preferences between B2 SPICE and ICAP4 windows

Never used ICAP4 but I've been a customer or B2 Spice for years (from back when they really did distribute the floppy disks in brown paper bags). Been happy with it. Nice integration with Eagle, if you're an Eagle CAD user.

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Rich Webb   Norfolk, VA

Yes, its SuperSpice, because its better:-)

Kevin Aylward snipped-for-privacy@anasoft.co.uk

SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture, Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.

Why pay?

See link above. Keven has already made a pitch for his SPICE. He did a better job of talking up his demo version here:

*-*-*-*-*-*-*+LTSPICE#2a74262c835f92c5

I've been running ICAP4 for 8 years, but don't know B2. I'm not particularly happy with ICAP4, especially when comparing to LT Spice. ICAP4 has a lot of difficulty converging at times. I just upgraded and got back on the service plan with Intusoft. I was hoping for a package that might be easier to run. I'm still a little dissapointed. Still less than optimum when converging, and the display is just too busy. Too many windows just to get some waveform scaling going on. This busy-ness is actually reflective of the power the package has. Rather than a scathing analysis of the package I will temper my review with the following remark. Intusoft does have all the bells and whistles. It is a very powerful program that is capable of doing just about anything you ask it to. I however am a keep it simple kind of character who would probably do very well in a prison type environment.

I use LT Spice for just about all of my simulations at work and for my ham radio stuff. Simple to use and FREE. The only time I use Intusoft now is for line harmonic simulations. The customer likes the tabular output of harmonics that Intusoft provides.

So there ya go, Rich likes B2, and I don't like Intusoft too much. If you know all the convergence tricks - that is, you've been around the block a few times with spice - then Intusoft is not such a bad package, especially if you need some of the capabilities that it has.

Take a look at the link JeffM provided.

73 Bob

The current (5.0) release appears to be a complete re-write of the GUI-side code. Not unexpectedly, it has had some bugs that needed stomping as a result. Having maintained large software projects myself, I'm aware of the cruft that can accrue to the codebase over time, so I'll forgive them the current lack of a print preview in the expectation that the overall quality will be better ... once the remaining bugs are eliminated.

They are a small company but they've managed to grow the business of selling B2 Spice for over a decade -- and having your mortgage dependent on your software product does tend to focus the mind ...

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Rich Webb   Norfolk, VA

Yes, I would have to say that in most circumstances LT Spice will converge faster than Icap4. ESPECIALLY if you are no so familiar with spice. It takes a little bit of practice *trial and error* sometimes to get these animals to behave. I would have to say that LT spice is more apt to converge, when Intusoft is more apt to get stuck in the mud and never converge - without help from operator. There are simulation options that can be tweaked as well as tricks that can be played with the circuits in order to get these things to converge. I don't know the exact recipe that LT is using to get the thing to work, but it does IMO work good.

regards, Bob

ME wrote:

Spice.

and

package

Still

busy.

Rather

with

whistles.

environment.

my

Intusoft

tabular

If

the

package,

All that said, as a moderately-experienced ICAP (what a horrible name) user, working with rather exotic circuitry, I rarely find a case where with some moderate, sensible tweaking, the simulation doesn't converge nicely. I prefer ICAP's model library, schematic entry and output plots. And Intusoft's enhanced spice engine is no slouch. But hey, if you're an SMPS designer using LTC components, LT Spice must be the way to go.

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 Thanks,
    - Win

To set the record straight. First of all, OP asked for comparison between ICAP & B2? I gave him ICAP & LT spice.

More important than that, I don't want to go on the record as saying ICAP is an inferior program. I'll agree that sensible tweaking is all that is required to get the thing to run, and that the input, output, and libraries are very good. ICAP has all the benefits that Win pointed out. If I could only have one program on my machine, ICAP would have to be my choice. As I had said before, it is a very powerful tool.

For the spice beginner or casual user, I would suggest you give LT spice a spin.

regards, Bob