[sdiy] Getting started with Spice simulation

[Thomas Strathmann]

On 7/26/11 20:20 , Tom Wiltshire wrote:
> I've downloaded a free copy of LTSpice, which I can run on my electronics PC, but I'd rather have something on my Mac Laptop. Is there anything comparable?

The only decent simulation program for Mac OS with a graphical interface 
for schematic capture that I know of is Qucs which runs also on 
GNU/Linux and Windows. It can work with Spice models if need be.
It's a little inconvenient, but using a virtualised Windows installation 
inside a VM like VirtualBox works quite well for me.

> I'd like to be able to try out analog synth designs without having to build them - or at least to get a flavour. For digital stuff, I can knock up a bit of software to see how it might sound anyway, so it's mostly for analog. I'd thought to begin by experimenting with the TR909 bass drum circuit.

If you don't need Spice explicitly, you might have success doing that 
with Qucs. I simulated a number of drum synthesis circuits with it and 
it's been mostly painless. Using a little Python script I can export 
audio files much like you can do in LTSpice.

	Thomas