philba
New Member
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
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