oh CRAP!!! I think i might be an idiot!

[NaBo]

this will either be the stupidest question i ever asked, or the most important of my life  :shock:  ... so bear with me, either way

okay...  when more than two components are connected by a "trace", does it matter which order the connected leads are actually connected in?  or is each trace effectively just one big connection point or "node" that's elongated and such just to accomodate component sizes and keep things organized???  :?

I ask cuz i've been breadboarding and perfing things as if it doesn't matter... (and as far as i can tell, it hasn't mattered... SO FAR...) but looking at the red llama thread that mentions how the 330uf cap and 1k were inverted somehow... GAH!!!

Please someone reassure/set me straight ASAP!  im going crazy :S

[Hal]

no, usually....

a node's a node...sometimes, placement matters in terms of preventing noise, but that's rare.

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

if there's a direct connection between stuff that needs connecting, it's good. the issue about placement and noise comes when you're dealing with stuff like clock timers, which tend to grumble a little.

[NaBo]

PHEWF!  i dont have to go fix a million perf builds!  thanks  

i should've just checked the red llama thread a little more... now i see what they meant...  the 1k resistor went directly to the IC, whereas the rest of the components are supposed to be connected after the 1k, not directly to 9V+.  k cool... now i feel like building more stuff  

[sir_modulus]

Yes, you gotta keep in mind what's series and parallel. It's amazing how many people didn't know this, and didn't ask, and didn't know how easy it was to make layouts and perf stuff for a long time ( :roll: ).

Cheers,

Nish

[NaBo]

That's one of the reason's my confidence was so easily shaken i think... cuz it IS so easy!  That and i haven't learned anything about circuits which i haven't just read myself on the internet since high school, and i mean first semester of high school.  still... i should've known considering how haphazardly i proto-wire ckts with gator clips.  oh well.  now i know just how useless the "water through pipes" analogy is, and will forever bar it from my memory  :?

and now that i see what exactly the discussion on the red llama board was really all about, i feel a little dumb for asking, but hopefully at least someone else who is at all unsure will read this and rest easy... i can live with that  :wink:

[bwanasonic]

Might be a good time to pick up a nice book on basic electronics. It might give you more confidence about things like that. The one I have handy is "Tab Electronics Guide To Understanding Electricity and Electronics". It's conveniently audio-centric as well. The other cool and cheap one is the US Naval Personnel Training Manual on Basic Electricity (covers tubes!). Also- don't see how this effects the *water thru the pipes* model? I believe the *node* concept still applies?

Kerry M