Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

----- Original Message -----
From: "emailw8nf" <emailw8nf@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 5:25 AM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] What software is in use?


> I've been a lurker on here for a while. I haven't seen much
> discussion of the layout software we experimenters like to use.
>
> The last time I did any "volume" of homebrew PCBs, I just used
> something like Microsoft Paint!
>
> But now, it seems there are many freeware or demoware software
> packages available for this work. I'm curious what people tend to
> use, and what the particular benefits are of the package chosen?
>
> I've been using QCAD - has its ups and downs. Good news it can output
> a Gerber file, which can then be manipulated in any Gerber viewer, and
> printed/zoomed, etc. Also it ties together the schematic and the PC
> board, so once you're done with the schematic, you go to layout, move
> the parts around, and place traces to satisfy the rat's nest. But a
> lot of this is clumsy, and doing re-work is very tedious. It's also
> very time-consuming to create anything other than 90 degree straight
> lines with any accuracy. For those of us who are trying to roll out
> PC boards for things like 300 watt UHF amplifiers, that limitation can
> be a killer.
>
> What do others use?

I use Pulsonix:

http://www.pulsonix.com

It's easily the best of the mid-range packages.

Leon