Using Falstad's Circuit Simulator

Here, you can learn how to use Falstad's Simulator. This is a java based simulator and can be founs at: http://www.falstad.com/circuit/
Circuit Simulator]. (Sorry for the bad quality screenshots)

Step 1: Basic controls

When the program is first opened, the starting circuit is a simple LRC circuit (This stands for Inductor, Resistor, Capacitor. These are the main components of this circuit).

When the program is opened on the screen, the buttons on the toolbar are:
File - Import, Export, Exit

Scope - Stack All, Unstack All

Options - Show Current, Show Voltage, Show Power, Show Values, Small Grid, European Resistors, White Background, Conventional Current Motion

And finally, Circuits - To list all of the seperate circuits would be quite pointless as there are loads of them (See for yourself if you dont believe me!) These circuits come with the program that the creator must have pre-programmed in.

Comments

[Phil B]

Thank you. I was experimenting with the Falstad circuit simulator and "built" a virtual copy of a circuit I have used with actual parts in order to understand better how and why it works. I had some unanswered questions about how to save a circuit in Falstad and you answered them.

[andyongjr]

Great program from Falstad, many thanks guys. Ive'd been using it for sometime now time in my lecture and circuit simulation. Does anyone out there know how to include speakers in the circuit? Thanks

[pyrohaz]

Hey, because each speaker is different, it will have different parameters. Plus, a speaker varies its parameters through frequencies but I think (simulating one frequency peak) you could do something like: Resistor - LC Bandpass filter. For example! For an 8Ohm speaker (5"), with a resonance peak at 320hz, you could have the simulation parameters of: 6R resistor - 10u capacitor and 22mH inductor in parallel. (I know this isnt an ideal model and whether it should work like a speaker but going off knowledge, it had the resistor for the resistive impedance and a band-pass filter set to 339.32Hz. This should really have a resonant peak at that frequency but I think its only a 6db/oct filter?:S im not sure but good luck none the less! :D

[sunilnasik]

Hello,
Does anybody knows how to build logic for Normally closed relay in falstad circuit.

Thanks in advance.

[Unit042]

There is another version out in which we have keyboard shortcuts and can copy and paste components (use ctrl + v, since the right-click menu has no paste). In addition, we can select groups of stuff, move them, and cut copy paste away!
Yippeeee!
This would have been good to have when I was simulating my homemade microcontroller, which involved a 16-to-1 demultiplexor.....

[Unit042]

There are also relays! Yum.

[Unit042]

Wait, did you say there were triodes (as in, vacuum tubes) in the available components? I have a version of it (simulator) on my hardrive, I use that thing for lots of stuff, but it doesn't seem to do MOSFETs or transformers right. It just freaks out when I try to do a joule thief circuit. And I crash it all the time with my simulated microcontroller. I never knew that there was somebody else on instructibles that knew of this....

[bloke2022]

i knew of this as well, and crash it all the time.

[pyrohaz]

Yeh, i know about the joule thief circuit. I have tried that circuit myself and it doesn't seem to work. On the current version of the simulator, you can get tiodes now, :D. For transformers, the only main part is the inductance. Also, you need to remeber that if its a step-down transformer, the ratio has to be below 0. That way it works for me :D

[Unit042]

Oooooh! Triodes! I'll just have to update then... :-)

[Unit042]

I've been using the newest version and... The potentiometers are awesome! They are awkward to resize/place, but they are handy! Too bad the scope probes were taken out in this next version. The zener diodes... about time! I've had to make an equivalent using a couple of opamps and some resistors.

[iectyx3c]

You did a very good thing here. I never heard of this fantastic application and you have explained the basics clearly. Thank YOU.

[pyrohaz]

Hi, thanks for the reply! Glad you found it useful, thank you again.

[Delaney]

Yea that site is fairly useful but I cannot figure out if you are able to change the values of transistors beyond the HFE. like modify the saturation voltage and voltage max. some projects that I'm working on need very specific voltage limitations

[sdallesasse]

This is too cool! I will use this in the next few months.

[pyrohaz]

Thanks!! First instructable lol