Re: ExpressPCB & UK Import Duty

Eeyore wrote:
Beats me, other than no-one can decide what 'useful' really is. I usually
end up designing most of my library parts too. Used Orcad for ages btw.
Liked Pads when I came across it. The pcb tools seemed more intuitive than
many I've seen. How ANYONE can use Protel is beyond me.

I used the old DOS 16-bit Orcad initially and liked it. It was fast (on a 12MHz 286!) and intuitive, with easy key-strokes for common tasks. You got the impression it was written by folk who actually used it.

Then we got the 32-bit version of "DOS" Orcad (actually used a DOS-extender I think). It was OK, handled bigger designs, but had a number of irritating changes that made it seem less than good (mostly to the PCB side of things).

When looking for a replacement to do stuff using 8-layer boards and 456-pin BGA packages I initially looked at the windows version of Orcar (version 9 I think) and it was awful. All of the good aspects the DOS original had were lost, and some things were just so stupid I could not believe them. For example, editing a part with 'hidden' pins (e.g. power/ground) in the DOS version showed them in blue so you could see them to edit. In the windoze version they stayed hidden! You had to guess/edit a location to see what the pin was, and if you made a mistake there was no 'undo' option. DOH! Adding in the cost that was, after allowing for inflation, 250% higher than the DOS package, it was obviously not a good buy.

Having tried/demod the PADS package I was impressed, it was easy to create things like the 456-pin BGA in about 4 commands (compared to Orcad needing 456 manual pin placements) and it supported key-stroks for common things, so I decided on that.

No idea how the various packages compare now, I don't use it so much that it is worth paying for support/upgrades any more.

Sadly, the whole move to SMT just resulted in an explosion of PCB decals being needed, and often for no good reason. For example, the 16-pin SO resistor package from Bournes being just a *little* bit bigger than everyone elses' 16-SO ICs. WTF?


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: ExpressPCB & UK Import Duty
    ... Liked Pads when I came across it. ... The pcb tools seemed more intuitive than ... I used the old DOS 16-bit Orcad initially and liked it. ... Having tried/demod the PADS package I was impressed, ...
    (rec.audio.tubes)
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