A Modest proposal...

[Jim Patchell]

    An interesting idea....and it has some merit.  Even if nobody will grant
a site license, they might be willing to discount a large sale.

    Another thing I have always wished some of these software vendors would
do is offer a "no support" version.  That is, you buy it, but if you can't
figure out how it works, that's tough (I always feel ripped of because I buy
software and generally never have to avail myself of the support).  With the
Synth DIY group, between all of us, we should be able to figure out how to
get around any problems we might encounter.

    I am assuming that since you brought it up, you have volunteered to do
the research :-)

    I think the main problem is going to be in selecting a package.  The
only two I am familiar with are Protel and Orcad, niether of which would be
viable choices because even with a discount, they would probably still be
too pricey, and now that Orcad is part of Cadence, these people are probably
going to be very much less than cooperative.

    While I have never tried any of the new low end products that have taken
over the market that used to be occupied by Protel and Orcad (and Tango and
others), some of the features they have are interesting.

    I personally would only be interested in a package that has no
limitations (or very few, there are always limitations).  It would be nice
if we could find something that is in the less than $500 USD range for both
schematic and PCB layout.  It would be nicer still if what ever package we
get saved the file is ascii format (like the old Protel did) to make it
easier to write utilities that mess with the board (like translators).

    Yeah, I probably want a lot....but it is better to ask for too much than
not enough.

    -Jim

Hairy Harry wrote:

> I was thinking:
>
> Everyone needs some kind of schematic package... usually with
> some PCB ability. I wonder if some company would be willing to
> site-licence synth-diy members...
>
> The idea is we get a discounted price on a basic package.
> Just like the big boys do.  They'd get to sell packages to
> people who might not otherwise buy them...
>
> We get to (oh boy here it comes...) standardize on software
> we can all swap...
>
> we can probably make a deal where we would have one contact
> person to handle factory support, so they would not be bothered
> by newbie questions... just genuine bugs...
>
> I thought of this when
> 1) Design works lite demo ran out
> 2) Eagle lite might be too restricted in PCB size...
> 3) Everyone likes to trade schematics
> 4) I already know about 4 cad packages and I'm getting tired of
>     learning a whole bunch more...
>
> H^)  harry (comments???)
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