I need to draw some simple schematics. 5 to 10 components.
Long ago I did them with MacDraw.
30 years later I am looking for something as simple, runs under windows and has a library of common components (resitor, capacitor, transistor, diode, fuse). In short something with not much of learning curve that will do the job.Does not need to do PCB layout, circuit analysis, etc. It does not have to be electronics specific as long as it has a library (yes, I am lazy).
Thanks in advance,
Geoff.
-- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379
You can draw schematics in LTSpice
KiCAD will do this, has a respectable library, and an official Windows build is available.
On Tue, 9 Jun 2015 18:04:03 +0000 (UTC), "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" Gave us:
Xcircuit
Your choice of schematic editors (specify during installation)
PSpice Schematics 9.1 Capture 9.1, Web Update 2
Crapture sucks, choose PSpice Schematics, marvelous intuitive GUI.
I still use PSpice Schematics, have for more than 20 years... for how it looks, peruse the S.E.D/Schematics Page of my website
Click on "Download PSPICE 9.1 student version" at bottom of page. ...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et |
If you don't need the tie in to PCB or spice, TinyCad works well, with limited export support.
Cheers
+1.
-- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services
For something simple to get you started. TinyCad.
It's a free down load..
Later, you can move up to something larger. Jamie
Eagle (Cadsoft) has a freeware mode for non-profit.. it's used a lot by hobbyists. Learning curve should not be significant.
-- The definition of non-profit is fairly simple and straightforward: If you earn (or save) money by using the Freeware version of EAGLE
MS Paint.
Advantages: Free You already have it The symbols are free You can draw anything you want, not limited by what attributes you can label or what shapes are in the library Support for analog, digital, vacuum tubes, RF routing, ladder diagrams, block diagrams and more
Disadvantages: You have to line up pixels You have to copy and paste and draw a lot of lines by hand No error checking No netlist No designator annotation
Note: save as 2-color PNG for best results. (To make Paint think it's
2-color, you may have to save-as monochrome bitmap first. Even a full-color PNG isn't that bloated, though. Avoid JPG at all costs.)Tim
-- Seven Transistor Labs, LLC Electrical Engineering Consultation and Contract Design
I use Eagle, In the past there was a limit on board size or number of pins (60?) or both? For the freeware version. (Maybe that's changed?)
George H.
schematic limited to one page, but it can be any size. PCB limited to 80x100mm two layers
-Lasse
I like dip trace. I changed from eagle. It will do what you are asking and a fair bit more. There is a freeware versionwith a limit of 300 pins.
On Tue, 09 Jun 2015 18:49:25 -0400, Spehro Pefhany Gave us:
Which can cost upwards of $20k
On Tue, 9 Jun 2015 17:54:55 -0500, "Tim Williams" Gave us:
As I said before... xcircuit.
Den onsdag den 10. juni 2015 kl. 04.52.49 UTC+2 skrev DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno:
how? the list price for everything for _30_ users is less then $10K
I don't think they will impact him. No PCB so the board size limit and layer limits don't affect him.
The only schematic limitation I see is that the 'light' version can only create a single sheet.
Anyone who wants to use more than one sheet for a schematic of "5 to
10 components" is criminally insane.-- Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
On Tue, 9 Jun 2015 20:03:38 -0700 (PDT), Lasse Langwadt Christensen Gave us:
I will get back to you about what my friend has.
I have been lurking on the Kicad mailing list for some time and I don't know that it is so easy to learn. Of course people don't go there to talk about how well things work, but it seems like there can be a fair level of frustration getting started with it. I think TinyCAD might be better in that regard.
Someone said LTspice, but that is a fairly crude editor and there are not many symbols for things other than simple components like resistors, transistors, etc. But if that is all you need, LTspice is not at all hard to learn.
-- Rick
On Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 7:54:22 PM UTC-7, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno wr ote:
In case anyone does not know, it has superb presentation grade output due t o the fact it is postscript, and ultimately 100% vector graphics. *It neve r gets fuzzy at any level of zoom.* I don't know of anything else with the same quality. Nothing else is really close. It is worth using for this re ason alone, in my opinion.
Of course, once you get in the Postscript realm, fonts can be a little tric ky, but most people won't notice the difference if you use the Xcircuit Tim es-Roman in you schematic and a different TTF Times-Roman in body text. Or in LaTeX could be body Computer Modern, and the same Xcircuit Times-Roman i n the schematic.
I would not say Xcircuit is easy to use, and it is not natively Windows SW, although there is a Windows compilation.
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