Online Circuits use!!

Thread Starter

emilj726

Joined Oct 1, 2010
56
I'm just wondering is using a circuit found online as a starting point of a project for personal and proffesional work illegal?
 

SPQR

Joined Nov 4, 2011
379
I would guess that if a circuit was published online that it is not "secret".
The only exception might be if a circuit is patented, but you could look that up.
You could still use the patented circuit as you see fit, you just couldn't make any money on it.
Let's see what the experts say...
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
Virtually EVERY circuit is online somewhere...

As said above unless that specific circuit is covered by Patent rights then you are free to use as you wish..
 

Thread Starter

emilj726

Joined Oct 1, 2010
56
Ok thanks for the info. The reson I ask is that I am designing a circuit board for work and I saw circuit online that was also a PCB that I liked.
The circuit I saw will be a different frequencies and different passive components also.
I just liked the method they used to detect capacitance.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
If you would feel better paying a royalty check to someone for each board you produce, I would be happy to send you my address. I think $20/board would insure you don't feel guilty using someone else's design.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
Unless you start making a gazillion bucks from the circuit, no one is likely to pay any attention to how you use a published circuit. ;)
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
I'm just wondering is using a circuit found online as a starting point of a project for personal and proffesional work illegal?
I don't want to be sarcastic but if you write "proffesional" on the PCB well uhm yes you know...

Most circuits online are technical level from the 1960s or 1970s, pretty much standard technology which is well known.

They are simple circuits, too.

You can use almost any schematic you encounter online.

I must also warn you many of them simply will not work, don't build any circuit from the internet when you don't understand it. Especially don't order 50,000 PCBs and then have to dump them.

Many circuits now use a digital firmware.

1) This is often not supplied. If it is supplied, only as HEX file. Which is often useless, as it ties you to a controller + you can not change the circuit.

2) Ripping it from a board of course is illegal. This is however so bad not many people have really ripped firmwares + built clones. People who cloned for instance Super Nintendo also had insider knowledge. They DID NOT simply read out the PROMS + traced the PCB tracks. It is a shady business.
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
and obviously depending on volume (which doesn't take much) its more than likely cheaper to design the PCB yourself then to buy an already designed on in the professional world.
 

Thread Starter

emilj726

Joined Oct 1, 2010
56
I am just going to sense capacitance the way the schematic I saw online did. From that I am designing my own board, I am not using their circuit board.
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
Show the schematic in question and tell us what you want to do.

For my part I can write what I believe.

Unless you have big money involved+ brand new technology, I would not worry too much.

One thing of course is people may believe you designed it, when you publish it with great detail on the internet.
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
Ah I was right, 1970s standard technology category.

I don't see a point what should be illegal here.

If you have a technical question, make another thread about that.
 

Thread Starter

emilj726

Joined Oct 1, 2010
56
Well I did but nobody seemed to have any idea of how to do what I just explained. I just I have to just keep on testing different things on the prototype that I have built.

thanks!
 

Thread Starter

emilj726

Joined Oct 1, 2010
56
So the schematic that I showed is a standard way of doing what I just explained to detect capacitance?
I dont have much experience on circuit board design most of my experience is in control systems. Only have been out of college for 3 years now.
 
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