Tongue in check comment -
How much support do you think I might get if I start a campaign on the forum to ban all Fritzing circuit images? I think that they belong on the kindergarten wall.
Perhaps. Hopefully it just a starting point that will get folks into a real tool like Eagle.
At least we get some kind of drawing to go with questions.
The thing is, Fritzing has a schematic editor and display; I don't know why users don't jump to the "next level" and post those...
I did not know that but all I see is people posting those "pictures" When I see one of them it immediately puts me off. I must be getting old 8) I use tinycad because I haven't had the time to tackle Eagle yet
yea, you breadboard it, then it makes a schematic, then a board, then you ship it off to have it made at fritzing and profit
but no one ever gets past step one
What have you guys got against them? They do everything they're supposed to do just as well as "conventional" wiring diagrams : displaying a circuit. And, for electronics newbie like me, they tend to be less intimidating (i.e. they actually do the job even better). But I can read normal diagrams too 
What matters is the real object itself, not the way we represent it (as long as this representation is correct of course).
all it produces is a jumbled mess that is impossible to read other than the person that made it, and cant get it to work
and a schematic is not a wiring diagram
I am (obviously) with you Osgeld. When I look at one it is very difficult to work out what connects to what. Anyway, what is so hard about reading a conventional circuit diagram? "It's not rocket science" XD
Fritzing is like a kindergarten kid drawing scribbles on paper and saying "hey look, look, look at my pretty drawing!"
What a f*cking mess.
Bravo,
vasquo for Chairman of the Ban Fritzing steering committee
Those fritzing "drawings" remind me old-time wiring diagrams you used to see in old Popular Science or Popular Mechanix pulp-magazines of the 1930s-1960s or so...only less well-drawn.
Some of those diagrams were nearly drafting pieces of "art"; many were very well drawn, fairly easy to understand how to assemble and solder together some tube-based device or whatnot, and clearly see how everything was put together (just grab your huge copper-sug soldering iron and kerosene heating torch and go for it!).
Rarely would you see a proper schematic, though that slowly changed over time, until by the late 1950s, it was mostly all schematics; if you read those old magazines via Google Books, you'll find some real interesting electronics and other treasures - I once found a circuit that used both tubes and an early (and expensive!) transistor in the same circuit; then there was this rapid transition in the late 60s to integrated circuits and electronics and the rest was history. What I had done was start reading Popular Science online from January 1950 onward - I stopped when Wordless Workshop was no longer published in the magazine. At some point, I need to start from the "beginning" and work my way forward - but at any rate, as I read each issue, I would "cut and save" screenshots of the articles I found interesting.
Anyway - enough nostalgia...
My father was an electronics engineer in the RAAF (Australian air force) and I vividly remember my joy at reading Popular Science when it was delivered to our home monthly, The good old days 8)
this is one of the last hand drawn schematics I published a few years ago, its hard enough as a schematic, can you imagine it as a frizting diagram?
Nice breadboard layout Osgeld, very neat and precise. Yes there is something intrinsically satisfying about a well planed and laid out pencil drawing.
If I was to consider every person who does not heartily see electrons as excited states of a field whose operators transforms under the (1/2,1/2) representation of the SO(3,1) group as belonging to the kindergarden ... hell that would be a lot of people. It is not difficult either, actually this makes much more sense to me than the "point charge" view, which accounts only for the most basic proprieties of electrons.
You think this is pedantry ? Well then ... you'll allow me to feel the same thing about electronics diagrams. Good day
@Pedro147
show me a better tool than Fritzing to document your breadboard circuit. In fact for circuit diagrams (schematics) Fritzing is not the right choice.
I am a book writer and used the Fritzing "breadboard view" in my book to show the project on the breadboard. For the schematics I used Eagle CAD.
Some forum user ask why they do not step up to the next level (Eagle). You already wrote the answer:
because I haven't had the time to tackle Eagle yet
Webmeister:
Some forum user ask why they do not step up to the next level (Eagle). You already wrote the answer:because I haven't had the time to tackle Eagle yet
My 2 cents:
The next level isn't Eagle, but some easier to learn package, like DipTrace. I learned DipTrace fairly quick, and currently I feel absolutely no need to invest (more) time learning Eagle.
By more time, I mean that I have tried to learn Eagle, only to find it counter-intuitive to use. I know it is extremely powerful and capable of doing a few things I still don't know how to do in DipTrace, but, neverthless, for someone to has electronics just as a hobby, DipTrace is more than enough. Even for most students, DipTrace will suffice.
What I REALLY miss, however, is an updated version of something like Electronics Workbench, which I used a lot back in college (in the 90s). I never took the time to learn SPICE. Too bad that NI's Multisim is too expensive.
ban all Fritzing circuit images? I think that they belong on the kindergarten wall.
As a beginner in electronics I find the circuit images help me to wire things correctly.
To convey the circuit design to others it does also provide schematics.
It is free, easy to use, and as CrossRoads said will probably move people towards more powerful tools.
When I look at some of the posts on this site it is actually a big step in the right direction so don't knock it.
Osgeld:
this is one of the last hand drawn schematics I published a few years ago, its hard enough as a schematic, can you imagine it as a frizting diagram?
You have pretty good hand writing. I find that a good treat for anyone of any age. My handwriting is OK on paper but I can do better on board (kind of occupational). I would not hand draw those diagrams anymore. I only did that when I was in college. Now it is all electronically done. I can do a decent fritzing diagram as connection diagram but my focus is NOT connecting monolithic ICs but rather parts (sensors) that don't have many pins each to arduino so the reader (often myself at a later time) will be able to assemble the project according to the diagram. I like the fact that I can use some real-looking part images you can get from various libraries such as sparkfun and adafruit (I'm too lazy to make them myself, did it once and it didn't look right). It really depends on who is doing the diagram and for what parts and purpose:
radman:
As a beginner in electronics I find the circuit images help me to wire things correctly.
That's what I found use for fritzing. I used to hate fritzing because I did a diagram with shift registers. Due to the amount of connections of the shift registers, I made a mess and ranted on this very forum. OK here is one. Confusing to the reader what it is. But if you read my previous reply, it's for sensors that each only have few connections. That's more clear than this:
