what's your favorite schematic-drawing software?

[zachary vex]

i don't need it for pc design, just drawing schematics quickly.

[troubledtom]

sorry Z,
  i still do it by hand , then i scan it and toss it on a cd. no help but hey it works great. then i can do what i want w/ it .
   peace to the mighty Z,  
               - tom

[zachary vex]

yeah, well i've been doing it that way for years too, but now i have a full-time apprentice so i'm trying to make things a little more standardized.

[Rich G.]

I like OrCad/Pspice.  I can draw the schematics and do simulations.  It's widely used at most Universities.
Plus, the student/demo version (which is plenty for most DIY projects) is fully functional and free!

[Gringo]

I like ExpressPcb for its simplicity. Pretty straight forward, no simulation, and the pcb tool can be linked to the schematic if you want to draw a pcb.

Only works for Windows, though.

[xcpointx]

Circuitmaker 2000

[Marcos - Munky]

I use ExpressPCB, but Eagle and PCB123 (or it's 123PCB? I don't remember) are great too.

[RDV]

I just use JD Sleep's templates and stick em' together in MS paint. :oops:

RDV

[Marcus Dahl]

I use Paint Shop Pro 5.0 for everything.  :oops:

[Roland]

I use superpaint for the mac. Quick , easy and to the point. Just copy paste from your master schematic symbol list and save to a differant file name. Need to edit just copy /paste a component . I tried plenty of windows based programs and they are slow,complex time sucking pieces of crap unless you enjoy doing 50 clicks just to join a line.

I think adobe owns the rights to superpaint now. May be worth checking out.

[Zero the hero]

I just use JD Sleep's templates and stick em' together in MS paint. :oops:

RDV

Nothing to be ashamed of! I've drawn my tetmplate using several DOD schematics found on the net, then I copy and paste all the components i need to draw the schematic.
Check the Gretsch Controfuzz at GGG: I used photoshop and my template for this one.
Looks very vintage!

[Jay Doyle]

Z,

I have used the Isis Lite version of Proteus Lite for years and have absolutely no complaints. It's easy, straightforward and free. Plus the cost to register it is next to nothing compared to other PCB/Capture programs.

Also, I have never run into any limitation that it may have due to it's shareware nature (the PCB has a 100 pad limit but I get around that using vias, but it is still a PITA)

http://www.proteuslite.com/

Jay

[phillip]

I've started using ExpressSCH, which you get for free when you download the ExpressPCB circuit board drawing software (which is also free).  It produces very high professional quality schematics, and you can also copy a bitmap version to the computer's clipboard to be converted to other image formats like JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, etc.  The schematics are quite large (depending on the circuit) so I always end up converting to GIF to keep the file size small.

Phillip

[StephenGiles]

Excel - for instance:

Stephen

[bwanasonic]

I like ExpressPCB. It's simple, convenient and free! Easy enough to decide if it's right for you. Eagle is something to look into if you don't mind the learning curve. The simple error checking of ExpressPCB is one reason I use it instead of a drawing or paint program. I need all the *idiot-proofing* I can get  :wink:

Kerry M

PS. Stephen - I like your Excel example. Never thought of using Excel for this purpose.

[freebird1127]

A long time ago, when one of my friend's labs upgraded, I received their old version of Altium Protel 98.  Love it, never use anything else.  Draw the sch easily, and it has a PCB design app too that I just adore.

It's a little expensive for the new versions tho    I'd be right on top of it if it wasn't  :wink:

[The Tone God]

While this doesn't help the original poster I'll chime in with my tools for furture reference.

Until recently I used Visio with an extra set of libraries designed for electrical engineers added. Now that I'm a unix guy I use gschem which is part of the gEDA suite.

http://www.geda.seul.org/

Andrew

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I can't believe nobody mentioned this yet: Ray Wilson!!
http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/SchematicEditorPromo/schematicpubwebpage.html

Plus, his site has had a comnplet4e makeover, TONS of stuff for the likes of us!!  http://www.musicfromouterspace.com

[Ed Rembold]

Express PCB, built in schem program.
(so easy even I can use it).

Ed R.

[onboard]

Looks like Express SCH/PCB is getting some votes here! That's what I'm using. The schematic app includes a very respectable library, or you can draw and save your own custom components/symbols. The "Favorites" directory keeps it all immediately accessable w/o having to scroll through huge lists.

The error check is handy, although a circuit sim would be nice. But hey, its free.

I suppose the E-Z factor is that you can link a schem (in their format) to a layout and get 'help' from the software running traces, since the schem keeps track of all the connections.

Anyone ever send a schem/layout to Express to have them make your boards for you?