Help on Choosing a Circuit Simulation Software

[Sourav Banerjee]

Hi group.

I am a student of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering and I need to
use some circuit simulation software for my course. I would like to use some
free or student version program for Windows/DOS which are easy to use. My
main requirements are analog circuit simulation though a mixed mode
simulator will be an added advantage. I use a dial-up connection and hence
it would be better if the downloadable file-size is reasonable (<10 MB).
Please tell me about a few good software and where to get them.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Helmut Sennewald]

Hi group.

I am a student of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering and I need to
use some circuit simulation software for my course. I would like to use some
free or student version program for Windows/DOS which are easy to use. My
main requirements are analog circuit simulation though a mixed mode
simulator will be an added advantage. I use a dial-up connection and hence
it would be better if the downloadable file-size is reasonable (<10 MB).
Please tell me about a few good software and where to get them.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hello Sourav,
my recommendation for you is the SPICE simulator LTSPICE/SwitcherCAD.
You can download it from the web on Linear Technology's website.
The file size is about 5MB.

www.linear.com
There is a link on the left side near the bottom: "SwitcherCAD Download".
Follow this link and register for it.

After the installation you will be asked for a web update. Please update
immediately to the latest version.

There is a also user group dedicated to LTSPICE/SwitcherCAD:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LTspice/

There are many more SPICE programs, but LTSPICE is without any limitations
and it is 98% compatible to PSPICE on the netlist level.
It also has good graphical user interface.


Best Regards,
Helmut

 

[Kevin Aylward]

Hi group.

I am a student of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering and I
need to use some circuit simulation software for my course. I would
like to use some free or student version program for Windows/DOS
which are easy to use. My main requirements are analog circuit
simulation though a mixed mode simulator will be an added advantage.
I use a dial-up connection and hence it would be better if the
downloadable file-size is reasonable (<10 MB). Please tell me about a
few good software and where to get them.

Thank you in advance for your help.

You might want to check out SuperSpice, http://www.anasoft.co.uk. If you
use the hierarchical schematic feature the demo will allow quite a large
circuit. That is, 30 top level schematic blocks, times 25 components per
block. SS is the easiest spice to use in the known 3 universes. It also
has full mixed-mode capability.


Kevin Aylward
[email protected]
http://www.anasoft.co.uk
SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode
Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture,
Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.

 

[Terry Pinnell]

Hi group.

I am a student of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering and I need to
use some circuit simulation software for my course. I would like to use some
free or student version program for Windows/DOS which are easy to use. My
main requirements are analog circuit simulation though a mixed mode
simulator will be an added advantage. I use a dial-up connection and hence
it would be better if the downloadable file-size is reasonable (<10 MB).
Please tell me about a few good software and where to get them.

Thank you in advance for your help.

See my notes and links to some 60 ECAD programs at
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/ECADList.html

I use Circuitmaker Pro, but there is a limited free version.

Of those I've tried, the best 'unlimited' free version is SwitcherCAD
III from LTSpice, which is widely used and praised in these groups.

Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[Rich Webb]

Hi group.

I am a student of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering and I need to
use some circuit simulation software for my course.

#disclaimer "Just a satisfied customer."

There are a LOT of Spice apps out there and taking the time (and
bandwidth) to sample them is a Good Thing.

One that I've been using for quite a while and would recommend that you
look at is from BeigeBag. They have both a free "lite" mixed-mode and a
full-but-time-limited version for download.

http://www.beigebag.com

 

[Paul Burridge]

#disclaimer "Just a satisfied customer."

There are a LOT of Spice apps out there and taking the time (and
bandwidth) to sample them is a Good Thing.

One that I've been using for quite a while and would recommend that you
look at is from BeigeBag. They have both a free "lite" mixed-mode and a
full-but-time-limited version for download.

B2 Spice? Mine kept crashing. LTSpice is the only one I use now. It's
probably the most highly regarded spice program on this group.

 

[Rich Webb]

B2 Spice? Mine kept crashing. LTSpice is the only one I use now. It's
probably the most highly regarded spice program on this group.

Well, I haven't taken my own advice and sampled the current crop of
Spices; been using B2 Spice for ages. No more crash-prone than any other
Windows app and less so than many. YMMV, shake before using, objects in
mirror are larger than they appear, etc...