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Topic starter
2021-01-05 7:31 am
sorry if this is a dumb Q but I cant find any reference to the neat way DBW displays its wiring hook ups in its tutorials. Which s/w is used?
Always look on the bright side of life
2021-01-05 8:01 pm
If you are talking about Arduino type circuits on a breadboard, it is Fritzing, a free program found at Fritzing Download.
Photo Bud (aka John)
The Old Curmudgeon!
2021-01-05 8:50 pm
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2021-01-05 10:53 pm
Well, you might try reading the FAQ on the website!
😎
Bill
In his defense, I looked on the website and didn't find a "FAQ" to reference. Maybe my old eyes are just bad! lol
It's easy when you follow your link, but wasn't obvious to me originally.
Photo Bud (aka John)
The Old Curmudgeon!
Topic starter
2021-01-05 11:16 pm
now there's a bifurcation
when i was trawling for an answer to my Q what s/w is used to make layouts, the grinch of gurus came back with a resounding DO NOT USE FRITZING - still ringing in my ear
I can understand if noobs are posting cct queries here and show wiring layouts - its brain straining to decipher the schematic - which is what is really needed for discussion
i daresay some very clever people have spent their careers devising ways to xform between a schematic and a layout (and vice versa RE)
Indeed i read somewhere that one of the most precious jewels of major players making chips (which ykw would love to copy) is the proprietary AI s/w that designs pcbs from schematics and turns them into a set of manufacturing instructions for the shop floor (like in smartphones for example) - quite mind boggling if you think about it
Before shiny cad tools - schematics were turned into wiring instructions using pencil and paper (some maintain this is still a good way)
As we know, whilst some are gifted with a young clear brain and can whip up a construction just by following the schematic - we all know this is prone to error especially over a long period
So we need to go methodically from schematic to layout Xchecking each wire (using the yellow marker method). This layout goes on later to the (dumb) wireman (or your self) who faithfully follows your wiring instructions (yellow marker again) without thinking what it all means.
However, if I ever get to post a neat cct here then a scruffy pencil sketch will hardly breed interest - hence my OP "what does DBW use" as it seems very fit for purpose to cobble together a cct in no brain mode for someone else to try out
Will DL Fritzing and try to get with the program - thx
I have to say that full marks for the quality and clarity of the Vids together with supporting lecture notes. Its very rare to come across such quality
FYI I have been flogging (oh what a flog) through PmcW's valuable tutorials and whilst being very good at hand-holding the noob through the basics of Arduino programming they suffer from being extremely laborious - repeating everything 5 times over . Its great I guess for generating Advert bandwidth every 5 mins but after 30 hours now I am fatigued by this style - I am facing another 100 or so hours in the course - I should live so long. Rites of passage I guess 😣
Update
Fritzing Dld and running I even got DBW cool blue background
are there any preferences I should set up to be on same page?
too much to ask but can this go further and do a basic error checking simulation?
This post was modified 3 years ago by Robint
Always look on the bright side of life
Photo Bud reacted
2021-01-06 12:03 am
In his defense, I looked on the website and didn't find a "FAQ" to reference. Maybe my old eyes are just bad! lol
Try the top menu, under "About".
😎
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Photo Bud reacted
2021-01-06 12:17 am
when i was trawling for an answer to my Q what s/w is used to make layouts, the grinch of gurus came back with a resounding DO NOT USE FRITZING - still ringing in my ear
Fritzing was a good idea, but it's an incomplete project. And it doesn't look like it will be getting completed very quickly.
A quote from their front page:
Download our latest version 0.9.4 released on November 1, 2019 and start right away.
Also, their last blog post was on February 21, 2017.
So it still wasn't at version 1.0 over a year ago. And the release before that was on Jun 3, 2016. Makes me think that the development has stalled somewhat.
Nonetheless, it is a cool application, as long as the parts library has the parts you are looking for. If you're just trying to layout an Arduino Uno with some standard parts it's great. But I stopped using it as soon as I had a board that wasn't in the library.
Obviously, Keynote isn't what you want to use for schematic diagrams, I use it for its animations. For schematics, I have been using Digikeys Scheme-it, but it also has it's limitations.
KiCad is packaged with a schematic editor, that's probably the way to go but I don't have any exp[erience with it.
😎
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Topic starter
2021-01-06 12:30 am
correct me pls but is Fritz lacking a basic drawing feature - ie I cant make up my own components and connection nodes and create a custom library
Always look on the bright side of life
2021-01-06 2:36 pm
@robint That was one of the reasons I stopped using it. I couldn't figure out how to add additional components to it, and with all of the new sensors, displays, and microcontrollers available today I felt that was a major drawback.
To be fair I haven't used the "newest" version, it was the previous one released in 2016, so perhaps they have corrected this.
😎
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Topic starter
2021-01-06 2:50 pm
i got the latest last version and thats when I noticed a lack of drawing features
Always look on the bright side of life
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2021-01-06 6:27 pm
@robint Just curious, what's your "endgame" with this (or, to put it more eloquently, what is your final objective)?
Are you just trying to draw nice-looking schematics, do you want to show the layout on a solderless breadboard (which Fritzing does very well), or are you planning to create printed circuit boards using your schematics?
Again, I'm ust curious
😎
Bill
P.S. The quote you have in your signature got me thinking about Monty Pythons "Life of Brian", and now I can't get that song out of my head! 😀
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Topic starter
2021-01-06 11:56 pm
Well I thought maybe it was something i should know how to do - not realising i would end up in a rats nest cul de sac - as you say it makes pretty pix but I daresay there is another app does the job more flexibly but not so pretty
fundamentally crippled not being able to make own components
so destined for the back shelf
what do you use for layouts?
If i had a worthy contribution I would post the schematic and then the layout below to save a viewer time hooking up. After all if you have tested your cct you have done the hook up work and all you need is a simple graphics prog to display wiring instructions - rather than a scruffy pencil sketch
DBW is in many respects aimed at grade 4+ nerds and old farts with too much time to spare and they need "painting by numbers" approach to gain confidence on the slippery learning curve. No maths or Ohms law needed
Notice BTW that this board is not at all girl friendly - no pink wires or frilly chips ( may god shit on me from a dizzy height) 😍
How many lady pcb designers are there about? 😎Im sure they could do a good tidy job here on rats nests
I think I caught the Brits disease
Always look on the bright side of life