Hi Mathiaslink, Welcome to EasyEDA. You sound like you are having fun. Slight problem though. Neither schematic that you refer to is public so no-one but you can see them. Please have a look at: https://easyeda.com/Doc/Tutorial/share.htm#Sharing :) The following thread has some hints and links that you may find useful in learning more about the practice of drawing schematics and laying out PCBs: https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/HOW_TO_TROUBLESHOOT-v93XfxPI0 and this one has more to help get you started using the simulator in EasyEDA: https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/Cannot_simulate_the_simplest_RC_circuit_-RXR9rICUc See also: https://easyeda.com/example/Simulation_Quickstarter-iLN8usOaw

One thought. Your mention of links make it sound like you are designing a single layer PCB. In EasyEDA, the default PCB design is for 2 layers. This costs the same as a single sided board and is much easier to design and build because you don't have to mess about with jumpers and links.

First, thanks for the comments. I'll make that public. The design as it turned out is 2-layer. More, later.

Okay, project is now public!

And while I'm thinking about it..when I print the PCB to paper for inspection, can I print with no background so I don't eat up too much ink? Also, do you operate by donation or is this a product that I will eventually buy?

Unless you plan to make your own PCBs, I'm not sure why you want to print anything to paper for checking. By all means print your PCB layers to paper but a much better way to do it is to follow the instructions here: https://easyeda.com/Doc/Tutorial/PCBOrder.htm#Order-Button Click the `Download Gerber File` button to download a local copy of a zip of the Gerber files. Next, go to http://easyeda.cc/showcase which is a new online EasyEDA Gerber viewer and click the green `Upload` button and select the Gerber zip that you have just downloaded (it will be in you Downloads folder). The Viewer will unzip the all Gerber layer files and display them. You can then select which layers to inspect from the list on the left and you can pan and zoom around. A Gerber Viewer like this is a far more convenient tool that messing about trying to line up fuzzy paper views against a window or on a light table! If you prefer to have one running locally, the FOSS package `gerbv`: http://gerbv.geda-project.org/ is an excellent alternative. Once you have checked the Gerbers - and we recommend you do not skip this step anyway - if you are happy with the quote, then you can order low cost PCBs directly from EasyEDA just by clicking `Save to Cart`. By ordering PCBs from EasyEDA you will end up with professional quality boards which means you can have 2 (or more!) layer PCBs with proper plated through holes and vias and full silk screen on top and bottom layers. * To answer your question about how does EasyEDA operate? Well, the way it works is that all the EDA tools are free for up to 2 private and an unlimted number of public projects. You are free to make your own PCB from prints of your PCB layout or from the downloaded the gerbers or if you want, you can send the Gerbers to a 3rd party PCB fab house. The only thing you pay for is if you decide that you want EasyEDA to make and ship your PCBs. The advantages of using EasyEDA are that it's easy (just click the `Save to Cart` button), it's low cost and it's high quality. However, you are under no obligation to do so. If you need more private projects then there are a couple of options: 1. Submit some high quality, well documented symbols, footprints, Projects, or even documentation about EasyEDA (How To pages, extra chapters for the Tutorials, the Simulation eBook etc.) and you can earn more private projects space; 2. Later this year we will be launching a low cost subscription service offering more private projects space and faster email support: https://easyeda.com/page/pricing Note however that you are free to download you projects locally so you can archive all your private projects and just upload one or two of them again if you need to. :)

BTW: I can now see: https://easyeda.com/editor#id=DdbLJHECca :) but not: https://easyeda.com/editor#id=hRdNL7GgCA :( Looks like it might be an oscillator for Morse code practice?

@andyfierman Hi Andy. Well, that's exactly what it is. And you'd be surprised as to how unusual this is. Most code practice oscillators (even the pretty expensive ones) generate square waves! Yuck. You could get into filters and try to knock the edges off but this is a whole lot cheaper and simpler. So I thought this would be a good club project so people can understand CW (code) as the music it is. So why can't you see the second one? Dunno. I'll look at that. Thanks for responding. And I did read the comparison table for projects but your explanation clarified. Thanks!

I hacked it about a bit to build a simulation... https://easyeda.com/andyfierman/Simulation_of_Mathiaslinks_Morse_code_practice_oscillator-gAnXxv5Fe Note that the symbol you used for Q1 was broken: the pins were off-grid. If you made it yourself could you correct it? If not can you let us know the url of the part and we will either correct or delete it. Thanks.

@andyfierman Ah, I did notice that the 2N3904's base did not quite hit the grid but is very close with with the junction dot I didn't remember to check it again. That'd be great if you could set that and I will reinstall. I'll go look at the simulation though just for my edification! Thanks.

I did try to correct this in the MORE LIBRARIES and tried to save but when I bring that up it's still off the grid. I don't know if that's the problem. Anyway, when I enter MORE LIBRARIES and search for 2N3904 it is the second in the pick list--the TO92 package. I wasn't sure if this was a public library or whether I could enter a component. I would think you would have to enter the parameters in order for Spice to understand. I did look at the schematic you provided and think you might be right. I'm still kind of breadboarding so I need to go look at those components that are superfluous. Great handholding and I'd like to order a half dozen or so of these when I get some confidence. I'm retired--so speed is not one of my virtues any more!

You can edit any symbol or PCB footprint from the EasyEDA Libs and the main SHIFT+F searchable library but you can only save a copy. You cannot change the original library part. Any part you edit and save then is added to the main library and is therefore public. Since everything in EasyEDA happens on the web, everything has a URL (web address) associated with it. If find a library part (or a public schematic, PCB, Project, etc.) then it's address will appear in the browser URL bar. That URL is the thing you copy and pastr to point people to public things in EasyEDA. :)

Okay, I'll try that with an alias. Thanks!

I've bug reported that and another 2N3904 symbol as bad: https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/Bad_2N3904_symbols-Gf9FztY6s

@andyfierman Okay, I just hopped in and corrected it and saved it as 2N3904 OG --stands for on grid. It now drops into the schematic okay.

Thanks but can you make the name `2N3904_OG` with an underscore please?

I'm not sure that using OG to indicate on grid is actually the way to go. After all if the symbol is built correctly then it should be on grid anyway. Actually I am more concerned to have the bad symbols removed or corrected rather than add to the confusion by adding symbols to correct for bad ones. The bjt symbols in the EasyEDA Libs are fine for almost all devices in schematics and can be used with any 3 pin bjt spice model (even if it is a subckt). (Although not strictly correct - and there is are symbols in the EasyEDA Libs for them anyway - you could also use it for Darlingtons.) :)

I just did that to differentiate it from others. We can change that. BTW, moved some things, ran the autorouter and it came out very nice and fast. Probably not perfect but I'm more happy now than before when the transistor wasn't falling on the grid. I think that had something to do with it. Now, am I sharing that project correctly? Regarding the OG transistor I made, we could delete that and if the other one is fixed I can use that. Or would you prefer I rename as _OG? There is no reason for us to retain the OG version..I just wanted to get it in there. Would you like me to attempt the correction..deleting the OG and using the corrected version?

Why not just use the one from the EasyEDA Libs and ssign the correct package to it then pick the footprint you want from the shift+F library. Or, make your own symbol based on the one of the EasyEDA Libs and name it for the package you want to use for example 2N3906_TO92_TRIPOD and then define a footprint for it with the same name. Like this: https://easyeda.com/example/component/2N3906_TO92_TRIPOD-O08ExrlDV?from=editor

So much to learn. Thanks for these tips.

BTW, to edit a symbol from the EasyEDA Libs to use it as the basis of one of your own, just double click on the symbol. That will open it in the spice symbol editor. Don't worry about it being a spice symbol: they work the same in simulation (active) and simple drawn (passive) schematics. Note however that non-spice symbols do not work in simulations. For symbols to work in simulations, you have to use spice symbols which have models attached or at least for which models are available to be attached. Models are not available for all devices but if you need a model for something in particular, just let us know and we'll try to find or build one. From an Amateur Radio point of view, you might be interested to know that in the EasyEDA Libs, we have a crystal model that has a trick to start up any oscillator that it is in, very much faster than just waiting for it to start up naturally. It has an internal impulse source that kickstarts oscillation without forcing an initial frequency of oscillation. Some fast starting crystal spice models use an internal source that produces a decaying sinusoid of the nominal frequency of the crystal. The trouble with this is that although the oscillator starts fast, it starts that the frequency of the internal source and then takes as long to pull in to the actual crystal frequency as defined by the application circuit as it it would have done to start up without the fast startup. An impulse does not impose a specific frequency so the oscillator starts up at it's 'natural' frequency as defined by the crystal and the external circuit components. Note however that in spice the effective 'sampling' of the signals in the simulation means that frequency measurement of even a crystal controlled oscillator is actually pretty rough. :)