Re: Orcad vs. Open Source

On Mar 14, 1:41 pm, Anubis <anu...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Orcad file format is closed and I can't do anything to try to fix
this problem. The FreePCB file format, in contrast, is open and very
readable. I can view it to see what is going on although I only did
that when I started using the tool and didn't understand some things
about it.

By FreePCB are you referring to the "PCB" program from the geda suite?

No, FreePCB is available at freepcb.com. It is open source, but it is
only available for Windows. I don't have any prior experience with
PCB layout to speak of, but I found this tool to be incredibly easy to
learn and use. The only real complaint I have about it is that I
don't like the way that routing between a pad and an existing trace is
handled. But even that is getting to be not such an issue as I get
more and more used to it.

I think the thing that impresses me most about FreePCB is how light
and quick it feels. So many apps under Windows are heavy, bulky
things that get in the way as much as help your work. But this
program feels as quick and snappy as the DOS apps I used to run on a
286. Computers sure have slowed down a lot in the last 15 years!


I thought about using an open source schematic editor when I started
this project, but I didn't want to take the hit on the learning curve
and I did not have a lot of confidence in a new tool (to me) not
screwing up. Looks like I got that anyway.

I am currently working on a hobby project and I am using that
opportunity to get acquainted with gschem and pcb. I thought about using
kicad for both functions (schematic capture and layout) but gschem and
pcb were lighter (memory foot print wize) and I had some experience
using pcb for earlier projects

My stuff is not hobby, that's why I am a bit timid about jumping in
with both feet. But lots of people are using the open source tools
now and I expect they will just get better and better. It is amazing
how the total lack of a marketing influence improves a product.

I looked briefly at TinyCAD for schematic capture, but I couldn't even
add a title block or control the page size the way I wanted. But a
lot of people seem to like it so I will be taking another look at
it.

The other program I will be considering for schematic capture is
kicad. It is available for Windows as well as GNU, so no limitations
there.


Thats what I love about the open source tools - the outputs are ascii
files you can edit and process. Hell, I can print it out and save it
as a check against losing the file on the harddrive

Yep, I am going to use all open source tools on my next board design.
.