Charles,
Welcome to the group. The question you have asked has come up a number of times and also debated quite a bit here but the bottom line is the best free program is personal, every one likes different ones based on their needs and experience.
Without going through why I dont like some of the other programs I'll say the one I liked the most is DIPTRACE.
Kim
--- On Tue, 4/13/10, ae5ew <ae5ew.us@...> wrote:
From: ae5ew <ae5ew.us@...>
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: another layout question
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 9:56 AM
Hi. I'm new here. How about a list of the 'best' free programs? Charles AE5EW
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "James" <jamesrsweet@...> wrote:
>
>
> >
> > Have you checked into the student/non-profit version? It might be
> > useful if you qualify. Remember that the parts placement is within
> > the limits, but traces and text can go anywhere. That might help.
> >
> > I'd go for the schematic and layout, but skip the autorouter upgrade
> > if it saves you money.
> >
> >
>
>
> Why anyone would go with one that costs ∗anything∗ or is crippled when there are perfectly capable and completely ∗free∗ packages out there is beyond me though! If my employer were paying for it and a commercial package offered features that would make me significantly more productive then I'd look at costly packages, but I can't fathom spending hundreds in personal money.
>
------------------------------------
Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBsYahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]