PCB design program Boardmaker 2 - dongle required

  Hi all,

    I first posted this plea (without success) a couple of years ago and
am trying again now in the hope of having some better luck this time.

   I own a legitimate copy of the DOS based Tsien Boardmaker 2 PCB design
program which operates with a 'dongle' module connected to the parallel
printer port.

   The dongle can be quite erratic in operation and Tsien firmly refuse
to offer any support for this obsolete program, only wishing to sell a
very expensive annual rental contract for their Boardmaker 3 software.

   I am entirely happy with the capabilities of the DOS based system. It
does all that I need for the occasional design of PCBs and I keep an old
DOS PC just for running this, and a few other old programs.

   If anyone in this NG has replaced their Boardmaker 2 design program by
a more modern one and would now be willing to sell me a working dongle
at a reasonable price, I'd appreciate hearing from them.

   TIA   -  Dave

David C.Chapman - Chartered Engineer. FIET.   (dcchapman@minda.co.uk)
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 wrote:


As far as I remember the dongles are serial numbered and so is the
program. I don't believe you can use a dongle with a different serial
number. I know when I bought a second dongle it had to have the same
number as the first.

 wrote:


  Try one of the hacking apps out there the kids use to hack game
executables.  Hell, look for a hacked version of it. If you own the legit
version, finding a "key eliminator" executable (or making one yourself)
should not be considered an infringement of your license
agreement,considering they will not support it.

 It might be expected that someone who purports to have
the professional expertise as claimed at the bottom of your
post should have no difficulty in evaluating the dongle in
order to repair it; or to detect all references to it within
the software, and to remove those references?

Unfortunately, the nature of your appeal is not a good
advertisement for your services.

 

I guess one could make the same judgements of your top posting. I might also
guess that you are relatively young. Those of us with a few more years
experience realise that there are many fields of expertise and there are
very very few who are expert in more than one of them. There are some of use
that get older but dont work this out for themselves, perhaps you are one of
them. I was going to take the piss out of your mothers inability to spell
your name, but I will leave that task to others.