Thanks to this forum, I was able to draw up a schematic[1] for 3 way audio splitter using NE5534.
Following Wayne's suggestion, I have been trying to manually lay the board out. And surprise surprise it has been pretty difficult.
Some rules I thought I would stick to:
- One layer board. Apparently a lot of audio designs are done in a single layer(?)
- Keep bypass capacitors close to the IC
- Ground pour wherever possible
Even with these simple rules, it is hard to draw up a semi-professional looking design.
Problems I have:
- Better looking traces
- Thickness of the +-12V may be too small
- Output signals running through resistors R9-14 (couldn't route output left and right signals without criss-crossing them at one point)
It would be great if I can get some inputs. I can see myself designing more audio stuff, but analog circuit is actually pretty darn hard!
[1] viewtopic.php?f=6&t=751
Laying out a PCB
Laying out a PCB
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Re: Laying out a PCB
Actually not so much these days. Back decades ago, and even Peavey's in house PCB process was single sided, but now most purchased PCB are run on a 2 sided process, so if you send out a single sided design they will probably just etch off the 2nd layer.b1gtuna wrote:Thanks to this forum, I was able to draw up a schematic[1] for 3 way audio splitter using NE5534.
Following Wayne's suggestion, I have been trying to manually lay the board out. And surprise surprise it has been pretty difficult.
Some rules I thought I would stick to:
- One layer board. Apparently a lot of audio designs are done in a single layer(?)
The ground needs to managed with some kind of plan (think about the current flow). Even with a large ground pour, it will have a finite resistance so layout will matter.- Keep bypass capacitors close to the IC
- Ground pour wherever possible
Some here have been designing PCB for multiple decades.Even with these simple rules, it is hard to draw up a semi-professional looking design.
your traces don't look bad.Problems I have:
- Better looking traces
should be easy enough to make that fatter.- Thickness of the +-12V may be too small
a double sided design might help...- Output signals running through resistors R9-14 (couldn't route output left and right signals without criss-crossing them at one point)
If it was easy everybody would do it.It would be great if I can get some inputs. I can see myself designing more audio stuff, but analog circuit is actually pretty darn hard!
JR
Cancel the "cancel culture", do not support mob hatred.
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Re: Laying out a PCB
I use Pad2Pad. It's easy to use and they treat me well.
I do not use electrolytic capacitors for IC power supply bypass. Put two large electrolytics where the power connects to the board, and then use MLCC's at each power supply pin on each IC, as close to the pin as possible. 0.1uF MLCC is plenty for this chip.
I use a ground plane on both sides of the board. One side is ground return and the other is a shield (connected to ground at one point only).
good luck!
I do not use electrolytic capacitors for IC power supply bypass. Put two large electrolytics where the power connects to the board, and then use MLCC's at each power supply pin on each IC, as close to the pin as possible. 0.1uF MLCC is plenty for this chip.
I use a ground plane on both sides of the board. One side is ground return and the other is a shield (connected to ground at one point only).
good luck!
Re: Laying out a PCB
Does MLCC have advantage over electrolytic caps when used as bypass/decoupling caps? Other than the smaller size and form factor? Thanks for the input!dirkwright wrote:I use Pad2Pad. It's easy to use and they treat me well.
I do not use electrolytic capacitors for IC power supply bypass. Put two large electrolytics where the power connects to the board, and then use MLCC's at each power supply pin on each IC, as close to the pin as possible. 0.1uF MLCC is plenty for this chip.
I use a ground plane on both sides of the board. One side is ground return and the other is a shield (connected to ground at one point only).
good luck!
Re: Laying out a PCB
The PCB is still on the way. Should arrive this week. In the meanwhile, I got myself some expensive capacitors from Digikey.
I am not sure if there is a point in using Nichicon's Muse caps for dc-blocking and by-passing, but oh well...
I am not sure if there is a point in using Nichicon's Muse caps for dc-blocking and by-passing, but oh well...
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Re: Laying out a PCB
Yes, and they are best used together.Does MLCC have advantage over electrolytic caps when used as bypass/decoupling caps?
An MLCC and an electrolytic bypass different frequency ranges.
The electrolytic will usually have much larger capacitance but as a consequence of that it will also have higher series inductance.
The MLCC has low series inductance.
At higher frequencies the MLCC is more effective than the electrolytic; at lower frequencies the electrolytic is more effective owing to its larger value.
The MLCC bypasses the bypass cap.
Whats the PC board gizmo in the pic?