Simulation software for DC/DC converter

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Similar experience: TI turned me to users group, then TI employee responded from there, but did get 'adequate' information. Was a bit irritating for two reasons

1. slow
2. public

Yes to the help from LT, incredibly responsive, not at all like some outlets when you ask questions: "Get off my square footage. You're taking up space."

Hey! Wake up Manufacturers. Answers to questions are two fold:

1. help me I need to know if it will work
2. Do you guys REALLY know what you made?

;-)

Telecom is like that: huge volume, no profits

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An observation ...from experience: Consider EMI at the START! Else you run the risk, and the likelihood, of optimizing a local null. In other words the best you get, is still not very good.

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This is what I meant:

;-)

OTOH, TI seems to be doing *something* right.

Sure, but a well-run company doesn't allow that to happen.

I don't think you can separate the two.

LTSpice

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They didn't do that to me, even when I worked for a two-engineer shop. TI was one of the better ones, along with ADI and a handful of others. Yes, LTC is great, but even with low production numbers, I couldn't often afford them (usually only battery charging stuff and power management).

1. Can you afford to expose your product designers to every customer who buys a hundred parts per year?

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;-)

But in contrast to the semi mfgs they have de-facto monopolies. So they write their own prices and the people must pay, because they must buy at the company store.

LTSpice

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^^^^^^^^^

And that's what the corporate big shots that decided this nonsense have missed. A lot of questions won't get asked anymore, which is almost the worst situation a sales funnel can get into.

#3: Where can I find the SPICE model?

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you. ;-)

Really? Almost every store under the sun carries telecom parts and phones from China.

LTSpice

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$3b: Nah, seriously, where can I find the *REAL* SPICE model.

With difficulty, particularly discrete devices. Then there are the IC houses who distribute only encrypted models... run on their proprietary simulator only... or worse, only on a Cadence simulator :-(

On occasion I'd like to specify connecting an LTC switcher to my custom chip, but I don't because most of their models won't run on PSpice... so I specify a competitor's part. For example I have a multi-million-per-year-volume LED driver chip for ELECTRONIC BILLBOARDS... they'd like to pass desired-voltage info to a switcher to minimize power dissipation. Non-LTC part was designed in. ...Jim Thompson

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That's only a gate driver, I was talking about getting the whole chebang. Driver, oscillator, houskeeping, current mode comparator, gate spike lockout, loop control, sync, the works.

Drivers are easy, you can get them from Micrel, Microchip and so on. And that's the thing: TI bought Unitrode a long time ago, which was IMHO a very smart move. Possibly the best acquisition they'd ever done. Unitrode folks were the masters when it comes to switchers, they wrote the book. I have that book and that's what taught me SMPS design in the early 90's. But ... their processes were always, ahem, a bit on the antique side. Even these days you normally have to use separate gate drivers with UCC-series switcher chips. With LTC sometimes you do as well, but mostly not. Like the above one, that can drive even bigger FETs directly and with gusto. This is crucially important when dealing with telco input voltage levels.

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I was assuming John meant Missy Bell. They only sell services, no phones. Well, at least not anymore.

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Oh, sure they do. The question is as always, how much better could they do it they did more things right?

That's what a lot of well-run companies thought. Until it happened. Many former executives will still cringe when they hear the name Ignacio Lopez.

You can. Mundane electronics production makes no sense in regions of the world that are either high wage or have too onerous regulations and taxation. But when the engineering side starts to slip that's when things turn really bad. And that ball is usually always in the court of the company. In this case most definitely so. It doesn't matter whether the marketeers didn't see it coming or the engineers thought it was ok. If I as a potential customer saw it coming then they've screwed that up. Trying to peddle a >$2k scope with just a few k of sample memory, in the

Then they can keep'em and try to sell them to another guy. A real issue are RF parts where companies thing that ADS models are fine. Well, they aren't. I use this stuff in pulse apps a lot and when there is no SPICE model it no workie.

With me it's the exact opposite.

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For our design 100's of parts, for transfer to Production? Often at 10 million per year.

I posed a very similar question to a guy at a major semi mfg, wanting to know why they send free samples and advice to anyone while most folks are hobbyists who only need those three samples. Answer: If only one of those becomes an engineer who makes big-ticket design decisions then it was well worth it. Well, one of those was yours truly.

Some executives are content to live hand-to-mouth off of key accounts while others have true vision.

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I meant the parts that are used in fiberoptic links, cable TV distribution, base stations, things like that, enormous volumes and tiny margins.

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LTC's

Oh, I misunderstood "Sub-1ohm gate driver outputs at full standard level swing?". I'm using this gate driver (x4) on a boost supply.

TI has some pretty nice FETs and is coming out with nice FETs with the gate driver included. I'd like to use them, but the schedule isn't right.