I tried LTSpice 10-12 years ago because it has models of many of the IC's from Linear Tech; a lot of other IC manufacturers dont supply models at all, or only with an NDA. It's a great tool, but I generally dont use it because it's PC-based, rather than Linux, which I use for my other design work. I may give it another try if I mount a Linux disk onto the PC (so far I have not, largely out of security concerns; my PC is more likely to get hacked than my Linux machines, and having a pathway between them makes things less-secure).
The other reason I used LTSpice was that I could run sims during work breaks; my employer's firewall blocked remote access to my home network. But, that problem has been solved because I'm now retired. Netlisting out of your schematic-capture tool, rather than from LTSpice, and into your simulator (SPICE, Verilog, etc) is a good way to catch design-entry errors that can sneak into your PCB layout otherwise undetected. On Saturday, March 30, 2024 at 5:37:00 AM UTC-7 Grahame Marsh wrote: > I am a chemical engineer and when I retired I was working on the safe > landfall of north sea oil and gas. I have little formal electronics > training and I'm mostly self taught.... That said.... > > I do a mixed bag of experiments using dead insect on a copper sided PCB, > a plug in board, a literal breadboard (mostly for valves), strip board when > I want something semi-permanent or for a long running experiment and > simulations using LTSpice. I tend to do what I think is best at the time > for the tests I want to perform. I do enjoy building things, this is the > hobby after all. > > My use of LTSpice is limited to analogue stuff and some power supply > simulations. I've not had too much success with designs that use inductors > in particular. But I spent some time simulating various CRT deflection > amplifier designs before moving to a PCB and I was not disappointed by the > results. I know I should simulate more before heating up the soldering > iron... > > For PCB design I own an unlimited copy of Eagle 7.7.0 which was the last > version before they went subscription based. It is getting old now (like > me) and I have looked at some of the all-in-one design software but Eagle > does what I want (schematic to Gerbers), I know how to use it and I have a > large component library that I have developed myself. So I don't feel a > need to go anywhere else: I am unconvinced that the facilities in any new > software would be repaid the time I would spend learning how to use it. But > my prototype PCB designs often have problems: they tend not to be > "electrical" but "mechanical" in nature. Components are too close or I goof > with the silkscreen such as I label things incorrectly - this is just > incompetence I know. > > Going back to the simulation question - I started with QUCS and then moved > to LTSpice - should I look to use another simulator? What should I look at > beyond LTSpice? > > Keep in mind my limited knowledge of electronics and the need to > self-teach! > > Grahame > > On 30/03/2024 12:03, Dekatron42 wrote: > > I sometimes use LTSpuce for analogie simulations where many different > positive and negative voltages are present as my skills ate inferior when > it comes to electronics, I especially did this when figuring out how to > design coupling stages and driving stages for the A-201 Polyatron some > years back. > > /Martin > > On Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 21:20:07 UTC+1 gregebert wrote: > >> I've heard of Proteus and Falstad, but never looked into them because I'm >> entrenched in my current suite of free CAD tools and so far I havn't seen >> anything that will nudge me out. The biggest fear I have is that a tool >> will get abandoned, so having them installed on my local system is a must. >> So far, the gEDA tools haven't been abandoned yet, but it's been a few >> months since the latest update. >> >> On Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 12:45:02 AM UTC-7 Tom Nolan wrote: >> >>> I've been using Proteus for many years. I'm sure I've saved lots of >>> money on wasted boards. Also often see better ways of doing things while >>> simulating. >>> >>> Tom >>> >>> On Sat, Mar 23, 2024 at 11:41 AM gregebert <greg...@hotmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Just curious to know how many of you run logic and/or analog >>>> simulations on your designs before doing a PCB, or if you do any >>>> prototyping. >>>> >>>> Since I'm a longtime designer of IC's, I rely heavily on simulations: >>>> ngspice for the analog sections, verilog for the entire PCB (logic, FPGA >>>> if >>>> any, and analog). Once that is done, I go straight to PCBs with no >>>> prototyping. So far, I've only had 1 project that required any 'blue >>>> wires' >>>> to fix a design error. >>>> >>> -- >>>> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "neonixie-l" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/acf7f9a1-2cf2-4997-9f21-9ae30c929960n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/acf7f9a1-2cf2-4997-9f21-9ae30c929960n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "neonixie-l" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com. > > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/0edc537b-5dc4-4fd0-be01-c682943e52d0n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/0edc537b-5dc4-4fd0-be01-c682943e52d0n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. 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