Virtual Electronics Lab — Build & Test Circuits Online

🎓 PickettLab — How to Use

Virtual electronics lab — build, simulate, and measure circuits in your browser

🚀 Quick Start — Simple LED Circuit

1. Drag a DC Source from the palette onto the canvas
2. Drag a Resistor to its right
3. Drag an LED after the resistor (anode left, cathode right)
4. Drag a Ground ⏚ after the LED and wire it back to the DC Source − terminal
5. Hold SHIFT and click each component in turn to wire them together
6. Click ▶️ Simulate — LED glows! 💡

🔧 Building Circuits

• Add: Drag any component from the left palette onto the canvas
• Move: Click and drag — snaps to grid
• Wire: SHIFT + click first component, then click second to connect
• Delete: Click to select, then Delete / Backspace
• Flip polarity: Select LED, diode, or capacitor → click Flip in toolbar
• Pan: Middle-click drag or Ctrl + drag  |  Zoom: Mouse wheel

⊙ Parallel Circuits — Junctions

• Drag from palette: Drag a Junction ⊙ then wire multiple components to it
• Split a wire: SHIFT + click any wire to insert a junction automatically
• Example: Battery+ → Junction A → R1 → Junction B → GND, and also A → R2 → B

📊 Multimeter

• Start simulation → select mode (Voltage / Current / Resistance / Continuity)
• Press 🔴 Red, click a component, then ⚫ Black, click another — reading appears instantly
• Resistance: Combines series and parallel correctly — shows OL if no path
• Continuity: 🔔 BEEP if any wired path exists between probes

📡 Oscilloscope

• Add an AC Source → scope displays the waveform automatically
• Use Probe dropdown to measure voltage across any component
• Switch Mode → Transient to see capacitor charging curves (DC + RC circuit required)
• Click ⛶ on the scope screen to open a full-size view

📈 Transient Mode (Capacitor Charge)

1. Wire: DC Source → Resistor → Capacitor → Ground
2. Click ▶️ Simulate
3. On scope, change Mode → Transient
4. Set Time/Div to roughly τ / 2 to see the full curve

• Yellow crosshair — τ (time constant) = R × C, 63.2% charge point
• Red dashed line — 5τ, capacitor ~99% fully charged
• Cyan dot — animates along curve in real time

⌨️ Shortcuts

• SHIFT + click component — start/finish wire  |  SHIFT + click wire — insert junction
• SPACEBAR — toggle selected switch ON/OFF  |  Ctrl + drag — pan
• Delete / Backspace — delete selected  |  Scroll wheel — zoom

💾 Save & Export

• Save: Downloads .json — reload anytime with Load
• 📋 Report: PDF lab report with circuit snapshot, component list & measurements
• 📤 Worksheet: Sends circuit to PickettWork to generate a student worksheet