thanks, yeah sometimes there’s no need to split everything up into separate modules just to get more views, I just try to do what makes sense but sometimes I fail as well!

I only wish I could actually do a design that fast!

i’ll have to check that out, would make life easier.

In the footprint library there's many "connector" categories where footprints can be found for adding headers, like connector_wire has some solder pads that can be placed where needed and connector_pinheader_2.54mm has standard header pins which can also be used for wire soldering or adding a standard header strip to plug into.

@@GadgetReboot Thanks! I'll check out the connectors. Great tutorials on the app!

Is it a new installation starting in version 5 or was it updated from version 4? Originally I had version 4 but never used it, then I updated to 5 to start using it and it had all kinds of problems trying to find things so I deleted everything and installed a new version 5. Is it saying it can't find symbols (schematic parts) or footprint libraries can't be loaded? I remember it couldn't load my footprint libraries until I installed it all fresh. Is the schematic drawn new by you or something you got online? If someone else used parts that aren't in your own library and you don't have a copy of the parts to load, it can give problems. Otherwise does this help: forum.kicad.info/t/how-can-i-assign-a-footprint-to-a-symbol/8901

@@GadgetReboot hello, thank you for your reply. I have installed version 5. The schematic that I have drawn is my own design but as you said I just installed the kicad again and actually after manual library assignment it is working now. Ty.

mostly I end up using surface mount components so automatically I have traces on the top side anyway and I try to minimize any vias that may come into play with signal integrity or even power delivery where I just want the most direct path possible, especially if impedance control is necessary. I try to keep a solid copper ground area in case it’s needed for any sensitive analog things mostly and some chips have recommended layout guidelines to keep any ground planes away from the sides of any signal traces where it may create a coplanar wave guide if it’s on the same layer near a signal trace. so keeping all of that ground on the bottom and the signal on top is some thing I learned to do. I always found that if I was going to have any trouble removing components, I would probably end up damaging pads or traces no matter what side they are on but ever since I started using a vacuum desoldering tool, it’s not even a concern anymore. Much better than using a screwdriver wedged under an ic trying to heat up all the pins with an iron.

This video someone else made might help. I am going to try it myself. I did it a few years ago but I forget how. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jKuWbMuDsJOcn2Q.html

Are all the desired layers turned on for visibility? Does everything show up when viewing the 3D render of the PCB from the view menu?

@@GadgetReboot I see the pads in 3D and they are yellow. All the layers are turned on.

i’m sure they are going to attract a lot of business from open source do it yourselfers!

And I got a second one on the end too. I’m not even mad, it’s interesting to watch a promo of their tech even if I’ll never buy it, like those occasional industrial CNC or conveyor belt or bottling machine ads I get. KiCAD is by far the best piece of FOSS I’ve ever used, so it’s got my respect. I think it’s made by the guys at CERN.

I remember when people were relying on Eagle which I think was still limited in board size and number of layers so this is a big step up. Open source is great and I wish this was more common 20 or 30 years ago in the hobby community. I remember using things like Turbo Pascal 4 for DOS or something and I might need to use somebody’s code to do something like serial port modem access but I could only use it as a compiled include unit and it would force nagging banners and basically ruin the user experience and I couldn’t tweak it if I needed and it was actually more of a hassle to use something that was given away for free.

As if a kicad user is going to think 3k or more is ok, and buy it. Used to use Altium at work great program but not for hobbyist . I found kicad after using Design Spark pcb from rs components, seems to do everything I need. Great video and nice bit of gadgetry rebooting;)

no idea

Why?

Not sure what the question/problem is and I can't remember what was covered in the video so going from scratch I just launched PCBNew to start a new board, version 5.1.2-1, I click the icon for Add Filled Zones, or from the file menu: Place/Zone, then click somewhere in the work space and a menu comes up called Copper Zone Properties. If it's a single sided PCB I'll probably put copper on bottom so I click B.Cu in the Layer box for where to place the copper zone. Since I don't have a design to route and there's no netlist from a schematic, I only have a choice of in the list that I can connect the copper to so I just go with that and OK everything to get out of the dialogue. Now I just click around the work space to create the shape I want and double click when I'm done to fill in the copper area. Later if I want to change something like the shape or the net it's assigned to, when the mouse cursor is just in the normal pointer mode I can click on the outline and it will highlight, then I can move the shape points or type E to get back into the original property edit box and change the layer it's on or net it's assigned to.

@@GadgetReboot That worked, now I need to import the netlist into the pcb and connect all the ground connections first. How do I do that?

After loading the netlist with the tool shortcut icon or menu Tools/Load netlist, all the nets in the design should now show up in that Copper zone properties config menu for the drawn copper area, so go into that edit property menu for the copper zone and choose the ground net. Then any pins that belong to that net will auto connect when a part is placed inside the copper zone, unless routed tracks cut up the copper zone too much, which is where a double sided board allows more ways to connect to the copper area with vias. As parts are moved around or traces routed, the filled in copper area may need to be refreshed by typing "b" to redraw, I think that's the key. And there's buttons to toggle if the copper is shown filled in or just vacant to make it easier to see other things because sometimes it gets in the way.

@@GadgetReboot Thanks. It's working but still many components to rearrange.

@@GadgetReboot That worked. So now how do I do a quick search for a componet so I can find it quickly on the pcb??

I etched my first PCB using ferric chloride and an etch resist pen from RadioShack in the 80s. I’m glad I don’t have to do that anymore and dispose of the chemicals. I use this software twice a month now and I’ve used it for the past four years.