Electronics Forum / CAD / February 2006

I purchased a low end simulation program from www.Tina.com (DesignSoft), and
it seems to work pretty well, especially for a $30 package.

I have been doing my major electrical and electronic designs with PADS-PCB
and PADS-Logic, from Mentor Graphics, but they do not offer simulation
(except maybe as a multi-thousand dollar option, and they have instituted a
limited licensing scheme with their new software so it becomes nonfunctional
after about 5 years unless you stay on their support, which costs about
$750/year.

Recently I revisited the Tina website and found they have a new version 7.x
design suite which includes schematic design, simulation, PCB design,
autorouting, and even a 3-D PCB viewer, for about $900. I have downloaded
the demo and it seems OK, although there are some annoying problems, and it
does not have the range of features I have become used to with PADS
products.

I would like to know if anyone has tried this product, as I am considering
purchasing it for some of my smaller designs, especially those that involve
linear circuitry that lends itself to simulation. If the product will evolve
into a more full-featured package, I will consider using it for major
projects as well, especially if I run into problems with the PADS licensing
scheme. That problem is currently being discussed on the listserver.pads.com
(talk) forum.

I am also open to recommendations for other design suites. Quite a while ago
I evaluated Eagle and Electronics Workbench, and I also looked at Protel. My
first schematic program was Futurenet (ca.1985), which I still use
occasionally for old design maintenance, and I also bought something called
Project-PCB (ca.1989).

Thanks for any feedback. I'll post my results as I continue to evaluate the
demo, and let you know if I purchase the full version.

A limited, but not crippled, version is available on the www.ti.com website.
I originally heard about the simulator at a TI seminar, where they praised
its virtues for analog design.

Paul E. Schoen
www.pstech-inc.com