Each electrical circuit consists of many elements, which, in turn, also include various parts in their design. Most a shining example are household appliances. Even an ordinary iron consists of a heating element, a temperature controller, a control light, a fuse, a wire and a plug. Other electrical appliances are even more complex, complemented by various relays, circuit breakers, motors, transformers and many other parts. An electrical connection is created between them, ensuring the full interaction of all elements and each device fulfilling its purpose.

In this regard, the question often arises of how to learn to read electrical circuits, where all components are displayed in the form of conventional graphic symbols. This problem is of great importance for those who regularly deal with electrical installations. Correct reading of the diagrams makes it possible to understand how the elements interact with each other and how all work processes proceed.

Types of electrical circuits

In order to properly use electrical circuits, you need to familiarize yourself in advance with the basic concepts and definitions affecting this area.

Any scheme is performed in the form of a graphic image or a drawing, which, together with the equipment, displays all the connecting links of the electrical circuit. Exists different kinds electrical circuits that differ in their intended purpose. Their list includes primary and secondary circuits, alarm systems, protection, control and others. In addition, there exist and are widely used principled and, full-line and detailed. Each of them has its own specific characteristics.

Primary circuits include circuits through which the main technological voltages are supplied directly from sources to consumers or receivers of electricity. Primary circuits generate, transform, transmit and distribute electrical energy... They consist of a main circuit and circuits that supply their own needs. The circuits of the main circuit generate, transform and distribute the main flow of electricity. Auxiliaries circuits support the operation of the main electrical equipment. Through them, the voltage is supplied to the electric motors of the installations, to the lighting system and to other areas.

Secondary circuits are those in which the supplied voltage does not exceed 1 kilowatt. They provide the performance of the functions of automation, control, protection, dispatching service. Electricity is monitored, measured and recorded through the secondary circuits. Knowing these properties will help you learn how to read electrical circuits.

Full line diagrams are used in three-phase circuits. They represent electrical equipment connected to all three phases. Single line diagrams show equipment placed in only one middle phase. This difference must be indicated on the diagram.

The schematic diagrams do not indicate secondary elements that do not perform basic functions. This makes the display simpler, allowing for a better understanding of the operation of all equipment. Wiring diagrams, on the contrary, are performed in more detail, since they are used for the practical installation of all elements of the electrical network. These include single-line diagrams displayed directly on the building plan of the facility, as well as cable routing diagrams with transformer substations and distribution points plotted on a simplified master plan.

In the process of installation and commissioning, detailed circuits with secondary circuits have become widespread. They are allocated additional functional subgroups of circuits associated with switching on and off, individual protection of any area and others.

Designations in electrical diagrams

Each electrical circuit contains devices, elements and parts, which together form a path for electric current. They are distinguished by the presence of electromagnetic processes associated with electromotive force, current and voltage, and described in physical laws.

In electrical circuits, all component parts can be conditionally divided into several groups:

1. The first group includes devices that generate electricity or power supplies.
2. The second group of elements converts electricity into other forms of energy. They serve as receivers or consumers.
3. The components of the third group ensure the transfer of electricity from one element to another, that is, from the power source to the electrical receivers. This also includes transformers, stabilizers and other devices that provide the required quality and voltage level.

Each device, element or part corresponds to a convention used in graphic representations of electrical circuits, called electrical circuits. In addition to the basic symbols, they display the power lines connecting all these elements. The sections of the chain along which the same currents flow are called branches. The places of their connections are nodes, indicated on electrical diagrams in the form of dots. There are closed paths of current movement, covering several branches at once and called the circuits of electrical circuits. The simplest electrical circuit diagram is single-circuit, and complex circuits consist of several circuits.

Most circuits consist of various electrical devices with different modes of operation, depending on the value of the current and voltage. In idle mode, there is no current in the circuit at all. Sometimes such situations arise when the connections are broken. In the nominal mode, all elements operate with the current, voltage and power that are indicated in the device's passport.

All components and legend elements of the electrical circuit are displayed graphically. The figures show that each element or device has its own conventional icon. For example, electrical machines can be depicted in a simplified or expanded manner. Depending on this, conditional graphic schemes are also built. Single line and multi line views are used to show the winding leads. The number of lines depends on the number of pins, which will be different for different types of machines. In some cases, for the convenience of reading the diagrams, mixed images can be used, when the stator winding is shown in an expanded form, and the rotor winding is shown in a simplified one. Others are done in the same way.

They are also carried out in a simplified and expanded, single-line and multi-line methods. The way of displaying the devices themselves, their outputs, connections of windings and other constituent elements depends on this. For example, current transformers use a thick dotted line to represent the primary winding. For the secondary winding, a circle can be used for a simplified method or two semicircles for an expanded image method.

Graphic images of other elements:

• Contacts. They are used in switching devices and contact connections, mainly in circuit breakers, contactors and relays. They are divided into make, break and switch, each of which has its own graphic pattern. If necessary, it is allowed to display contacts in a mirror-inverted form. The base of the moving part is marked with a special unshaded point.
• ... They can be single-pole and multi-pole. The base of the moving contact is marked with a dot. For circuit breakers, the type of release is indicated in the picture. Switches differ in the type of impact, they can be push-button or travel, with break and make contacts.
• Fuses, resistors, capacitors. Each of them has specific icons. Fuses are shown as a rectangle with taps. Fixed resistors can have an icon with or without taps. The movable contact of a variable resistor is indicated by an arrow. The capacitor figures show constant and variable capacitance. There are separate images for polar and non-polar electrolytic capacitors.
• Semiconductor devices. The simplest of them are diodes with a pn junction and one-sided conductivity. Therefore, they are depicted in the form of a triangle and an electrical communication line crossing it. The triangle is the anode and the dash is the cathode. Other types of semiconductors have their own designations defined by the standard. Knowledge of these graphic drawings makes it much easier for dummies to read electrical diagrams.
• Sources of light. Available on almost all electrical circuits. Depending on their purpose, they are displayed as lighting and signal lamps using the corresponding icons. When displaying signal lamps, it is possible to shade a certain sector, corresponding to a low power and a small luminous flux. In alarm systems, along with light bulbs, acoustic devices are used - electric sirens, electric bells, electric horns and other similar devices.

How to read wiring diagrams correctly

A schematic diagram is a graphical representation of all elements, parts and components between which an electronic connection is made using live conductors. It is the basis for the development of any electronic devices and electrical circuits. Therefore, every novice electrician should first of all master the ability to read a variety of circuit diagrams.

It is the correct reading of electrical circuits for beginners that makes it possible to master well how it is necessary to connect all the parts in order to get the expected end result. That is, the device or circuit must fully perform its assigned functions. For the correct reading of the schematic diagram, it is necessary, first of all, to familiarize yourself with the symbols of all its constituent parts. Each detail is marked with its own conventional-graphic designation - UGO. Typically, such symbols represent a general design, characteristics and the purpose of this or that element. The most striking examples are capacitors, resistors, speakers, and other simple parts.

It is much more difficult to work with components represented by transistors, triacs, microcircuits, etc. The complex design of such elements also implies a more complex display of them on electrical circuits.

For example, each bipolar transistor has at least three terminals - base, collector and emitter. Therefore, for their conventional representation, special graphic symbols are required. This helps to distinguish between parts with individual basic properties and characteristics. Each symbol carries certain encrypted information. For example, bipolar transistors can have a completely different structure - p-p-p or p-p-p, so the images on the diagrams will also be noticeably different. It is recommended that you carefully read all the elements before reading the circuit diagrams.

Conventional images are very often supplemented with clarifying information. On closer inspection, you can see Latin alphabetic characters next to each icon. Thus, this or that part is indicated. This is important to know, especially when we are just learning to read electrical circuits. There are also numbers next to the letter designations. They indicate the corresponding numbering or specifications elements.

It is possible to make the simplest electronic circuits for use in everyday life with your own hands, even without deep knowledge of electronics. In fact, at the household level, radio is very simple. Knowledge of the elementary laws of electrical engineering (Ohm, Kirchhoff), general principles the work of semiconductor devices, the skills of reading circuits, the ability to work with an electric soldering iron are enough to assemble the simplest circuit.

Radio amateur workshop

No matter how complex the scheme would have to be performed, you must have a minimum set of materials and tools in your home workshop:

• Side cutters;
• Tweezers;
• Solder;
• Flux;
• Circuit boards;
• Tester or multimeter;
• Materials and tools for the manufacture of the device body.

You should not purchase expensive professional tools and devices for a start. An expensive soldering station or digital oscilloscope will do little for a novice radio amateur. At the beginning of the creative path, the simplest instruments are quite enough, on which you need to hone your experience and skill.

Where to start

Do-it-yourself radio circuits for home should not exceed the level of complexity that you own, otherwise it will only mean wasted time and materials. With a lack of experience, it is better to limit yourself to the simplest schemes, and as skills accumulate, improve them, replacing them with more complex ones.

Usually, most of the electronics literature for beginner radio amateurs gives a classic example of making the simplest receivers. This is especially true of the classical old literature, in which there are not so many fundamental mistakes in comparison with the modern one.

Note! These schemes were designed for the enormous power of transmitting radio stations in the past. Today, transmitting centers use less power to transmit and try to move into the shorter wavelength range. You should not waste time trying to make a working radio receiver using the simplest circuit.

Radio circuits for beginners should include a maximum of a couple of active elements - transistors. This will make it easier to understand the operation of the circuit and increase the level of knowledge.

What can be done

What can be done to make it easy and can be used in practice at home? There can be many options:

• Apartment bell;
• Switch for Christmas tree lights;
• Backlight for modding the computer system unit.

Important! Do not design AC household appliances until you have sufficient experience. It is dangerous for life and for those around you.

Quite simple circuits have amplifiers for computer speakers, made on specialized integrated circuits. Devices assembled on their basis contain a minimum number of elements and practically do not require adjustment.

You can often find circuits that need elementary alterations, improvements that simplify manufacturing and customization. But this should be done by an experienced master so that the final version is more accessible to a beginner.

On what to carry out the structure

Most of the literature recommends designing simple circuits on circuit boards. Nowadays, this is quite simple. There is a wide variety of circuit boards with different bore and track configurations.

The principle of installation is that the parts are installed on the board in free places, and then the necessary terminals are connected with jumpers, as indicated in the schematic diagram.

With the proper care, such a board can serve as the basis for many circuits. The power of the soldering iron for soldering should not exceed 25 W, then the risk of overheating the radio elements and printed conductors will be minimized.

The solder should be low-melting, such as POS-60, and it is best to use pure pine rosin or its solution in ethyl alcohol as a flux.

Highly qualified radio amateurs can design a printed circuit board themselves and execute it on foil material, on which they can then solder radioelements. The structure developed in this way will have optimal dimensions.

Completion of the finished structure

Looking at the creations of beginners and experienced craftsmen, one can come to the conclusion that assembling and adjusting a device is not always the most difficult part of the design process. Sometimes a properly working device remains a set of parts with soldered wires, not covered by any casing. Nowadays, you can no longer be puzzled by the manufacture of the case, because on sale you can find all kinds of sets of cases of any configurations and dimensions.

Before starting the manufacture of the design you like, you should fully think over all the stages of the work: from the availability of tools and all radioelements to the version of the case. It will be completely uninteresting if in the process of work it turns out that one of the resistors is missing, and there are no replacement options. It is better to carry out the work under the guidance of an experienced radio amateur, and, as a last resort, periodically monitor the manufacturing process at each stage.

Video

Any radio or electrical device consists of a certain number of various electrical and radio elements (radio components). Take, for example, an ordinary iron: it has a temperature controller, a light bulb, a heating element, a fuse, wires and a plug.

An iron is an electrical device assembled from a special set of radioelements with certain electrical properties, where the work of the iron is based on the interaction of these elements with each other.

To carry out the interaction, radioelements (radio components) are electrically connected to each other, and in some cases they are placed at a short distance from each other and the interaction occurs through an inductive or capacitive coupling formed between them.

The easiest way to understand how an iron works is to take an accurate photograph or drawing of it. And in order for the presentation to be exhaustive, you can take a few photos appearance close-ups from different angles, and several photos of the internal device.

However, as you noticed, this way of representing the device of the iron does not give us anything at all, since only a general picture of the details of the iron is visible in the photographs. And what radioelements it consists of, what is their purpose, what they represent, what function they perform in the operation of the iron and how they are electrically connected to each other, we do not understand.

That is why, in order to have an idea of ​​what radioelements such electrical devices consist of, they developed conventional graphic symbols radio components. And in order to understand what parts the device is made of, how these parts interact with each other and what processes occur during this, special electrical circuits were developed.

Electrical diagram is a drawing containing, in the form of conventional images or designations, the constituent parts (radioelements) of the electrical device and the connections (connections) between them. That is, the electrical diagram shows how the radioelements are connected to each other.

Radioelements of electrical devices can be resistors, lamps, capacitors, microcircuits, transistors, diodes, switches, buttons, starters, etc., and connections and connections between them can be made with a wiring, cable, plug-in connection, printed circuit board tracks, etc. .d.

Electrical circuits should be understandable to everyone who has to work with them, and therefore they are performed in standard conventions and used according to a specific system established by state standards: GOST 2.701-2008; GOST 2.710-81; GOST 2.721-74; GOST 2.728-74; GOST 2.730-73.

There are three main types of schemes: structural, principal electrical, wiring diagrams (assembly).

Structural scheme(functional) is developed at the first stages of design and is intended for general acquaintance with the principle of operation of the device. On the diagram, rectangles, triangles or symbols depict the main nodes or blocks of the device, which are connected to each other by lines with arrows indicating the direction and sequence of connections to each other.

Basic electrical diagram determines what radioelements (radio components) an electrical or radio engineering device consists of, how these radio components are electrically connected to each other, and how they interact with each other. On the diagram, the details of the device and the order of their connection are depicted with conventional signs symbolizing these details. And although the schematic diagram does not give an idea of ​​the dimensions of the device and the placement of its parts on circuit boards, shields, panels, etc., it allows you to understand in detail its principle of operation.

Wiring diagram or it is also called wiring diagram is a simplified structural drawing depicting an electrical device in one or more projections, which shows the electrical connections of parts to each other. The diagram shows all the radio elements that make up the device, their exact location, connection methods (wires, cables, harnesses), connection points, as well as input and output circuits (connectors, clamps, boards, connectors, etc.). Representations of parts in diagrams are given in the form of rectangles, conventional graphic symbols, or in the form of simplified drawings of real parts.

The difference between structural, circuit and wiring diagrams will be shown further on. specific examples, but we will focus on electrical circuit diagrams.

If you carefully consider the schematic diagram of any electrical device, you will notice that the symbols of some radio components are often repeated. Just as a word, phrase or sentence consists of alternating in a certain order letters assembled into words, and the electrical circuit consists of alternating in a certain order, individual conventional graphic designations of radioelements and their groups.

Conditional graphic designations of radioelements are formed from the simplest geometric shapes: squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, as well as from solid and dashed lines and dots. Their combination according to the system provided for by the ESKD standard (unified system for design documentation) makes it possible to easily depict radio components, devices, electrical machines, electrical communication lines, types of connections, type of current, methods of measuring parameters, etc.

As a graphic designation of radioelements, their extremely simplified image is taken, in which either their most common and characteristic features are preserved, or their basic principle of operation is emphasized.

For instance. A common resistor is a ceramic tube on the surface of which is applied conductive layer with a certain electrical resistance. Therefore, in electrical circuits, the resistor is denoted as rectangle symbolizing the shape of the tube.

Thanks to this principle of construction, memorizing the conventional graphic symbols is not difficult, and the drawn up diagram turns out to be easy to read. And in order to learn how to read electrical circuits, first of all, you need to study the conventions, so to speak, the "alphabet" of electrical circuits.

This is where we will end. Let us analyze the three main types of electrical circuits that you often have to deal with when developing or repeating electronic or electrical equipment.
Good luck!

The electronic homemade section will be for you good helper if you decide to become a self-taught electrician. Surely after a short period of time you will want to make some useful electrical appliance for your home, car or summer cottage with your own hands.

At the same time, homemade products can be useful not only in everyday life, but also made for sale, for example, a homemade battery charger.

Here you will find not only useful diagrams, but also electronic tricks and notes. Interesting electronic devices and circuits for them. From which you can make useful homemade products with your own hands.

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Electronic homemade products are made by hand at home, it can be a homemade machine or a small radio bug. All inventions are connected with electricity, so do not forget to follow the safety rules!

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