"Please Rate my Design/Schematic"... [RANT]

[tggzzz]

I also attended ergonomics class at University where they give you amongst other things what colors to use. But that's fine, I guess in your worldview only lived experience is valid, unimaginable that they actually teach this. Or that someone would actually say things that they have some idea about.

Interesting.

What did the course teach about

• colour in schematics
• colour where black and white has been shown to be sufficient
• colour on print processes
• colour with small characters, especially w.r.t. print processes
• the purpose and objectives of schematics
• when to use and when to avoid using specific techniques, e.g. colour or fancy fonts

[tggzzz]

I fear we are getting too polarized over this, and one extreme is taking issue with the other extreme (and vice versa, of course). My view is that colours shouldn't be necessary - print the schematic in black and white and you've not lost anything. But use of colours can add something, much like datasheets (yes!) use bold and larger fonts for topic heading, table headers, etc. They just make it easier to differentiate important things. Of course, one can go overboard just as one can inappropriately use any tool.

Just so. Good taste rulez!

Unfortunately too many people have poor taste.

In this case the objective is - or should be - to communicate details to everybody who reads the document. Not to 92% of those that read the document.

[tszaboo]

I also attended ergonomics class at University where they give you amongst other things what colors to use. But that's fine, I guess in your worldview only lived experience is valid, unimaginable that they actually teach this. Or that someone would actually say things that they have some idea about.

Interesting.

What did the course teach about

• colour in schematics
• colour where black and white has been shown to be sufficient
• colour on print processes
• colour with small characters, especially w.r.t. print processes
• the purpose and objectives of schematics
• when to use and when to avoid using specific techniques, e.g. colour or fancy fonts

All right, onto my ignore list you go. Bye.

[Benta]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

My original intention/rant was to push back against bad schematic design practices and websites that actively support those. And it still is, and I'll keep fighting against them.

Be respectful, polite, constructive and positive. Please.
And don't nitpick.

[Analog Kid]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

Well, you can say that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ain't gonna stop me, nor many other people either, from "nitpicking".
We likes to do that!

[Benta]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

Well, you can say that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ain't gonna stop me, nor many other people either, from "nitpicking".
We likes to do that!

I'm fine with that as long as it's on a technical/engineering level.
Not when it's shouting "woke!"
That belongs on X/Telegram/whatever.

[tggzzz]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

Well, you can say that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ain't gonna stop me, nor many other people either, from "nitpicking".
We likes to do that!

I'm fine with that as long as it's on a technical/engineering level.
Not when it's shouting "woke!"
That belongs on X/Telegram/whatever.

Agreed.

I've given up on twatter, especially since Musk changed it so you have to login to see any twat tweet.

I use Farcebook once a fortnight, unfortunately - solely to see what's happening in the village and occasionally alert others to incipient idiocies.

[tszaboo]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

Well, you can say that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ain't gonna stop me, nor many other people either, from "nitpicking".
We likes to do that!

I'm fine with that as long as it's on a technical/engineering level.
Not when it's shouting "woke!"
That belongs on X/Telegram/whatever.

Woke people are extremely toxic. You better get used to this, people had enough, there is zero tolerance left for that ideology. Look at how this discussion went. I disagreed with some technical points, they personally attack me.
Every single time, it's the only tactics of the woke. Strawman and misdirection.

[Analog Kid]

Everyone, take a deep breath and count to 100, please.
As OP on this thread I feel I'm allowed to say that.

Well, you can say that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ain't gonna stop me, nor many other people either, from "nitpicking".
We likes to do that!

I'm fine with that as long as it's on a technical/engineering level.
Not when it's shouting "woke!"
That belongs on X/Telegram/whatever.

Woke people are extremely toxic.

Whoosh!
That's the sound of the criticism you were responding flying right over your head.
He wasn't saying that "woke!" is toxic; in fact, probably the opposite ("shouting 'woke!'").

[tszaboo]

That's the sound of the criticism you were responding flying right over your head.
He wasn't saying that "woke!" is toxic; in fact, probably the opposite ("shouting 'woke!'").

Because when you disagree with someone, you always start your sentence with that.
No offense but this is a bit juvenile.

[Benta]

Sigh!
Once again, you can't let it go. Take it somewhere else, please.

[tggzzz]

Woke people are extremely toxic.

People who, when they know the alternative options, choose to sh1t on less fortunate people are extremely toxic.

You better get used to this, people had enough, there is zero tolerance left for that ideology. Look at how this discussion went. I disagreed with some technical points, they personally attack me.
Every single time, it's the only tactics of the woke. Strawman and misdirection.

We had better get used to that toxicity, because we've forgotten the lessons of the 1930s and the world again is splitting into "those baddies" and "us goodies".

[Benta]

@tggzzz: stop it and let it go.
'nuff said.

[Siwastaja]

I fear we are getting too polarized over this

It's not really a polarization issue, it's a "grumpy old men complaining about anything" issue.

[newbrain]

Comments are welcome, just consider this is a hobby project.

Why is +9V an air wire? I think it should chain from the 12V regulator since that's what it actually does. You can take a tap off that connection for global 9V, but as it is your eye misses where it's connected because you don't expect to look right next to it - it would surely have a wire if it were that close!

The 12V I an not sure about. I think if you can't attach the regulator input to the connector then they should be on separate sheets: a PSU sheet and perhaps a connections sheet (or, better, shove it on the overview sheet like the two coaxs). But if you put the connector on the left (the SDA/SCL are inputs, after all) then a wire from +12V on the connector to the regulator surely wouldn't be that messy.

C508-C510 should be on a single power bus rather than separate air wires for each. If they are meant to be close to U503/5/7 then either put them there or have all such caps on the power bus (C501-C503). And since it's a preview and not a modded production schematic, the caps should be annotated in a consistent way (I prefer top to bottom, left to right, but consistency is key).

(Non-ICs are annotated that way, whereas ICs are annotated top to bottom, left to right (or whatever the preference is) on the PCB. Reason being on a decently complex board board you'll spend forever trying to find R78 on the PCB so you make it easy to find on the schematic. ICs are pretty obvious, on the PCB by may be spread over more than one sheet of schematic (or in several parts on the same sheet). So knowing from the schematic R78 is on a U15 pin, you know whereabouts on the PCB it is likely to be. Admittedly, the way ICs are annotated isn't that important nowadays - it mainly came about due to the tons of 74 series DIL chips in neat rows.)

The colour scheme... I found Fout hard to look at, and because it's so different from other wires my eye keeps thinking it's part of a border or box or something. I think this is a personal thing and colours are not bad per se, just that particular one. Of course, I could print it in mono if necessary, so this is just a comment without an aye or nay component

Thanks for your comments - answering only now since I'm on a skiing week with almost no internet.

I'll start from the last one: the color scheme is the Kicad one, and not used to convey information, with possibly the exception of the blue 50 ohm nets (but there are flags signalling that).
Printing in B/W would not change readability, I should have thought of it - given the amount of discussion this has generated.

As for numbering: yes, it's a bit messy, I have manually assigned them in some cases but mostly relied on the automatic renumbering.
As the different sheets correspond to different areas on the PCB, the numbering ranges are at least consistent.

Decoupling caps on the clock buffers: noted, pure laziness on my side.

Regulators and I/O comments: I had tried in a previous version to connect them all, but did not really like the result. The connector is actually input (SDA/SCL) and output (Audio, in fact a 24 KHz IF).

All in all, not too bad I'd say, thanks for the detail analysis.

[PlainName]

Hope the skiing was good. I guess it's a bit of a shock to come back and see the remains of this thread

[Benta]

Hope the skiing was good. I guess it's a bit of a shock to come back and see the remains of this thread

I have to agree. But that's certainly not @newbrain 's fault.

[UncleMario]

Well darn, this was something to come back to. After having some further time to think, I have a few ideas. My perspective is mostly a professional (inexperienced) technician clawing his way into a design position. We did lose that old engineer a bit ago to sudden retirement. I don't really see beginners who make the common mistakes do a lot of research into good reference designs. Overuse of things like net labels or off page connections means they have not considered how to section their circuitry for testing. I don't know if these beginners use many simulation tools like LTspice or TINA. But those are used far faster to make blocks or sections of more self contained circuitry. This could be a section of amplifiers to receive and process an incoming signal, some counting or digital logic control. A good technician builds, documents, and tests these sections that have clear inputs and outputs. We could see these problems as people stepping out of the Maker pre-built mostly plug and play modules and into something they have little reference for. In the end, clear communication and a lack of observe, listen, and learn plagues these designs. I'm going to link to a design I believe is a good middle ground reference for people on both ends of this forum post. I found it to be a good reference for improving my work. https://www.reddit.com/r/PrintedCircuitBoard/comments/18p31p2/review_request_high_power_bldc_controller/

[tggzzz]

A good technician builds, documents, and tests these sections that have clear inputs and outputs.

So does a good engineer Or designer. Or anybody that thinks about their audience's understanding rather than just their own understanding, such as ...

We could see these problems as people stepping out of the Maker pre-built mostly plug and play modules and into something they have little reference for.