Why?
ReplyDeleteHi Mylene! It is a must because it's resistance limits the flow of current, so that we can avoid our LED to become damaged. And for more details about the significance of Resistor you may visit the blog of Ma'am Rica at www.rarrogante.blogspot.com.
Deletehi ma'am christine.. based on your sample circuit above. what if i put 3 LEDs with only 1 resistor. what will happen to my LEDs?
ReplyDeleteAll of them will still provide light but the brightness of their light will not be the same as the other and all of them were prone to burn out. So as you can see, resistor plays an important role with an LED, for more informations about resistor you can visit the blog of Maam Rica at http://rarrogante.blogspot.com/
DeleteIs there any impact on the circuit if in case we accidentally interchange the polarity of a component, like for example the electrolytic capacitor?
ReplyDeleteHi Shena! If you apply the wrong power it will destroy, the capacitor will short-circuit and may explode.
DeleteBut not the same as the other component, it will depend on the components but in most cases, the device is designed to handle currents controlled by specific voltage levels in only one direction. If you apply that voltage in the opposite direction, the 'reverse' breakdown voltage of one or more components within a circuit will literally overheat, short, and conduct in the wrong direction until they slag.
DeleteWhat is the purpose of the switch in the circuit? -Christian de Guzman
ReplyDeletethe switch set out the flow of the electricity is activated when you push the switch into the ON position, giving you light. The flow of electricity is broken when the switch is pushed into the OFF position, thus turning off the light.
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