Great suggestions!
I would add that it helps to have a general idea of what the circuit is doing, sometimes this can be obtained from the manufacturer notes. If anything it helps with realizing where things are going. If the description says there is a bridged T filter in there, you should end up tracing one (ahem...)
Maybe I'm hard headed (no.. I know I am
) but I usually just start tracing and drawing a "schematic" at the same time using graph paper and my multimeter, usually on different parts of a page so that later on I can look at everything I've traced and see what makes sense, hoping for that Beautiful Mind cinematic realization.
Sometimes its not as easy to see, but most circuits use existing building blocks , so having a resource ready with the building blocks is handy too.
If anything else, designer building blocks are frequently re-used so if you can see a schematic for a previous project it helps with recognizing what an otherwise odd clustering of components and traces are supposed to be.
If anything trace and retrace. Take a break and come back to it.
I would add that it helps to have a general idea of what the circuit is doing, sometimes this can be obtained from the manufacturer notes. If anything it helps with realizing where things are going. If the description says there is a bridged T filter in there, you should end up tracing one (ahem...)
Maybe I'm hard headed (no.. I know I am
) but I usually just start tracing and drawing a "schematic" at the same time using graph paper and my multimeter, usually on different parts of a page so that later on I can look at everything I've traced and see what makes sense, hoping for that Beautiful Mind cinematic realization.Sometimes its not as easy to see, but most circuits use existing building blocks , so having a resource ready with the building blocks is handy too.
If anything else, designer building blocks are frequently re-used so if you can see a schematic for a previous project it helps with recognizing what an otherwise odd clustering of components and traces are supposed to be.
If anything trace and retrace. Take a break and come back to it.
