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I'm just a dabbler in electronic circuits and I'm really still kind of a noob. I am working on a project called the "Atari Punk Console" (Originally known as the "Stepped Tone Generator") but there are some parts of the wiring schematic that I don't understand, specifically the parts with the ground symbol.

Here is the schematic: enter image description here

See those two ground symbols? I don't understand how to properly connect the circuit to ground at these points. How can I do this and be sure that I did it properly. I don't understand grounding at all so any pointers or clarification is also welcome. Thanks in advance.

Digital Brent
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    Two grounds are the same ground. Connect them with wire. – Eugene Sh. Mar 31 '15 at 21:11
  • Just connect them to each other? Or connect them both to something else? I don't understand why if I can just connect them together, they wouldn't just draw the connection in the schematic. Why did they put a symbol for ground there instead of just a line connecting them? – Digital Brent Mar 31 '15 at 21:16
  • More generally, connect all ground symbols in the same drawing to the same wire. That symbol means "reference ground" (Whenever someone talks about measuring the voltage at some point in the circuit, they mean, the voltage between that point and reference ground. The voltage at reference ground is always 0 by definition.) It is not the same thing as "protective earth" which has a different symbol. – Solomon Slow Mar 31 '15 at 21:16
  • In more complex circuits, there will often be a lot of things connected to ground. It makes the drawing a lot cleaner if those connections aren't all connected to each other with inked lines. – Solomon Slow Mar 31 '15 at 21:17
  • Se the very recent related question. – Eugene Sh. Mar 31 '15 at 21:18
  • The ground is also the reference for the output signal. If you connect the "-4dB Line Output" to the center of an RCA jack, the outside of the jack should also be connected to ground. – DoxyLover Mar 31 '15 at 21:27
  • Highly related: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/117892/different-grounds , http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/237439/where-do-these-grounding-wires-go – Always Confused Jul 01 '16 at 19:16

2 Answers2

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What isn't shown on your schematic is that the negative terminal of the 9 volt supply is connected to all of the other ground symbols, which are all connected together.

EM Fields
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"Ground" in this context doesn't mean "the earth" or "the floor" or anything like that - it is merely a virtual reference point. In your case it is the negative connection of your battery or power supply.

All those ground symbols are just a shortcut instead of showing the wires connecting those points to your battery. Just wire them all together and connect to -.

Majenko
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