Another newbie

[NMNeil]

Hi all.
I've been interested in electronics since I was a kid, but never pursued it any further than reading.
After years as a cop I finally retired, and now have both the time and money to pursue my hobbies. Well more time than money, police pensions are pitiful.
Looking forward to asking a million questions and picking everyone's brains

 

[davenn]

hi there

welcome to Electronics Point
all pensions are pitiful

cheers
Dave

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Hi there and welcome to Electronics Point

Thanks for introducing yourself. Please, ask away!

 

[NMNeil]

Thanks, I shall

 

[NMNeil]

Not sure where to ask, but as KrisBlueNZ offered
I see members of the forum posting pictures of their circuit diagrams. How is this done?

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

You need software that lets you draw the diagram. Then you either export as image, print to an image capture driver, or take a screen shot.

Most of the EDA packages at https://www.electronicspoint.com/resources/list-of-eda-packages.39/ will work. I like the schematics produced by diptrace (http://www.diptrace.com) (which has a free, limited version available) but the web-based ones are easy to get started with. Upverter (http://www.upverter.com) is completely free (as long as you don't mind having your designs made public), runs in the browser, and is trending upwards in popularity. Yes there is a free option; it's not prominently displayed, but it's there. 123D Circuits seems to produce the nicest looking schematics, and EasyEDA may be the easiest to use. YMMV