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+===== PCB design for Electronics for Physicists II (Digital) =====
+==== PCB Design Software ====
+In 2016 for the first time we will use the increasingly popular [[http://kicad-pcb.org/|KiCad]] for learning PCB design.
+  * http://kicad-pcb.org/download/ - downloads for all OSs
+  * http://docs.kicad-pcb.org/en/getting_started_in_kicad.html - excellent tutorial start
+  * https://github.com/sharebrained/library-kicad - this github library has an electret microphone gate
+  * http://www.kicadlib.org/ - this collection of libraries contains an Ardunio Nano gate symbol
+  * https://github.com/lachlanA/eagle-to-kicad - useful utility for converting Eagle projects to KiCad
+==== Buying parts ====
+Finding and managing the parts for your board is often the biggest headache.  When you work on your board, it's good to collect the part datasheets for later reference.
+Some distributors are
+Swiss
+  * http://www.farnell.ch,
+  * http://www.distrelec.ch
+  * http://www.digikey.ch
+USA
+  * http://www.digikey.com,
+  * http://www.arrow.com, and
+  * http://www.mouser.com
+==== Fabricating your board ====
+There are many board manufacturers. We have used http://www.pcbpool.de and http://www.multipcb.de.  It is especially easy if the fabrication house accepts the CAD software design file (e.g. from Eagle) rather than insisting on a set of industry-standard but arcane Gerber files with many options for output.
+Costs of board fabrication vary depending on the size, number of layers, and turnaround time.  A small 2-layer board with 2 week turnaround can cost less than 50 EUR, while a 150x300mm^2 4 layer board with 1 week turnaround might cost 300 EUR.
+==== Learning about board design, components, etc. ====
+  * One really excellent reference book is by Tim Williams: [[http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780080971384.do?sortby=publicationDate|The Circuit Designers Companion]].
+  * The basic reference for COTS electronics design, updated 2015: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Electronics|Horowitz and Hill's The Art of Electronics]]
+{{dig:timwilliams.jpg?320px|The circuit designers companion}}
+===== Before 2016 - Using Eagle =====
+Before 2016, the course used the very popular [[http://www.cadsoft.de/freeware.htm|freeware version of the Eagle PCB (=Printed Circuit Board) software]]. See http://www.cadsoft.de for support information, libraries, etc. For fancier boards and a more powerful autorouter, ETH can license Altium Designer to you at a cost of 300 CHF/year per seat.
+=== Learning Eagle ===
+See the eagle tutorial in the doc folder when you install Eagle (here is an online copy from V5.1.1 in {{dig:eagle_tutorial_en.pdf|English}} and {{dig:eagle_tutorial_de.pdf|German}}).
+=== Eagle libraries ===
+Cadsoft hosts a massive assortment of user-contributed parts libraries: [[http://www.cadsoft.de/downloads/libraries|Eagle libraries (German)]][[http://www.cadsoftusa.com/downloads/libraries|Eagle libraries (english)]]
+=== Eagle tips ===
+  * Use a mouse. A middle click then lets you drag around your view.
+  * Eagle looks for designs in the directories that you specify in the //Control Panel//, under //Options/Directories//.
+  * Eagle uses a non-conventional way of manipulating objects that takes a bit of getting used to. You cannot drag-select objects for instance. Instead, you select a tool, say "move", then apply it to individual objects one at a time.  Or you can drag the dotted rectangle tool around some stuff and then notice the tip in the bottom toolbar that say you can right-control-drag the group.
+  * Right click on objects to open the context menu.
+  * To select an object, look for the little cross in the object and click near that.
+  * Use the **Net** tool to draw connections between components, not the Wire tool.
+  * Many components have hidden power pins, e.g. the LM324. To show these pins so you can wire them up to your Vdd/Gnd, use the **Invoke** command on the part. Then you will see the hidden power pin 'part' of the component.
+  * The Cadsoft Eagle {{dig:eagle_tutorial_en.pdf|tutorial}} and {{dig:eagle_manual_en.pdf|manual}} have many useful tips.
+  * This [[http://myhome.spu.edu/bolding/EE4211/EagleTutorial4.htm|Eagle Tutorial from Kevin Bolding]] also shows