schematics: can't people make them clear?

[philba]

This has been bugging me for a while. Why do people insist on drawing schematics like linguini? why can't they put Vcc (or V+ or what ever) at the top and gnd (or Vee or Vss or whatever) at the bottom. And collectors/drains/anodes/... at the top, emitters/drains/cathodes/... at the bottom? and use rail symbols rather than draw wires? And busses. and...

Yes, I know there are times when it makes sense to do it differently (like using an NPN for current limiting) but I've lost count of the number of times I've traced a line through a mess only to discover that it was ground or Vcc or seen an NPN drawn upside down or puzzled through a subsystem that was spread throughout the schematic or... My favorite example is the game show buzzer circuit that had ambiguous connections, mislabeled pins and gnd/Vcc running all over the place.

Maybe I'm being too picky here but when I see a sloppy schematic, I think sloppy design. Like any form of human communication, poor structure implies poor thinking.

I guess what's really frustrating is that it doesn't take much to figure this stuff out. Just looking at clear schematics illustrate the principles. AoE, Horowitz and Hill have a nice 2 page discussion of how to draw schematics. reprinted here: **broken link removed** Don't schools teach this stuff anymore?

Phil

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I guess what's really frustrating is that it doesn't take much to figure this stuff out. Just looking at clear schematics illustrate the principles. AoE, Horowitz and Hill have a nice 2 page discussion of how to draw schematics. reprinted here: **broken link removed** Don't schools teach this stuff anymore?

Except it's got all the wrong symbols?

 

[philba]

Depends on which side of the Atlantic. As long as they are consistent, I'm happy.

For those that don't understand, there are 2 symbol conventions, European and US. Europeans are fond of rectangles and Americans are fond of squiggly lines. Perhaps Europeans are also fond of claiming theirs to be superior, even in the face of minimal evidence to support it.

 

[Hero999]

I like the square boxes for resistors because it's impossible to mistake them for inductors and I prefer the USA standard for logic gates.

 

[Optikon]

This has been bugging me for a while. Why do people insist on drawing schematics like linguini? why can't they put Vcc (or V+ or what ever) at the top and gnd (or Vee or Vss or whatever) at the bottom. And collectors/drains/anodes/... at the top, emitters/drains/cathodes/... at the bottom? and use rail symbols rather than draw wires? And busses. and...

Yes, I know there are times when it makes sense to do it differently (like using an NPN for current limiting) but I've lost count of the number of times I've traced a line through a mess only to discover that it was ground or Vcc or seen an NPN drawn upside down or puzzled through a subsystem that was spread throughout the schematic or... My favorite example is the game show buzzer circuit that had ambiguous connections, mislabeled pins and gnd/Vcc running all over the place.

Maybe I'm being too picky here but when I see a sloppy schematic, I think sloppy design. Like any form of human communication, poor structure implies poor thinking.

I guess what's really frustrating is that it doesn't take much to figure this stuff out. Just looking at clear schematics illustrate the principles. AoE, Horowitz and Hill have a nice 2 page discussion of how to draw schematics. reprinted here: **broken link removed** Don't schools teach this stuff anymore?

Phil

I agree with you. Unfortunately, schools do not teach how to draw clean, easy to read schematics. Then again most schematics encountered in school are simple enough that even a sloppy version remains easy to decipher.

I'd like to add a companion complaint - schematics that may be drawn clearly but have too much stuff crammed onto one page. I am all for saving trees but I have seen some real nasty ones with so many circuits jammed onto one piece of paper it looked like a result from a 2 year after spending an hour with an etch-a-sketch.

 

[William At MyBlueRoom]

I like the UK schematic symbols but I use the US versions.
Grew up on Elektor magazine, I really like this notation 4K7 better than 4.7K and better yet inside the rectangle looks great.

I hate schematics with 1 part per page (eagle users seem to like this)