Freeware or low cost schematic software?

M

Melissa

Guest
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
Melissa wrote:

Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?


Express PCB has a free schematic and PCB layout software.
Click to expand...
The PCB layout software generates a file you send them for making of
boards; pricing is given in advance.
 
"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?


Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine called
Click to expand...
Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and the bug
fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

Orcad has a limited version of PSpice with <Jim> Spit! </Jim> a Schematic
capture front end called "Capture".
http://www.orcad.com/download.orcaddemo.aspx

And Terry Pinnel has a page listing low cost or free CAD packages available.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/terrypin/ECADList.html

Robert
 
"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?
Click to expand...
Target3001 schematic package works for me....

http://www.ibfriedrich.com/

The following PCB fab company has a free version of Target3001 that you can
download...

http://www.pcb-pool.com/
specifically..
http://www.pcb-pool.com/ppuk/service_downloads_target_request.html

The reason it's free is that the PCB layout side of the free version is
linked to their PCB fabrication service - so if you want other companies to
be able to fab your PCBs you need the paid version from the above.

Colin
 
"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?
Click to expand...
I have thrown out Protel schematic at work and now use TinyCAD - a freeware
schematic editor which I reckon is heaps superior. TinyCAD exports a
netlist which I suck into Protel to do the PCB.

TinyCAD is easy to learn, with Windows standard controls, so you don't have
to remember how to drive it. The schematics look good when printed. It can
do big jobs with many sheets, so it won't run out of grunt.

It loads and runs fast on Windows, so you can use it for a quick diagram.
You can copy and post bits of schematic from it, which is great for
documentation or email.

My only warning is : look at but don't use any of the supplied libraries.
They are donated bits and pieces, sometimes gotesquely mismatched, and with
pins off grid may not actually connect when you expect. Start your own
library with pins nicely on grid and all will be well.

Roger
 
On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 08:19:40 GMT, "Robert" <Robert@yahoo.com> wrote:

"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out there
that's good?


Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine called
Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and the bug
fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

Orcad has a limited version of PSpice with <Jim> Spit! </Jim> a Schematic
capture front end called "Capture".
http://www.orcad.com/download.orcaddemo.aspx
Click to expand...
Some of us are smart enough to use "Custom Installation" and choose
the venerable old MicroSim style schematic capture ;-)

Although... I just remembered... this year you must download it
separately.

And Terry Pinnel has a page listing low cost or free CAD packages available.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/terrypin/ECADList.html

Robert
Click to expand...

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
 
Melissa wrote:
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there
that's good?


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
Click to expand...
I use gschem. It is part of the gEDA package. I have had no problems
with it. It only runs on UNIX like operating systems such as
GNU/Linux, BSB and MacOS X. I may also run using cygwin in MS Windows.
It is good enough that it is worth insalling one of the Linux distros
to use. It is free software (GPL).

You can download it at http://geda.seul.org

One thing to consider in schematic software is the possibility of
making decent looking output. gschem will create postscript files
which can be converted to PDF with ps2pdf. I have seen some ugly
pixelated schematics from other packages.

Darrell Harmon
http://dlharmon.com
 
Robert Baer <robertbaer@earthlink.net> wrote :

Melissa wrote:

Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there that's good?


Express PCB has a free schematic and PCB layout software.
The PCB layout software generates a file you send them for making of
boards; pricing is given in advance.
Click to expand...
Thanks!


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
"Robert" <Robert@yahoo.com> wrote :

"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there that's good?


Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine
called Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and
the bug fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp
Click to expand...
Is it free or shareware?

Orcad has a limited version of PSpice with <Jim> Spit! </Jim> a
Schematic capture front end called "Capture".
http://www.orcad.com/download.orcaddemo.aspx
Click to expand...
Is it a timed demo? I shudder to remember the prices Orcad used to charge,
when I last worked in electronics ( early 90's ).

And Terry Pinnel has a page listing low cost or free CAD packages
available. http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/terrypin/ECADList.html
Click to expand...
Thanks Robert!


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message
news:qipt31poghvfhofnql7pte5vt716hknqd2@4ax.com...
On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 08:19:40 GMT, "Robert" <Robert@yahoo.com> wrote:


"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there
that's good?


Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine called
Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and the bug
fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

Orcad has a limited version of PSpice with <Jim> Spit! </Jim> a Schematic
capture front end called "Capture".
http://www.orcad.com/download.orcaddemo.aspx

Some of us are smart enough to use "Custom Installation" and choose
the venerable old MicroSim style schematic capture ;-)

Although... I just remembered... this year you must download it
separately.
Click to expand...
I'd heard that wasn't available in the later (after 9?) demo versions.
Perhaps it was just the separate download that made me think so. Glad to
hear I was mistaken.

Robert
 
Inline.

"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:yLOdnak8zedUhKLfRVn-uQ@forethought.net...
"Robert" <Robert@yahoo.com> wrote :


"Melissa" <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote in message
news:AeednQIS154K9aPfRVn-qQ@forethought.net...
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there that's good?


Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine
called Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and
the bug fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

Is it free or shareware?
Free. And the download page has other software that may be useful.
Click to expand...

Orcad has a limited version of PSpice with <Jim> Spit! </Jim> a
Schematic capture front end called "Capture".
http://www.orcad.com/download.orcaddemo.aspx

Is it a timed demo? I shudder to remember the prices Orcad used to charge,
when I last worked in electronics ( early 90's ).
Restricted to 10 transistors per page (last time I heard) but you can make
Click to expand...
subcircuits for more. No time limitation.

And Terry Pinnel has a page listing low cost or free CAD packages
available. http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/terrypin/ECADList.html

Thanks Robert!
Click to expand...
You're welcome.
Robert
 
The TARGET3001 is a good CAD tool and does also offer a free discovery
version.
...richard


Melissa wrote:
Hey, is there any decent freeware or low cost schematic software out
there
that's good?


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
Click to expand...
 
In article <IMOdnWsKI_0u_qLfRVn-vw@forethought.net>,
Melissa <melissa@colorado.xxx> wrote:
[....]
I guess when you get something for "free", you get what you pay for. I
downloaded it because I wanted to try out this spice stuff, never have
before. I was thinking of looking at a crystal diode detector circuit and
seeing how it modeled it, but they don't have any germanium diodes in
there. Darn.
Click to expand...
Linear doesn't make germanium parts. Remember that LTSpice is a sales
tool. Linear will put in the models that they see as being in their best
interest to put in. They also make an effort to make their models
represent what their parts really do.[1]

[1] The LT1246 model is/was not really right. When asked about it they
said basically "oops".

The spice engine and schematic capture are very good and fairly good[2]
respectively and you can add your own stuff it. It is not a closed
system. I often use it to model TL072 circuits and it does not explode
when I do so. Having it does bias me towards using a Linear part where
two roughtly equal parts exist. As a result, you will see a lot of LT
parts in a design I do today.


[2] Mike: I'm not refering to the problem with the ATI driver here. Even
under Windows (or on a none ATI system), the scrolling and zooming in the
schematic capture get it wrong. It is a slight bother. The center point
moves semi randomly when you zoom and the scrolling won't let you scroll
far enough off the edge of the existing circuit. The work around is to
stick down a couple of texts.


The fact that it runs under Windows is becoming less important to me than
the fact that it runs under "wine" on my Linux systems.


--
--
kensmith@rahul.net forging knowledge
 
Melissa wrote:
Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine
called Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and
the bug fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

I guess when you get something for "free", you get what you pay for. I
downloaded it because I wanted to try out this spice stuff, never have
before. I was thinking of looking at a crystal diode detector circuit and
seeing how it modeled it, but they don't have any germanium diodes in
there. Darn.
Click to expand...
LTSpice/SwitchCAD doesn't have a lot of parts apart from their own, but
that's perfectly understandable given that it's free and that it's the
whole point of releasing it in the first place.

It's compatible with any (almost) Spice model you will throw at it, and
creating new parts is very easy. So just look for a Spice model for your
diodes, read the online help, create your diode parts and start
simulating - simple as that. I've created a few parts (INA163, OPA134,
OPA137, TLC272, various JFET and MOSFET transistors, etc) and it works
very well for me.
 
Guillaume <"grsNOSPAM at NOTTHATmail dot com"> wrote :

Melissa wrote:
Linear Technology offers a free Schematic Capture and Spice Engine
called Switcher CAD. There's a Yahoo group to help with any issues and
the bug fixes come very fast.
www.linear.com/company/software.jsp

I guess when you get something for "free", you get what you pay for. I
downloaded it because I wanted to try out this spice stuff, never have
before. I was thinking of looking at a crystal diode detector circuit
and
seeing how it modeled it, but they don't have any germanium diodes in
there. Darn.

LTSpice/SwitchCAD doesn't have a lot of parts apart from their own, but
that's perfectly understandable given that it's free and that it's the
whole point of releasing it in the first place.

It's compatible with any (almost) Spice model you will throw at it, and
creating new parts is very easy. So just look for a Spice model for your
diodes, read the online help, create your diode parts and start
simulating - simple as that. I've created a few parts (INA163, OPA134,
OPA137, TLC272, various JFET and MOSFET transistors, etc) and it works
very well for me.
Click to expand...
Can you create a germanium diode with a .3V forward voltage drop?


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
Can you create a germanium diode with a .3V forward voltage drop?
Click to expand...
Yep.

Open the file 'standard.dio', which is located in the lib\cmp
subdirectory of the installation directory, as a text file.

Then just add the following line (copy and paste) at the end
of this file (on a single line):

..MODEL 1N34A D(IS=2.6u RS=6.5 N=1.6 CJO=0.0p EG=0.67 BV=25 IBV=0.003
type=Germanium)

Save it and restart LTSpice/SwCAD III.

Now when you pick a diode you should be able to select the 1N34A,
which is a germanium diode that should fit your needs.

I haven't thoroughly tested this spice model but it seems to be
working fairly well.
 
Guillaume <"grsNOSPAM at NOTTHATmail dot com"> wrote :

Can you create a germanium diode with a .3V forward voltage drop?

Yep.

Open the file 'standard.dio', which is located in the lib\cmp
subdirectory of the installation directory, as a text file.

Then just add the following line (copy and paste) at the end
of this file (on a single line):

.MODEL 1N34A D(IS=2.6u RS=6.5 N=1.6 CJO=0.0p EG=0.67 BV=25 IBV=0.003
type=Germanium)

Save it and restart LTSpice/SwCAD III.

Now when you pick a diode you should be able to select the 1N34A,
which is a germanium diode that should fit your needs.

I haven't thoroughly tested this spice model but it seems to be
working fairly well.
Click to expand...
Why thank you sir. :)



--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Melissa <melissa@colorado.xxx>
wrote (in <q-ydnRvvEPgOWt3fRVn-qQ@forethought.net>) about 'Freeware or
low cost schematic software?', on Tue, 22 Mar 2005:

Can you create a germanium diode with a .3V forward voltage drop?
Click to expand...
Yes, but to understand how the model works, you first need to understand
that diodes don't actually have a 'threshold voltage' of 0.3 V for
germanium or 0.6 V for silicon. The relationship between current and
voltage is exponential (plus the effect of some series resistance), so
it looks the same whatever scale you look at it on. The 0.3 V and 0.6 V
come from the fact that those voltages apply for smallish practical
currents, e.g. 1 mA to 10 mA. The models, however, use the 'exponential
voltage-controlled current source in series with a resistor'
interpretation.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
 
John Woodgate <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote :

I read in sci.electronics.design that Melissa <melissa@colorado.xxx
wrote (in <q-ydnRvvEPgOWt3fRVn-qQ@forethought.net>) about 'Freeware or
low cost schematic software?', on Tue, 22 Mar 2005:

Can you create a germanium diode with a .3V forward voltage drop?

Yes, but to understand how the model works, you first need to understand
that diodes don't actually have a 'threshold voltage' of 0.3 V for
germanium or 0.6 V for silicon. The relationship between current and
voltage is exponential (plus the effect of some series resistance), so
it looks the same whatever scale you look at it on. The 0.3 V and 0.6 V
come from the fact that those voltages apply for smallish practical
currents, e.g. 1 mA to 10 mA. The models, however, use the 'exponential
voltage-controlled current source in series with a resistor'
interpretation.
Click to expand...

Here's why I'm asking. When I heard the software could do SPICE, I thought
it would be fun to model a crystal radio detector, using a germanium diode.

So I'd need to model a radio signal source, which I'm not sure how to do
with this, and a loop antenna, which I'm not sure how to do, then put that
into the diode and feed the cathode down into a resistor with a small
capacitor to detect it into audio. I don't get the impression that this
kind of software is made for that.


--
Yours In Liberty, Melissa - Colorado, U.S.A.
http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/

The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of
Rights: http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Melissa <melissa@colorado.xxx>
wrote (in <9eSdndI5LIlnJdzfRVn-2A@forethought.net>) about 'Freeware or
low cost schematic software?', on Wed, 23 Mar 2005:

So I'd need to model a radio signal source, which I'm not sure how to
do with this,
Click to expand...
Just a sine-wave voltage source of, say 1 mV, frequency 1 MHz

and a loop antenna, which I'm not sure how to do,
Click to expand...
If it's untuned, a 100 uH or so inductor in series with the voltage
generator. If it's tuned, you need to know the L and C values, and put
that parallel-tuned circuit in series with your voltage generator. You
need to add some resistance in series with the inductor, otherwise
Splice will barf at the infinite Q. The resistance wants to be about
1/100th of the inductive reactance.

then put that into the diode and feed the cathode down into a resistor
with a small capacitor to detect it into audio. I don't get the
impression that this kind of software is made for that.

Yes, it will do that quite well, but with a sine-wave input you will
Click to expand...
only get DC out, of course. To get modulation, you need to read the
application documentation to find out how to model an
amplitude-modulated voltage generator by using a voltage generator at
modulation frequency (such as 1 kHz) feeding a voltage-controlled
voltage source (VCVS) running at 1 MHz.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
 
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