Thanks to all for the many responses regarding PCB design software - I had
a few requests for summary information, so here goes...
http://www.expresspcb.com - this is a service where you download their
software, lay out your PCB and upload the order to them. They don't have
any program to take a schematic and come up with an automatic layout and
trace routing. They'll make up the boards for a pretty reasonable rate.
Recommended by Wayne, W5XD and others.
Here are some more web links that were recommended:
http://www.cadsoftusa.com - "Eagle" layout editor. Crippleware demo - won't
let you print anything. Huge library of symbols.
http://www.eesoft.com - More crippleware. Didn't try this one.
http://www.ivex.com - Two apps, one for schematic and one for PCB. Full
funtion 30-day trial for free, limitation on number of pins you can have -
would work as-is for simple circuits. The PCB app kept crashing with "demo
expired" messages so I gave up on it.
http://hem.passagen.se/sm0vpo/index.htm#pcb - Information on homebrewing PCBs
http://www.holophase.com - Circad - apparently used by guys on the QRP
reflector. I wasn't impressed in a few minutes of tinkering - user
interface was too cryptic for me.
http://www.apcircuits.com - Service for making boards from your layout.
Takes data from many popular apps.
I tried nearly all of the above and really wasn't impressed by any of them.
Guess I'm too picky. I wound up getting the ExpressPCB software and doing a
layout of the PCB for my circuit with it. Will probably have them make up a
few boards for me. The danger, of course, is that the layout is based on my
reading of a poorly drawn schematic (mine!) and there's no way to check for
accuracy other than to manually follow every trace. So if you get lucky and
it's right, you're in business. Otherwise there's $60 down the drain.
The Ivex stuff wasn't bad but I found that there weren't "package"
definitions for a lot of the components I wanted to put on the schematic,
so there was no way for the software to convert the schematic to a PCB.
(each component has to have a "package" or "footprint" definition so that
the PCB software knows what it looks like when placed on a board. I think
you could define your own package if you knew the size and pin spacing of
the component you wanted, but it seems like a lot of work.
For simple circuits with "normal" components, the Ivex stuff would work
well. As would the ExpressPCB software.
One thing to keep in mind is what you will do once you have the PCB layout
done. I don't know a thing about etching a board and assumed it wasn't
"that" difficult. But reading the SM0VPO site makes it seem a little more
involved, if you want to do a good job. So the best option would be to do
the layout and send it off for professional production if you can.
These are some additional sites I found by poking around the apcircuits
site - haven't tried any of these:
http://www.orcad.com/
http://www.protel.com/index.html - full featured 30-day trial. This one
looks interesting - will try it soon.
http://www.mentala.com/
Again thanks to all for the responses - I got more information than I ever
expected!
73,
-Marty NW0L
martyt@pobox.com
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-writelog@contesting.com
> > [mailto:owner-writelog@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Marty Tippin
> > Sent: Monday, January 01, 2001 3:47 PM
> > To: writelog@contesting.com; wf1b-rtty@wf1b.com
> > Subject: [WriteLog] PCB Design Software?
> >
> >
> >
> > I know this isn't the right place for my question, but...
> >
> > Looking for an easy to use program (for Win98 preferably) to design and
> > layout printed circuit boards - have a breadboard circuit that
> > I'd like to
> > make "pretty" - any suggestions would be appreciated.
> >
> > Please reply direct as I'm sure it's not of interest to the rest of the
> > reflector.
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > -Marty NW0L
> > martyt@pobox.com
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