MarkF Senior Heliman Location: Palo Alto, CA
My Posts This: Topic Forum | Hi, Gang!
OK - enough's enough. After creating half a dozen symbols, packages, and devices in the Eagle schematic capture/PCB design package, I began to get quite frustrated. While I've used Eagle for a couple of small projects in the past, I really don't like this package. Every time I sit down in it, I feel like I'm wasting a ton of time on operations that should be far easier. So, I gave up and went hunting.
After checking out four different CAD packages, I've found my new home. If you're looking for a much better CAD tool, please check out WinQCad for what looks to be a far better program. It provides a much more straightforward design flow, is very fast, and contains an excellent autorouter that blows away anything else I've seen except the top of the line Specctra autorouter. In comparison, the autorouter in Eagle is complete junk. The amazing thing is the price for the entire design suite: $150 for 500 pins, $300 for 1,000 pins, or $600 for unlimited pins - all of which support any number of PCB layers. The unlimited version is cheaper than the limited "mid-range" version of Eagle, but more capable than the high-end version of Eagle. As one rather major example, Eagle supports only normal flat schematics, while WinQCad supports full heirarchical schematics, with fast heirarchy navigation.
One very interesting feature is that the autorouter is actually configured to be Specctra compatible, so that you could even buy WinQCad just for its autorouter, while continuing to use your existing schematic/PCB design program. Not me, though. This is a well thought out design suite that's powerful, easy to use, and just plain more efficient. On top of that, the included libraries are far better organized than Eagle, but WinQCad can also use Orcad and Protel libraries, too!
I'm very impressed with WinQCad. Compared to the other junk that I've seen, this is a better, more polished, less buggy, and more refined alternative. It's impressed me enough that I've just bought it, and it's what I'll be using for this receiver. I realize that the selection of a CAD package for home use is a personal decision, but before buying another CAD package, please take the time to give WinQCad a shot!!!
Cheers!
MarkF |