Hey Guys, doing a layout and I have a quick question...
Are there any disadvantages in using two ground planes on a 2 layer PCB (ie. top and bottom layers)?
Dual ground planes are something I have not really seen with a lot of guitar PCB's, so I was wondering if there are reasons why...
Cheers!
I am not sure there are any disadvantages. I think Pickdropper often uses two ground planes, so from this fact alone I'd say it's not a bad design choice ;D
I am also a proponent for dual ground planes. If not, then just one on the bottom is fine.
I discourage using a positive side rail on one side and GND on the other as this creates a type of mild capacitor plus makes it easier to have an unintended short between the layers.
Having more copper on the board means less etching required, plus a thicker/more sturdy PCB overall.
Thanks for the words of wisdom guys.
I stopped doing V+ as a plane a while ago as I figured it can't be a good idea!
Think I'm gonna just go ahead and do dual ground planes from now on.
As you say; less copper to etch away too.
Dual grounds is indeed preferable whenever possible on 2-layer boards. It can also help to add via stitching to tie them together.
Top and bottom ground planes aren't quite as important on a 4-layer board (assuming one of the inner layers is a ground plane) but they can help to some degree.
I actually go to the opposite direction; i tend to skip ground pours today. I dont see any real advantages in our applications as everything happens in low (audio) frequencies. Besides (and not to forget); it is convenient when designing, and (as said in thread) it saves on the etch process.
It should be said though, i am open to any argument that sais im wrong (it has happened before;) ).
Cheerio
The argument for doing dual ground pours is that it usually lowers the noise floor.
The argument against it is that can, on occasion, make it worse if there is a noisy component or circuit section polluting the ground plane.
But it's usually beneficial to pour ground. (At least for these types of circuits ).