Help turning a Falstad LM324 voltage monitor into a 40 × 100 mm PCB layout

Thread Starter

yusufkln31

Joined May 4, 2026
1
Hello, I need help with a school project.

I have a working Falstad simulation and I would like to turn it into a PCB layout, preferably in KiCad.

The circuit is a voltage monitor using an LM324 and three LEDs.

Required behavior:

  • at 10.7 V only the yellow LED should turn on
  • at 12 V only the green LED should turn on
  • at 14.5 V only the red LED should turn on
  • only one LED should be on at a time
Parts used in the Falstad simulation:

  • LM324, using 3 of the 4 op-amps
  • 3 LEDs with 560 ohm series resistors
  • 4.7 V Zener diode
  • 2 × 1N4148 diodes
  • several resistors as voltage dividers
  • input selection for 10.7 V / 12 V / 14.5 V
I can provide screenshots of the Falstad simulation and my current KiCad schematic/layout.

My PCB requirements:

  • single-sided PCB
  • board size: 40 × 100 mm
  • LM324 as DIP-14
  • all components from the Falstad simulation should be on the PCB, except the voltmeter
  • the 3 LEDs should be on the PCB
  • 3 input pads for 10.7 V / 12 V / 14.5 V
  • 4.7 V Zener diode and the two 1N4148 diodes should be included
  • I want to avoid crossing tracks as much as possible
  • wire jumpers are okay if needed
  • I would like to avoid 90-degree track corners
Can someone help me check the schematic and suggest a clean component placement / PCB layout?
 

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crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
38,463
Can someone help me check the schematic and suggest a clean component placement / PCB layout?
So you want us to do a PCB layout for you?

Sorry, this is Homework Help, not Homework Do.
You can do a layout and then we will critique if for you, but that's the limit of our help.
Post a picture of your layout.
 
Last edited:

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
18,303
Can someone help me check the schematic
That is one ugly schematic. What's up with all of the unnecessary whitespace and misaligned components?

Here's an edited monochrome version (didn't fix the wire crossing the 3.5k resistor):
falstadEdit.jpg
The switched voltages and the 14.5V supply are in conflict for 12V and 10.7V. Not sure what you're trying to do with the signal diodes on the opamp outputs. The voltages at the inverting input will be dependent on the supply voltage (which isn't indicated for the opamp) and output loading.
 

ci139

Joined Jul 11, 2016
1,982
??? Is the Op Amp supply rooting from the same 3-option input --or-- the circuit -is- meant to be a battery level monitor -and- NOT a selected power bus monitor ???
 
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