Circuit Sim software for Dummies?

[Mmm-Spork]

I'm trying to find a circuit simulator program that could be used by
children, or as in my case, a dummy! Ideally, it would allow me to
"build" stuff like a 555 timer circuit that flashed an LED. I would
like to change the capacitor's value and visually see how that changed
the rate of the flashes.

I tried CircuitMaker, but if there is a way to dummy it down so I
could actually see the LED blinking then I couldn't figure it out.
Even if I could get the LED to flash on-screen, I think CircuitMaker's
features far exceed what I'm after.

I saw a children's program called "Zap" or "Zapped" at one time that
looked like it might teach electronics at my level. Has anyone tried
that program or know of another one ?

TIA

 

[Robert C Monsen]

"Mmm-Spork" <Mmm-Spork@Anon.com> wrote in message
news:lcdnc0l16a40hh8t78nhrc37kqfovr6gm2@4ax.com...

I'm trying to find a circuit simulator program that could be used by
children, or as in my case, a dummy! Ideally, it would allow me to
"build" stuff like a 555 timer circuit that flashed an LED. I
would
like to change the capacitor's value and visually see how that
changed
the rate of the flashes.

I tried CircuitMaker, but if there is a way to dummy it down so I
could actually see the LED blinking then I couldn't figure it out.
Even if I could get the LED to flash on-screen, I think
CircuitMaker's
features far exceed what I'm after.

I saw a children's program called "Zap" or "Zapped" at one time that
looked like it might teach electronics at my level. Has anyone
tried
that program or know of another one ?

TIA

For 555 circuits, I'm guessing the best simulator is an actual 555,
led, and a battery or two. You can get it all at your neighborhood
electronics store for a few bucks.

As far as circuitmaker goes, you can run it in digital mode, which has
various little animations. Analog mode doesn't do animations.

Regards,
Bob Monsen

 

[Mmm-Spork]

On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 22:11:19 GMT, "Robert C Monsen"

For 555 circuits, I'm guessing the best simulator is an actual 555,
led, and a battery or two. You can get it all at your neighborhood
electronics store for a few bucks.

I live in an area about two hundred miles from the nearest electronics
store - even the local Radio Shack doesn't carry component parts
anymore. I mail-ordered a couple 555's and I've been de-soldering
components from broken gear, but I never seem to have the right parts.
I'm sure a knowledgable person could substitute this for that or run a
bunch of resistors in parallel to get the right total resistance, but
that kind of stuff really throws me at this stage. I thought a
circuit sim program would solve my parts shortage problem... at least
until I actually wanted to build the physical circuit.

As far as circuitmaker goes, you can run it in digital mode, which has
various little animations. Analog mode doesn't do animations.

So circuitmaker isn't the answer for me then. I can't use capacitors
in digital mode and I can't watch LED's flash in analog mode.

I guess I will just have to keep desoldering stuff (hoping that I'm
not overheating them in the process) until the next time I pass by an
electronics store.

Thank you for responding though!

 

[Chaos Master]

Mmm-Spork (Mmm-Spork@Anon.com) caused an illegal operation in module
<m09qc0lqgkg06lajqjni9jev0f38ukg9k5@4ax.com>:

As far as circuitmaker goes, you can run it in digital mode, which has
various little animations. Analog mode doesn't do animations.

So circuitmaker isn't the answer for me then. I can't use capacitors
in digital mode and I can't watch LED's flash in analog mode.

Search for Crocodile Clips or an old copy of Electronics Workbench (before it
was Multisim). Version 5.0 of EWB is quite old, not even maintained anymore, so
I think it is not considered pirated software. EWB allows you to use mixed parts
and see LED's flash.

[]s
--
Š Chaos Master | "These wounds won't seem to heal
posting from BR! | This pain is just too real
ask for ICQ/MSN or| There's just too much that time can't erase"
e-mail address | -- Evanescence, "My Immortal"

 

[Don Taylor]

Mmm-Spork <Mmm-Spork@Anon.com> writes:

So circuitmaker isn't the answer for me then. I can't use capacitors
in digital mode and I can't watch LED's flash in analog mode.

I guess I will just have to keep desoldering stuff (hoping that I'm
not overheating them in the process) until the next time I pass by an
electronics store.

If you want, toss me mail, maybe we can come up with something for you,
depending on your background and what you'd want to try doing.

(address is valid)