Homebrew PCBs

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 11:24:33 -0700, Ted Huntington <thunting@...> 
wrote:

> Thanks Dave, so WinQCad is easier than Eagle, and you do not hear about
> people using Protel (light) often.
>
> There is a program for linux at pcb.sourceforge.net, and that looks
> interesting, although I think there is no auto-rout.
>
> The one drawback, appears to be having a database table of all the
> components (basically millions of chips, although the packages are
> relatively few), I guess people add their own specific chips without too
> much difficulty, etc...
>
> Still, I guess that Gerber files are the standard for PCB production
> companies.
>
> Whatever program I use, I will probably stay with, because, as I said, I
> am only beginning and have limited CAD (circuit layout) experience.  The
> coolest feature I see is the "auto-rout" where you simply place the
> components and connections (I guess), and the program finds the best
> routes between pins, that is awesome.
>
> Ted
>
>
But please, also try to route by hand..
The autorouters are nice, but all i have seen are simply stupid.

Routing is art, you can't let a computer make art.
(Or have you ever seen a computer drawing a nice picture?)

thanks
stefan

(Did you guys know that if you point a optical RPM meter towards a pc 
screen it shows
the refresh rate of the screen? (x60 of course) - i am amazed.....)