PSpice

Not *your* money, so not your problem!

Though I've never had a course in any kind of Spice, I'd recommend taking a course... otherwise the learning curve is pretty intense.

The classic text is...

"SPICE, A Guide to Circuit Simulation & Analysis Using PSpice" by Paul W. Tuinenga Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-158775-7

It's out-of-print, but can be found used.

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |

Actually -- like most EDA packages -- ORCAD has all sorts of license configuration options, some including PSpice, some not. Do you already use ORCAD for schematic entry?

If I were you I'd download LTSpice (or the limited "student edition" of PSpice) (both free) and play with one for awhile to get comfortable with what SPICE can do for you; save the money until you know what you really want out of the tool and then try out a handful of SPICE packages to see which one suits your needs best.

Mmm... not a good one. Tell Amazon.Com to search for books on "PSpice" and then start reading reviews and pay attention to the "Customers who bought this item also bought..." and "...bought this instead..." lines.

---Joel

PSpice comes free with the equally free demo version of Orcad/Capture, which you can get by applying at their site. It's fully featured but the number of nodes in your circuit is restricted to 64 and there are other restrictions as well.

But it's a good way to learn how to use PSpice.

Amazon has numerous books on PSpice and Orcad.

I'd suggest getting the demo version, fooling around with it for a bit to get the feel of it and then decide what books you want.

Michael, Who do you have as the teacher for the class? If you have Ray, then TAKE THE CLASS! He has been working and teaching PSpice, esp. with Capture, longer than almost anyone (except Keilkowski! ;-) )

For that price, you probably signed up for both Capture and PSpice classes. As a recommendation, go ahead and get the software loaded beforehand. Open the PSpice Users Guide in the documentation (its on your hard drive) and go through the tutorial. That way, you will have some good questions to bug him with!

Charlie

There been much good advice given, and not much I can add except not to abandon Excel and MathCAD once you come up to speed with PSPICE. There are a lot of people who think you can do design in a vacuum with the simulation tool, but this is no substitute for a basic understanding of how your circuit should work. It's always a good idea to run through the math, using tools such as Excel and MathCAD to crunch the numbers

*AFTER* you've set up the equations. Once you're satisfied with your design, then run your simulations. If your calculation and simulation results don't agree, you should go back and forth between the two until you find your problem and bring them into agreement.

The simulator is particularly useful for doing worst case or monte-carlo simulations, showing how your design will perform in production, verifying your design margins. Then and only then should you build your design, and at that point, it's a confirmation of your design. Test reults on your design should agree with your analysis and simulation. If not, you need to understand and resolve any discrepancies.

I've come across a number of engineers who think they can design in a vacuum with PSPICE, and who are often surprised when the actual design fails to perform as expected. You should be careful not to fall into that trap.

Good luck!

Michael wrote:

There are many basic tutorials on Spice on the Web. They are usually supplements to college courses. They will teach you Spice the proper way where you enter the net list by hand in an ASCII file. It would be a good idea to go through some of these tutorials. LTspice and PSpice both accept ASCII net lists.

--
Mark

[snip] [snip]

Then there are those of us who design ONLY in PSpice, with successful design rates in excess of 99% ;-)

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |

[snip]

Here's my thoughts from the poor mans hobbyist perspective.... I'm self taught in a few SPICE programs.. All my study material was downloadable. I treat SPICE like what it is...A symbolic math program.. The more math stuck in ..the more accuracy out..

Software makers Want You! to use their product. To help make it easy, watch for SPICE software makers including helpful documentation at all levels. It's can be turned into selling point. Perhaps try a deal with the SPICE software company... "Ummm...The only way I'm be able to use and buy your program is if I know how to use it. Could you include some famous SPICE books too?" Unlikely ..but you never know... :)

D from BC

Hi Jim, But then, 1000 years of experience is hardly a vacumn, now, is it? 8-)

Charlie

Yep, I do have many hours of soldering-iron-created breadboards under my belt.

Just got back from my epidural... looks like they had it nailed for problem area... until the local lidocaine wore off I was feeling no pain... let's hope the steroids fix the problem.

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |