Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:56 pm
Please post the PCB, ground loops and broken return paths can cause lots of problems.
here are a few of the pcb, some before and after ratsnest so you can see the leads more clearlyfrank wrote:Please post the PCB, ground loops and broken return paths can cause lots of problems.
Thank you for your help! I'm going to address those issues, I'm still learning about PCB layout, I have some newer designs where I don't use a pour, i tie all the grounds together directly to ground, would that be better, or would a pour be better?frank wrote:OK, I see a number of issues:
1. You are not really using a ground plane, all the ground connections should tie directly down to the ground plane. For example you have pin 4 tied to 25 and 24, they should not be tied like that they should all connect directly down to the plane
2. Lots of breaks in the pour, that will cause return loops which is bad.
3. You have the outputs tied together, do not do that as that can cause noise.
I've attached a picture where I have vias tying the ground pins from the FV-1 to the ground plane, would this be ok to do?frank wrote:An unbroken pour is best.