>From: "Dick Green" <dick.green@valley.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 07:54:46 -0500
>
>Thanks for the suggestions, folks. Got quite a few suggestions
>and tried most of 'em (I've downloaded many megs so far.)
>
>Good CAD programs with electronic symbol libraries are expensive
>and are not optimized for drawing schematics. Most don't support
>conversion to a PCB or output to Gerber format (used by most PCB
>manufacturing outfits.) EASYCAD is good but I don't have time to
>draw my own symbol library.
Speaking as someone who has been through the learning curve for
several of the expensive professional capture / layout packages,
I would not consider the lack of a symbol or parts library to be
a large negative. We have not found a single commercially
available library that has not cost us more time and effort to
debug and correct problems due to errors and inconsistencies in
the library than we would have had to expend to create our own
symbols and parts. Also, we have found that the education we get
about how the package really works while creating symbols and
parts is extremely valuable later when using the package.
It is useful to know that the same person that created the symbol
also created the part and is employed by us. This is so that we
know there is some chance that a) he was aware of idiosyncracies
of the device that the data books don't necessarily disclose, (if
the symbols must carry simulation information) and b) the symbol
stands a chance of being compatible with the part, and c) the
critical physical dimensions of the parts were measured from the
parts we have on hand and not based on the assumption that the
databook drawings are correct. Now, we enforce a strict policy
of not using parts or symbols that we didn't create or at least
edit in house.
73, Eric N7CL
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