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Schematicsareourmaptodesigning,building,andtroubleshootingcircuits.Understandinghowtoread
andfollowschematicsisanimportantskillforanyelectronicsengineer.

Thistutorialshouldturnyouintoafullyliterateschematicreader!Wellgooverallofthefundamental
schematicsymbols:

Thenwelltalkabouthowthosesymbolsareconnectedonschematicstocreateamodelofacircuit.
Wellalsogooverafewtipsandtrickstowatchoutfor.

SuggestedReading
Schematiccomprehensionisaprettybasicelectronicsskill,butthereareafewthingsyoushouldknow
beforeyoureadthistutorial.Checkoutthesetutorials,iftheysoundlikegapsinyourgrowingbrain:

WhatisElectricity?
WhatisaCircuit?
Voltage,Current,Resistance,andOhmsLaw

SchematicSymbols(Part1)

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Areyoureadyforabarrageofcircuitcomponents?Herearesomeofthestandardized,basicschematic
symbolsforvariouscomponents.

Resistors
Themostfundamentalofcircuitcomponentsandsymbols!Resistorsonaschematicareusually
representedbyafewzigzaglines,withtwoterminalsextendingoutward.Schematicsusing
internationalsymbolsmayinsteaduseafeaturelessrectangle,insteadofthesquiggles.

PotentiometersandVariableResistors
Variableresistorsandpotentiometerseachaugmentthestandardresistorsymbolwithanarrow.The
variableresistorremainsatwoterminaldevice,sothearrowisjustlaiddiagonallyacrossthemiddle.A
potentiometerisathreeterminaldevice,sothearrowbecomesthethirdterminal(thewiper).

Capacitors
Therearetwocommonlyusedcapacitorsymbols.Onesymbolrepresentsapolarized(usually
electrolyticortantalum)capacitor,andtheotherisfornonpolarizedcaps.Ineachcasetherearetwo
terminals,runningperpendicularlyintoplates.

Thesymbolwithonecurvedplateindicatesthatthecapacitorispolarized.Thecurvedplaterepresents
thecathodeofthecapacitor,whichshouldbeatalowervoltagethanthepositive,anodepin.Aplus
signmightalsobeaddedtothepositivepinofthepolarizedcapacitorsymbol.

Inductors
Inductorsareusuallyrepresentedbyeitheraseriesofcurvedbumps,orloopycoils.International
symbolsmayjustdefineaninductorasafilledinrectangle.
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Switches
Switchesexistinmanydifferentforms.Themostbasicswitch,asinglepole/singlethrow(SPST),istwo
terminalswithahalfconnectedlinerepresentingtheactuator(thepartthatconnectstheterminals
together).

Switcheswithmorethanonethrow,liketheSPDTandSP3Tbelow,addmorelandingspotsforthethe
actuator.

Switcheswithmultiplepoles,usuallyhavemultiple,alikeswitcheswithadottedlineintersectingthe
middleactuator.

PowerSources
Justastherearemanyoptionsoutthereforpoweringyourproject,thereareawidevarietyofpower
sourcecircuitsymbolstohelpspecifythepowersource.

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DCorACVoltageSources
Mostofthetimewhenworkingwithelectronics,youllbeusingconstantvoltagesources.Wecanuse
eitherofthesetwosymbolstodefinewhetherthesourceissupplyingdirectcurrent(DC)oralternating
current(AC):

Batteries
Batteries,whethertheyrethosecylindrical,alkalineAAsorrechargeablelithiumpolymers,usuallylook
likeapairofdisproportionate,parallellines:

Morepairsoflinesusuallyindicatesmoreseriescellsinthebattery.Also,thelongerlineisusuallyused
torepresentthepositiveterminal,whiletheshorterlineconnectstothenegativeterminal.

VoltageNodes
Sometimesonreallybusyschematicsespeciallyyoucanassignspecialsymbolstonodevoltages.
Youcanconnectdevicestotheseoneterminalsymbols,anditllbetieddirectlyto5V,3.3V,VCC,or
GND(ground).Positivevoltagenodesareusuallyindicatedbyanarrowpointingup,whileground
nodesusuallyinvolveonetothreeflatlines(orsometimesadownpointingarrowortriangle).

SchematicSymbols(Part2)
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Diodes
Basicdiodesareusuallyrepresentedwithatrianglepressedupagainstaline.Diodesare
alsopolarized,soeachofthetwoterminalsrequiredistinguishingidentifiers.Thepositive,anodeisthe
terminalrunningintotheflatedgeofthetriangle.Thenegative,cathodeextendsoutofthelineinthe
symbol(thinkofitasasign).

Thereareaallsortsofdifferenttypesofdiodes,eachofwhichhasaspecialriffonthestandarddiode
symbol.Lightemittingdiodes(LEDs)augmentthediodesymbolwithacouplelinespointing
away.Photodiodes,whichgenerateenergyfromlight(basically,tinysolarcells),flipthearrowsaround
andpointthemtowardthediode.

Otherspecialtypesofdiodes,likeSchottkysorzeners,havetheirownsymbols,withslightvariationson
thebarpartofthesymbol.

Transistors
Transistors,whethertheyreBJTsorMOSFETs,canexistintwoconfigurations:positivelydoped,or
negativelydoped.Soforeachofthesetypesoftransistor,thereareatleasttwowaystodrawit.

BipolarJunctionTransistors(BJTs)
BJTsarethreeterminaldevicestheyhaveacollector(C),emitter(E),andabase(B).Therearetwo
typesofBJTsNPNsandPNPsandeachhasitsownuniquesymbol.

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Thecollector(C)andemitter(E)pinsarebothinlinewitheachother,buttheemittershouldalways
haveanarrowonit.Ifthearrowispointinginward,itsaPNP,and,ifthearrowispointingoutward,its
anNPN.AmnemonicforrememberingwhichiswhichisNPN:notpointingin.

MetalOxideFieldEffectTransistors(MOSFETs)
LikeBJTs,MOSFETshavethreeterminals,butthistimetheyrenamedsource(S),drain(D),andgate
(G).Andagain,therearetwodifferentversionsofthesymbol,dependingonwhetheryouvegotann
channelorpchannelMOSFET.Thereareanumberofcommonlyusedsymbolsforeachofthe
MOSFETtypes:

Thearrowinthemiddleofthesymbol(calledthebulk)defineswhethertheMOSFETisnchannelorp
channel.IfthearrowispointinginmeansitsanchannelMOSFET,andifitspointingoutitsap
channel.Remember:nisin(kindoftheoppositeoftheNPNmnemonic).

DigitalLogicGates
OurstandardlogicfunctionsAND,OR,NOT,andXORallhaveuniqueschematicsymbols:

Addingabubbletotheoutputnegatesthefunction,creatingNANDs,NORs,andXNORs:

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Theymayhavemorethantwoinputs,buttheshapesshouldremainthesame(well,maybeabit
bigger),andthereshouldstillonlybeoneoutput.

IntegratedCircuits
Integratedcircuitsaccomplishsuchuniquetasks,andaresonumerous,thattheydontreallygeta
uniquecircuitsymbol.Usually,anintegratedcircuitisrepresentedbyarectangle,withpinsextending
outofthesides.Eachpinshouldbelabeledwithbothanumber,andafunction.

SchematicsymbolsforanATmega328microcontroller(commonlyfoundonArduinos),anATSHA204
encryptionIC,andanATtiny45MCU.Asyoucansee,thesecomponentsgreatlyvaryinsizeandpin
counts.

BecauseICshavesuchagenericcircuitsymbol,thenames,valuesandlabelsbecomeveryimportant.
EachICshouldhaveavaluepreciselyidentifyingthenameofthechip.

UniqueICs:OpAmps,VoltageRegulators
Someofthemorecommonintegratedcircuitsdogetauniquecircuitsymbol.Youllusuallysee
operationamplifierslaidoutlikebelow,with5totalterminals:anoninvertinginput(+),invertinginput
(),output,andtwopowerinputs.

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Often,therewillbetwoopampsbuiltintooneICpackagerequiringonlyonepinforpowerandonefor
ground,whichiswhytheoneontherightonlyhasthreepins.

Simplevoltageregulatorsareusuallythreeterminalcomponentswithinput,outputandground(or
adjust)pins.Theseusuallytaketheshapeofarectanglewithpinsontheleft(input),right(output)and
bottom(ground/adjust).

Miscellany
CrystalsandResonators
Crystalsorresonatorsareusuallyacriticalpartofmicrocontrollercircuits.Theyhelpprovideaclock
signal.Crystalsymbolsusuallyhavetwoterminals,whileresonators,whichaddtwocapacitorstothe
crystal,usuallyhavethreeterminals.

HeadersandConnectors
Whetheritsforprovidingpower,orsendingoutinformation,connectorsarearequirementonmost
circuits.Thesesymbolsvarydependingonwhattheconnectorlookslike,heresasampling:

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Motors,Transformers,Speakers,andRelays
Welllumpthesetogether,sincethey(mostly)allmakeuseofcoilsinsomeway.Transformers(not
themorethanmeetstheeyekind)usuallyinvolvetwocoils,buttedupagainsteachother,withacouple
linesseparatingthem:

Relaysusuallypairacoilwithaswitch:

Speakersandbuzzersusuallytakeaformsimilartotheirreallifecounterparts:

AndmotorsgenerallyinvolveanencircledM,sometimeswithabitmoreembellishmentaroundthe
terminals:

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FusesandPTCs
FusesandPTCsdeviceswhicharegenerallyusedtolimitlargeinrushesofcurrenteachhavetheir
ownuniquesymbol:

ThePTCsymbolisactuallythegenericsymbolforathermistor,atemperaturedependentresistor
(noticetheinternationalresistorsymbolinthere?).

Nodoubt,therearemanycircuitsymbolsleftoffthislist,butthoseaboveshouldhaveyou90%literate
inschematicreading.Ingeneral,symbolsshouldshareafairamountincommonwiththereallife
componentstheymodel.Inadditiontothesymbol,eachcomponentonaschematicshouldhavea
uniquenameandvalue,whichfurtherhelpstoidentifyit.

NameDesignatorsandValues
Oneofthebiggestkeystobeingschematicliterateisbeingabletorecognizewhichcomponentsare
which.Thecomponentsymbolstellhalfthestory,buteachsymbolshouldbepairedwithbothaname
andvaluetocompleteit.

NamesandValues
Valueshelpdefineexactlywhatacomponentis.Forschematiccomponentslikeresistors,capacitors,
andinductorsthevaluetellsushowmanyohms,farads,orhenriestheyhave.Forothercomponents,
likeintegratedcircuits,thevaluemayjustbethenameofthechip.Crystalsmightlisttheiroscillating
frequencyastheirvalue.Basically,thevalueofaschematiccomponentcallsoutitsmostimportant
characteristic.

Componentnamesareusuallyacombinationofoneortwolettersandanumber.Theletterpartofthe
nameidentifiesthetypeofcomponentRsforresistors,Csforcapacitors,Usforintegratedcircuits,
etc.Eachcomponentnameonaschematicshouldbeuniqueifyouhavemultipleresistorsinacircuit,
forexample,theyshouldbenamedR1,R2,R3,etc.Componentnameshelpusreferencespecificpoints
inschematics.

Theprefixesofnamesareprettywellstandardized.Forsomecomponents,likeresistors,theprefixis
justthefirstletterofthecomponent.Othernameprefixesarenotsoliteralinductors,forexample,
areLs(becausecurrenthasalreadytakenI[butitstartswithaCelectronicsisasillyplace]).Heresa
quicktableofcommoncomponentsandtheirnameprefixes:

NameIdentifierComponent
R Resistors
C Capacitors
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L Inductors
S Switches
D Diodes
Q Transistors
U IntegratedCircuits
Y CrystalsandOscillators

Althoughthesesarethestandardizednamesforcomponentsymbols,theyrenotuniversallyfollowed.
YoumightseeintegratedcircuitsprefixedwithICinsteadofU,forexample,orcrystalslabeledasXTALs
insteadofYs.Useyourbestjudgmentindiagnosingwhichpartiswhich.Thesymbolshouldusually
conveyenoughinformation.

ReadingSchematics
Understandingwhichcomponentsarewhichonaschematicismorethanhalfthebattletowards
comprehendingit.Nowallthatremainsisidentifyinghowallofthesymbolsareconnectedtogether.

Nets,NodesandLabels
Schematicnetstellyouhowcomponentsarewiredtogetherinacircuit.Netsarerepresentedaslines
betweencomponentterminals.Sometimes(butnotalways)theyreauniquecolor,likethegreenlines
inthisschematic:

JunctionsandNodes
Wirescanconnecttwoterminalstogether,ortheycanconnectdozens.Whenawiresplitsintotwo
directions,itcreatesajunction.Werepresentjunctionsonschematicswithnodes,littledotsplacedat
theintersectionofthewires.

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Nodesgiveusawaytosaythatwirescrossingthisjunctionareconnected.Theabsencesofanodeat
ajunctionmeanstwoseparatewiresarejustpassingby,notforminganysortofconnection.(When
designingschematics,itsusuallygoodpracticetoavoidthesenonconnectedoverlapswherever
possible,butsometimesitsunavoidable).

NetNames
Sometimes,tomakeschematicsmorelegible,wellgiveanetanameandlabelit,ratherthanroutinga
wireallovertheschematic.Netswiththesamenameareassumedtobeconnected,eventhoughthere
isntavisiblewireconnectingthem.Namescaneitherbewrittendirectlyontopofthenet,ortheycan
betags,hangingoffthewire.

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Eachnetwiththesamenameisconnected,asinthisschematicforanFT231XBreakoutBoard.Names
andlabelshelpkeepschematicsfromgettingtoochaotic(imagineifallthosenetswereactually
connectedwithwires).

Netsareusuallygivenanamethatspecificallystatesthepurposeofsignalsonthatwire.Forexample,
powernetsmightbelabeledVCCor5V,whileserialcommunicationnetsmightbelabeledRXor
TX.

SchematicReadingTips
IdentifyBlocks
Trulyexpansiveschematicsshouldbesplitintofunctionalblocks.Theremightbeasectionforpower
inputandvoltageregulation,oramicrocontrollersection,orasectiondevotedtoconnectors.Try
recognizingwhichsectionsarewhich,andfollowingtheflowofcircuitfrominputtooutput.Reallygood
schematicdesignersmightevenlaythecircuitoutlikeabook,inputsontheleftside,outputsonthe
right.

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Ifthedrawerofaschematicisreallynice(liketheengineerwhodesignedthisschematicfor
theRedBoard),theymayseparatesectionsofaschematicintological,labeledblocks.

RecognizeVoltageNodes
Voltagenodesaresingleterminalschematiccomponents,whichwecanconnectcomponentterminals
toinordertoassignthemtoaspecificvoltagelevel.Theseareaspecialapplicationofnetnames,
meaningallterminalsconnectedtoalikenamedvoltagenodeareconnectedtogether.

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LikenamedvoltagenodeslikeGND,5V,and3.3Vareallconnectedtotheircounterparts,evenif
therearentwiresbetweenthem.

Thegroundvoltagenodeisespeciallyuseful,becausesomanycomponentsneedaconnectionto
ground.

ReferenceComponentDatasheets
Iftheressomethingonaschematicthatjustdoesntmakesense,tryfindingadatasheetforthemost
importantcomponent.Usuallythecomponentdoingthemostworkonacircuitisanintegratedcircuit,
likeamicrocontrollerorsensor.Theseareusuallythelargestcomponent,oftlocatedatthecenterof
theschematic.

ResourcesandGoingFurther

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