Schematics / PCB

[Connects]

Hey all
I just wanted to ask if you could lead me in the right direction on two fronts:

1. what is the best resource / way / method / approach to learn how to read, interpret and understand schematics?

2. which company is cheapest for PCB fabrication. I am only into this as a hobby so my ordering will be small scale etc.

i am based in Sydney, Australia.

Thanks

 

[55pilot]

About the cheapest place here in the USA is pcbexpress.com Their E1 service is $95 for two board with no solder mask or silk screen. Their quality is in line with the saying: You get what you pay for and you are paying very little for it. But they do have excellent customer service and usually deliver on time.

When you add in the international shipping, they may not be as good of a deal. There may be better places in Oz.

As for learning, isn't everyone born with the innate ability to read schematics ? For me the learning happened so long ago and so early in life that I feel like it was an innate ability and I can not be of any help there. I am sure others will chime in on that one.

---55p

 

[Resqueline]

I was also quite early into schematics. All I can say is that it's a little like learning a language. Every diagram can be broken down into very small parts (letters), and analyzed one component at a time. Look at many different small, simple examples to get a feel for how they work. Then you move on to more complex circuits (words), using the breaking-down method to understand them. It will take time until you recognize "sentences".

 

[CoCoMan]

This may sound redundant, but I learned many symbols simply by looking at the diagrams of other circuits. Once you are familiar with the symbols of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors, etc., you are well on your way to speaking the language. Maybe try one of those spring-connect science-fair project kits that comes with a book projects. Then you can learn the fun way while building simple projects. Or alternatively, secure a college textbook or find a table of symbols... If you don't have a text book, then you can find it for free here:allaboutcircuits.com. oh well, just a suggestion.-)