Battery

The symbol for a battery is shown below.

A large and a small line is suppose to represent one battery cell so that the image below
would suggest a two-cell battery of 3 V. But usually people just draw the battery symbol
with one or two cells no matter what voltage it is.

The battery symbol
Capacitor
Capacitors are either polarized or not. The symbols that are used for the two are shown
below. Both in European and US style.
A polarized capacitor is marked with a + sign. It is important to distinguish between
these two because the polarized capacitor needs to be placed correctly according to the
+ sign.

Standard capacitor (EU style)

Polarized capacitor (EU style)

Standard capacitor (US style)

Polarized capacitor (US style)
Resistor
The schematic symbol of the resistor are drawn in two different ways. The american
style resistor is drawn as a zigzag resistor while the european style resistor is drawn as
a rectangular resistor.
Even though Im from Europe, I like to draw the zigzag version. I think it is easier to
draw and looks better.

American style resistor

European style resistor
Variable resistor (Potentiometer)
The variable resistor or potentiometer is drawn in several different ways. The symbol is
often drawn as a resistor with an arrow across it or pointing down on it as the one
below.

Variable resistor
Diode
The diode family has several different symbols because there are several different types
of diodes. Below is a standard diode, a zener diode and a Light Emitting Diode (LED).

Standard diode

Zener diode

Light emitting diode (LED)
Transistor
The most common transistor types are the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) and the
Field Effect Transistor (FET). The schematic symbols for these two types are shown
below.

Bipolar Junction Transistor (NPN)

Field Effect Transistor
Inductor
The inductor symbol looks like a coiled wire as this is what an inductor essentially is.

Inductor
Integrated Circuit
Integrated circuits (IC) are usually shown as rectangular boxes with pin names. Below,
an example of the 555 timer IC is shown.

The 555 timer integrated circuit
Logic Gates
Here are the schematic representation of the 6 logic gates.

Logic gates
Operational Amplifier
The operational amplifier or Opamp is represented as a triangle with two inputs and
one output. In some cases, the power supply pins are also added. Below, a version
without power supply pins are shown.

Operational amplifier
Switch
A switch can be represented in numerous ways in electronic schematics. Below is one
example.

A simple switch
Transformer (Trafo)
The symbol of the transformer looks like two inductors with something in between them.

The transformer symbol
- See more at: http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/schematic-
symbols/#sthash.wWGITB02.dpuf










Basic Electronic Components
May 13, 2013 by yvind Nydal Dahl Leave a Comment

The most common basic electronic components are:
Resistors
Capacitors
LEDs
Transistors
Integrated Circuits
- See more at: http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/basic-electronic-
components/#sthash.lh6j7JUW.dpuf

What Is A Resistor?
October 3, 2013 by yvind Nydal Dahl Leave a Comment

What is a resistor? she asked.
Its a component that resists the flow of current I said.
Hmm.. I dont get it. What does it do to my circuit? she asked.
Well, it doesnt actually do anything actively I said.

Sometimes it can be hard to understand what the basic electronic components do.
Earlier I have written about what an inductor do and what a capacitor do.
But what about the resistor?
What Is A Resistor?
A resistor is nothing magic. Take a long wire and measure the resistance, and you will
realize that resistance is just a normal property of wires (except for superconductors).
Some resistors are made up of just that. A long wire.
But you can also find resistors made of other types of materials. Like this carbon film
resistor:

What Does The Resistor Do To My Circuit?
The resistor is a passive device and doesnt do anything actively to your circuit.
Its actually a pretty boring device. If you add some voltage to it, nothing really happens.
Well, maybe it gets warm, but thats it.
BUT, by using resistors, you can design your circuit to have the currents and voltages
that you want to have in your circuit.
So the resistor gives the designer control over his circuit! How about that?
Learn To Work With Resistors
In the beginning of my electronics career I thought it seemed like resistor were just
randomly placed around a circuit and I thought that you didnt really need them.

For example I remember seeing a circuit with a 9V battery, a resistor and an LED. Then
I tried using only the battery and the LED, and it still worked!
But after a few seconds the LED turned really hot. So hot I almost burned my fingers.
Then I started to realize that maybe there was something to these resistors.
Read more about using a current limiting resistor.
Learning to work with resistors is important in electronics. One fundamental skill you
should learn is how to use Ohms law.
- See more at: http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/what-is-a-resistor/#sthash.JVBscrrw.dpuf

Current Limiting Resistor
September 9, 2013 by yvind Nydal Dahl Leave a Comment

A current limiting resistor is a resistor that is used to reduce the current in a circuit.
A simple example is a resistor in series with an LED.

You would usually want to have a current limiting resistor in series with your LED so that
you can control the amount of current through the LED.
If too much current is going through your LED, it will burn out too fast. If too little current
is going through it, it might not be enough to lit the LED.
Calculating the necessary resistor value

Check the datasheet of your component to find voltage drop and the appropriate current
for your LED.
If you cant find a datasheet, you can test it.
Connect the LED and a resistor in series to a variable voltage source. Start at 0 volts
and increase the voltage gradually until the LED lit up.
Measure the voltage over the LED and the current going through.
Lets say the LED needs 15 mA and has a voltage drop of 2 volts. You have a 5 V
power source that you would like to power it with. Which resistor value do you need?
To find the resistor value, we start with finding the voltage drop over the resistor. Since
there is a 2 volt drop over the LED, there will be a 3V drop over the resistor.
Ok, so we have 3V and we want to have 15 mA going through the resistor and the LED.
To find the necessary resistor value we use Ohms law.

this gives us

So the necessary value for the current limiting resistor is 200 Ohms.
Choosing the right resistor
So you know that you need a 200 Ohm resistor.
But when you look for components you find that there are several different types of
resistors.
Well, the only thing you need to be aware of is the wattage rating of the component.
How much effect can the resistor handle?
So you need to figure out how much effect that will be dissipated in your resistor.
To find this you use the following formula for calculating power

It states that power equals the current multiplied with the voltage. So we get

This means your resistor must be able to handle at least 45 mW.
Usually, most resistors handle from 250 mW and up, so it will be easy to find a suitable
resistor.
Return from Current Limiting Resistor to Electronic Schematics
- See more at: http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/current-limiting-
resistor/#sthash.7r5H4fmM.dpuf

Ohms law
July 1, 2012 by yvind Nydal Dahl Leave a Comment

Ohms law was found by Georg Ohm and it goes a little something like this:
V = RI
V is voltage, R is resistance and I is current.
The law states that a voltage potential equals the current
multiplied by the resistance.
It is used VERY often. It is THE formula in electronics.
You can switch it around and get R = V/I or I = V/R. As long as you have two of the
variables, you can calculate the last.
How to remember Ohms law
A simple way of remembering things is to make a stupid association with it so that you
remember it because its so stupid.
So to help you remember Ohms law let me introduce the VRIIIIIIII! rule. Pretend that
your driving a your car really fast, then suddenly you hit the breaks really hard. What
sound do you hear?
VRIIIIIIIIIIII!
And this way you can remember V=RI
A practical example
The best way to teach how to use it is by example.
Below is a very simple circuit with a battery and a resistor. The battery is a 12 volt
battery and the resistance of the resistor is 600 Ohm. How much current flows through
the circuit?

To find the amount of current, we rearrange Mr. VRI and get I = V/R. Now we can
calculate the current by using the voltage and the resistance.
I = 12 V/600 OhmI = 0.02 A = 20 mA (milli Ampere)
So the current in the circuit is 20 mA.
Another example
Let us try another example.
Below we have a circuit with a resistor and a battery again. But this time we dont know
the voltage of the battery. Instead we imagine that we have measured the current in the
circuit and found it to be 3 mA (milli Ampere).

The resistance of the resistor is 600 Ohm. What is the voltage of the battery? By using
our friend VRI we get
V = RI
V = 600 Ohm * 3 mA
V = 1.8 V
So the voltage of the battery must be 1.8 V.
- See more at: http://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/ohms-law/#sthash.cbZILM4d.dpuf

Types of Resistors and How To Choose One
November 15, 2012 by yvind Nydal Dahl Leave a Comment

Did you know there are many types of resistors?

Your electronic schematic tells you that you need a resistor of 100k Ohms. Ok, so you
go to an online store to buy one. But there you get all these choices: Thin film, carbon
composition, metal film +++.
Just give me a freaking 100k resistor man!, you scream in despair.
Believe me, I know your frustration. It took me a long time to actually bother reading
about different types of resistors. So I just chose random resistors for all my electronic
circuits. Usually it worked flawlessly. Maybe I was lucky or maybe I just didnt identify
the resistor as the problem when I had a problem.
Anyway, my aim here is to provide a simple guide on how to choose a resistor without
diving deep into details.
Resistor types
Resistors can be made of several different materials and methods. Here are a few types
of resistors:
Carbon composition
Carbon film
Metal film
Thick and thin film
Foil resistor
Wirewound
The different types have different properties. Some are very accurate, some can
withstand high temperatures, some can withstand high power and some are cheap.
Some are good for low noise applications, some are good for high-power applications,
some for high-speed applications and some for measurement circuits.
If you want to learn more about the specific resistor types, I recommend checking
outwww.resistorguide.com
Choosing a resistor
So, how do you choose a resistor?
Well, the most important thing to consider is the power that the resistor needs to
dissipate. Power dissipation in a resistor can be calculated with the formula

where P is power in Watt, V is the voltage drop over the resistor and R is the resistance
of the resistor in Ohm.
Let us look at an example:

In this circuit, we use a LED with a voltage drop of about 2V. The resistor has a value of
350 Ohm. It is powered by a 9V battery. How much power will dissipate in the resistor?
Learn how to calculate the resistor value you need for an LED.
To answer this, we first find the voltage drop over the resistor. Lets say we use a LED
with a voltage drop of 2V. That means the voltage drop over the resistor will be 9V-2V =
7V.
Using the formula for power dissipation, we find P = 7V*7V / 350 Ohm = 0.14 W.
So we need a resistor with a power rating of at least 140 mW. But preferably more. A
rule of thumb is to find a resistor with twice the power rating. Here I would choose a 250
mW resistor, since those are the most standard ones.