Homebrew PCBs

On Sat, 02 Dec 2006 21:56:57 +0100, gerald horn <k6txd@...> wrote:

> Hello Group
>  I would like to know what pc board program people are using out there.  
> I was looking at using Target3001!
>  Has any one used this software?
>  thanks


Just in case you just joined and missed it, there is an almost half price  
offer for Target "smart" in the advent calender offerings, only valid this  
weekend.

I use target, and i can say it is not the greatest software there is.  
Orcad for example is MUCH better. But Orcad costs a fortune, and Target is  
very decent value for money. Once you get really familiar with target you  
can work very efficiently, and it does everything i need. The good thing  
is you can talk to the target people and they will add features if they  
are useful, for example they recently added different colored ratsnest  
wires after i convinced them of their usefulness. They will also fix  
faults and help you with tricky stuff when you are stuck, the support is  
quite decent.

What i find good about it is that i can use it for general cad drawing. I  
have little need for that and could not warrant buying another cad  
software or even learning to use a free one, so it's great for all sorts  
of stuff. I better not tell them i made underfloor heating plans with it  
or they might demand extra license fees ;-)

With the last version they added a feature that allows you to insert  
bitmaps into your schematic or board files. This is really great because i  
can now load schematics or datasheet cutouts right onto the work space for  
reference. No more task switching all the time.
I still struggle with their simulation, although it has gotten much better  
now the problem seems to be me and not the software any more.

ST