[sdiy] What's your fav PCB package?

[Steve Lenham]

>
> I am looking for a long-term solution to laying out
> PCBs. I would like to pruchase a package, and not
> regret it later. Eagle looks pretty good. I'm giving
> it a test-spin right now.
>
> So, who likes what, and why? I don't have $50,000 per
> seat, but I'd like schematic capture, air wires, and a
> good library that is easy to expand.
>

I use Easy-PC for Windows from Number One Systems (www.numberone.com), both 
personally and professionally, and would recommend it.

It's reasonably inexpensive (UK£447 for the unlimited pins version; cheaper 
restricted versions available) and has the right balance (for me) between 
features and ease of use. There are regular updates and Number One are quite 
good at incorporating customer suggestions into the next major revision. It 
has all the features you mention, new parts are easy to define and you get a 
free autorouter (which I never use - PCB design is an ART ;-)

I've never tried Eagle but have heard several people say good things about 
it.

Finally, two non-recommendations: don't touch Quickroute (you may not be 
able to - I'm not sure they're still in business) - I had v3.5 and it was 
dreadful. And one of my clients insists on using Vutrax, which is a POS - it 
does everything, but the user interface makes it not only hugely painful but 
SLOW. It seems to be a DOS program with a Windows 3.1 menu slapped on top, 
there's no click-and-drag for editing and some stuff is command line only. 
Arghh!

Sorry. Needed to get that off my chest.

Steve L.