Thanks Brumby,
In my short time on this forum, i've noticed quite a lot of resistance from some people to the idea of using a simulator for learning anything about electronics.
Personally i think i've learnt quite a lot a short time from simulators.
But some people, instead of addressing the principal that i'm asking about, simply say in "in a real circuit, that's not how it works". So they expect me, as well as grasping the basic principal, to also grasp the subtleties of real-world component interaction at the same time!
Ok, so EveryCircuit is a bit of a toy, fair enough.
A question:
Are there other simulators, like Multisim, that, given enough information about what component you've chosen, will factor into the simulation the real world-ness that would make it more realistic?
And do they, if instructed to do so, even add in some fuzzy or randomness (into for example, resistor values) so that an astable multivibrator would simulate more accurately?
The reason i'd like to keep learning with simulators is that it's just quicker to throw components around on a screen, create multiple versions to compare, do a quick hour of learning without first covering the kitchen table with multimeters, breadboards etc.