Is there a truth table for the pin types and connections that a permitted?
Schematic setup–>electrical rules–>pin conflict map
Can anyone explain how to accomplish in KiCad what I’ve been able to do for decades in other packages and KiCad 5 through 7?
We are still waiting for a example project from you. Then we can dig into your schematic and look for your (most probably) mistake.
We don’t need another picture from you, that will not help.
Well, you don’t have to use ERC…
Is this a version issue? I haven’t changed any and now it wants to reload
here you go.
Thanks, that is helpful. will look.
Two differences between your power symbol definition and kicad standard power symbol definition. Both apply to the pin definition inside the power symbol.
You have to make this change on all occurances of symbol 0vA.
Obviously after these change you will get the “Input Power pin not driven by any Output Power pins” warning. I have already pointed out the explanation for this warning.
in short:
I see there is a new map in the Schematic Setup. AND it’s NOT in the docs downloaded w 8.0.8
It shows Passive to Passive OK.
I’ve never thought of GND or 0vA as being power - even though the current flows from them - to VCC or B+
Nothing explains why with two IDENTICAL implementations of 0vA one give an error and the other does not.
AND when I add a PWR_FLAG to 0vA, I still have the same one error only it’s moved from C16 to the 0vA net where PWR_FLAG is attached.
BUT that’s caused because my power transformer has all the outputs as OUTPUT which I had to do to get rid of other errors. Setting the CT to Passive clears that error and now generates a warning on another symbol with a BiDirectional POWER pin.
Changing the power pins to Power now generates an error on the device VCC that is connected to a PASSIVE on a switch.
Changing the switch removes the error swapping it for a warning.
I’ve spent more time chasing this improvement than the whole schematic. I actually built the amp in less time than I’ve spent chasing my tail on the schematic!
That must be a bug, because I just opened a (small nonsense) design for testing, opened the Pin Conflict Map page and then Violation Severity Page. I got this same Confirmation dialog for no good reason. KiCad version is 9.0RC1, a bit oldish now.
This can’t be repeated with consecutive tries. Maybe saving the schematic did “help”.
Folk conceptions of the pin electrical types are often erroneous. Power Input/Output are not based on current flow direction. Transformer windings should be Power Output even though AC. Bidirectional is for digital logic. Output is mostly for digital logic.
It’s totally possible to create even a large non-trivial schematic without using ERC. The situation is very different with the layout where DRC is critical for success. I don’t outright recommend ignoring ERC, but at least those pin types are so pesky that I’m tempted to tell you to turn the Map green if you have even slightest difficulty with those pin type errors/warnings.
There are two big problems with the pin type check. First, you have to understand the types (and I don’t). Second, you have to have clean libraries, built from the beginning using correct pin types for everything. Mostly you can’t use any 3rd party libraries, or at least you have to fix everything manually which takes more time than creating from scratch, even when a symbol would otherwise be OK.
That’s what I thought, but most of the transformers in the library have ALL passive pins.
I set the CT to passive to clear the PWR_FlAG error.
I’m down to 1 nonsense error and 1 nonsense warning and just clear them.
Thanks for all the help. 
ERC finds silly errors like open pins.
But if there are too many nonsense errors, people won’t use it.
You should mark pins left open intentionally with a No Connect Flag from the toolbar on the right.
Here is a slightly modified copy of your schematic and libraries modified so all ERC checks pass.
M-125_ieLogical (fiixed).zip (383.5 KB)
I prefer Passive.
There is a case for secondaries being Power Output, but what about AC power primaries and audio transformers?
Making secondaries Power Outputs also gets you in trouble if you have a centre tap to GND.
Valve heaters should also be passive - there are cases where you wire them in series.
No single pin type will be correct for all cases. You may have to adapt the symbol to suit your design. It depends on which errors you want to catch. Internet libraries usually chicken out and declare everything passive, or worse, unspecified.
My opinion is that ERC is mainly useful for catching the frequent novice mistake of power symbols connected by wires across capacitor terminals.
It doesn’t understand the function of the components, so it will not check the circuit.
There are many attitudes to ERC. Some people avoid it. “I know what I’m doing”, “It’ll cost me more time to get it correct than it’s worth”. Some peole grudgingly use it but are tripped up by the pin types.
My opinion is that to get the best out of ERC you have to be willing to edit pin types. There are only generic symbols for transformers so you may get by with passive for al pins but then you will miss a class of errors for power transformers.
For example say the transformer feeds a 5U4GT rectifier. So you assign Power Output to the transformer pins and Power Input to the 5U4GT anodes since it’s always a power rectifier. Now you replace the tube with a pair of Si diodes. There is only a generic symbol for diode. Diodes can be signal, power, etc. So either you assign Power Input to the anodes, or you go back Passive.
The main thing is to understand what the checks mean and decide whether you want them. There are some checks that are not represented in the compatibility table, such as Net with Power Input needs exactly one Power Output pin.
I was sure that OP’s sentence tells about capacitor pins being changed from passive to bidirectional.
KiCad can’t know what do you think.
Except if KiCad understands it as a single mistake and is defined to report it only once pointing one of occurences.
Reading forum since 2017 I don’t remember anyone who chose the path of changing pin types of elements. One can assume that this only deepens the mess.
And you could not touch ERC 
I’m happy with not running it at all.
As I said earlier, the changes to the transformer were made to get rid of 300 errors and warnings.
IF the v8 Pin Conflicts Map had been in the documentation AND there were more than a 4 line blurb about symbol changes, this thread would likely never have started.
Valve heaters in series is a sure way to have problems, especially as tubes age.
It was done in TVs & radios to drive them directly from a 110v line.
Agreed.
However, when I’ve used KiCad for nearly five years [and contribute $] without need for support, get slammed with 300 errors, and the same old Pin Conflict Table and a four line blip about power pins and symbols there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark. Definitely not fond of being a Retail Beta Tester.
