Symbol | Component name | Meaning |
Wire Symbols |
| Electrical Wire | Conductor of electrical current |
| Connected Wires | Connected crossing |
| Not connected Wires | Wires are not connected |
Switch Symbols and Relay Symbols |
| SPST Toggle Switch | Disconnects current when open |
| SPDT Toggle Switch | Selects between two connections |
| Pushbutton Switch (N.O) | Momentary switch - normally open |
| Pushbutton Switch (N.C) | Momentary switch - normally closed |
| DIP Switch | DIP switch is used for onboard configuration |
| SPST Relay | Relay open / close connection by an electromagnet |
| SPDT Relay |
| Jumper | Close connection by jumper insertion on pins. |
| Solder Bridge | Solder to close connection |
Ground Symbols |
| Earth Ground | Used for zero potential reference and electrical shock protection. |
| Chassis Ground | Connected to the chassis of the circuit |
| Digital / Common Ground | |
Resistor Symbols |
| Resistor (IEEE) | Resistor reduces the current flow. |
| Resistor (IEC) |
| Potentiometer (IEEE) | Adjustable resistor - has 3 terminals. |
| Potentiometer (IEC) |
| Variable Resistor / Rheostat (IEEE) | Adjustable resistor - has 2 terminals. |
| Variable Resistor / Rheostat (IEC) |
Capacitor Symbols |
| Capacitor | Capacitor is used to store electric charge. It acts as short circuit with AC and open circuit with DC. |
| Capacitor |
| Polarized Capacitor | Electrolytic capacitor |
| Polarized Capacitor | Electrolytic capacitor |
| Variable Capacitor | Adjustable capacitance |
Inductor / Coil Symbols |
| Inductor | Coil / solenoid that generates magnetic field |
| Iron Core Inductor | Includes iron |
| Variable Inductor | |
Power Supply Symbols |
| Voltage Source | Generates constant voltage |
| Current Source | Generates constant current. |
| AC Voltage Source | AC voltage source |
| Generator | Electrical voltage is generated by mechanical rotation of the generator |
| Battery Cell | Generates constant voltage |
| Battery | Generates constant voltage |
| Controlled Voltage Source | Generates voltage as a function of voltage or current of other circuit element. |
| Controlled Current Source | Generates current as a function of voltage or current of other circuit element. |
Meter Symbols |
| Voltmeter | Measures voltage. Has very high resistance. Connected in parallel. |
| Ammeter | Measures electric current. Has near zero resistance. Connected serially. |
| Ohmmeter | Measures resistance |
| Wattmeter | Measures electric power |
Lamp / Light Bulb Symbols |
| Lamp / light bulb | Generates light when current flows through |
| Lamp / light bulb |
| Lamp / light bulb |
Diode / LED Symbols |
| Diode | Diode allows current flow in one direction only (left to right). |
| Zener Diode | Allows current flow in one direction, but also can flow in the reverse direction when above breakdown voltage |
| Schottky Diode | Schottky diode is a diode with low voltage drop |
| Varactor / Varicap Diode | Variable capacitance diode |
| Tunnel Diode | |
| Light Emitting Diode (LED) | LED emits light when current flows through |
| Photodiode | Photodiode allows current flow when exposed to light |
Transistor Symbols |
| NPN Bipolar Transistor | Allows current flow when high potential at base (middle) |
| PNP Bipolar Transistor | Allows current flow when low potential at base (middle) |
| Darlington Transistor | Made from 2 bipolar transistors. Has total gain of the product of each gain. |
| JFET-N Transistor | N-channel field effect transistor |
| JFET-P Transistor | P-channel field effect transistor |
| NMOS Transistor | N-channel MOSFET transistor |
| PMOS Transistor | P-channel MOSFET transistor |
Misc. Symbols |
| Motor | Electric motor |
| Transformer | Change AC voltage from high to low or low to high. |
| Electric bell | Rings when activated |
| Buzzer | Produce buzzing sound |
| Fuse | The fuse disconnects when current above threshold. Used to protect circuit from high currents. |
| Fuse |
| Bus | Contains several wires. Usually for data / address. |
| Bus |
| Bus |
| Optocoupler / Opto-isolator | Optocoupler isolates onnection to other board |
| Loudspeaker | Converts electrical signal to sound waves |
| Microphone | Converts sound waves to electrical signal |
| Operational Amplifier | Amplify input signal |
| Schmitt Trigger | Operates with hysteresis to reduce noise. |
| Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) | Converts analog signal to digital numbers |
| Digital-to-Analog converter (DAC) | Converts digital numbers to analog signal |
| Crystal Oscillator | Used to generate precise frequency clock signal |
Antenna Symbols |
| Antenna / aerial | Transmits & receives radio waves |
| Antenna / aerial |
| Dipole Antenna | Two wires simple antenna |
Logic Gates Symbols |
| NOT Gate (Inverter) | Outputs 1 when input is 0 |
| AND Gate | Outputs 1 when both inputs are 1. |
| NAND Gate | Outputs 0 when both inputs are 1. (NOT + AND) |
| OR Gate | Outputs 1 when any input is 1. |
| NOR Gate | Outputs 0 when any input is 1. (NOT + OR) |
| XOR Gate | Outputs 1 when inputs are different. (Exclusive OR) |
| D Flip-Flop | Stores one bit of data |
| Multiplexer / Mux 2 to 1 | Connects the output to selected input line. |
| Multiplexer / Mux 4 to 1 |
| Demultiplexer / Demux 1 to 4 | Connects selected output to the input line. |