Anyone have any recommendations? I am sick of opening up Photoshop in OS 9 (I have OS X) and going through the slow and reasonably tedious process of drawing up a schematic. Anyone have any ideas for decent drawing programs that basically have an automatic snap-to grid? An actual program meant for schematic drawing would be even better...
Thanks everyone.
-Colin
http://www.leiterplatte.com/html_us/us_service_1.htm
There's a few of them. Hope something is what you are looking for.
I've actually tried nearly every program on that page. I guess I'm looking for more of a barebones drawing program than a CAD one.
-Colin
I don't know about your mac but I always use a program called "superpaint" and just copy paste pre drawn schematic symbols and I got to tell you it out performs many if not all programs I've tried on both pc and mac.
For barebones quickness and accuracy I always fall back on it.
I've decided Photoshop is as quick as you can get anyways.
-Colin
I used to use a package called "Designworks" that did full simulation too. It was fast and easy but I'm sure it's long gone by now. Hmmm... Google time... HEY! It's still around! http://www.capilano.com/ Amazing.... It was the best thing going on the Mac in 1987. I used it to do a full simulation of a DMA based NTSC video digitizer and it worked very well.
take care,
-Peter
Quote from: Peter SnowbergI used to use a package called "Designworks" that did full simulation too. It was fast and easy but I'm sure it's long gone by now. Hmmm... Google time... HEY! It's still around! http://www.capilano.com/ Amazing.... It was the best thing going on the Mac in 1987. I used it to do a full simulation of a DMA based NTSC video digitizer and it worked very well.
take care,
-Peter
I tried designworks.... it was damn hard to get used to.
-Colin
I use a painting program, starting with a pict containing all the symbols I need. I just cut, copy and past what I need, and draw the connections. When the schem is done, I cut all the unused symbols.
I generally find real schematic drawing programs make ugly schematics.
well, I don't do any design on my mac... but if I had to I would steer away from Photoshop.
Go for a "vector graphics" program, that way you can scale the images without getting pixelation.
I wonder if Flash would do the trick? Cheaper than Illustrator or Freehand!
>I tried designworks.... it was damn hard to get used to.
I forgot about this one. Actually it wasn't bad at all. Try it again. I really liked it.
Aron
Oh, forgot the obvious: Appleworks.
You can create a user library. Very easy.
Quote from: aronOh, forgot the obvious: Appleworks.
You can create a user library. Very easy.
Unfortunately, Appleworks doesn't come standard with OS X. I've drawn out a few things with PowerPoint, and boy, that was a pain.
-Colin
just thinking about this some more, I'd reckon Flash would be good, if you can get a hold of it for nix... or cheap... (BTW, I can potentially help you out with a crack/serial location if you can find a demo version)
With Flash you can draw things using vector graphics, save them as "objects" within a library, and use multiple instances of the objects on the "stage".
Also, being vector based you can scale up or down the individual instances, without pixelation and without affecting the other instances of the same object.
Ok, just realised I'm using Flash jargon... sorry. I hope you follow what I'm saying.
I have done the odd circuit using Word, but that is like pushing pigeon poo up hill with a toothpick... but not quite as smelly... ALMOST, but not quite.
For simple stuff, I begged, borrowed and stole an old PC laptop and I run this cool program (http://www.tech-chat.de/AAcircuit.html) on it.
:) I've been using flash since version 3, man. Never got into it for drawing pictures, though.
-Colin
yeah, it's not the greatest vector graphics program out there.. but at least you only have to draw the stuff once!
I went looking last week for a PIC assembler for my Mac, but unfortunately electronic engineering isn't a popular field for Mac programmers!
Since starting in the engineering business, I've aquired two laptops and one desktop PC. These are dinosaurs by todays standards, but they're adequate for PCB desing and PIC programming! Plus, they're all free! Old PCs are a dime a dozen.
Yeah, us mac guys really don't do the electronics stuff. It's a damn shame, too. I'm looking for a PC laptop-how'd you manage yours for free?
-Colin
It was just so old that my friend wasn't using it anymore. I probably owe him a favour though! (it was pre-MS office!!) Go visit all your rich friends, they simply must have the latest and greatest, and often you can be the lucky recipient of their "so last century, darling" gear!
I've got another friend in IT who salvages cards, motherboards and all sorts of junk from his companys bins. I bought a cheap, 2nd hand case and peiced it all together into a working 200MHz PC!
My dept. occasionaly off loads all their old stuff via a local auction house:
Last year I bought a Silicon Graphics 540 quad Xeon 500MHz for $280AUD, the reserve price, because no one else bid. I sold it to a friend of a friend for what he thought was a bargin; $750AUD. This thing was quite a beast, selling for something like $10,000US new in the early 90s. Combined with some contacts in wholesale, that little exchange funded my EH Bass Micro Synth.
If you're keen, all kinds of shops and other businesses just toss their shit out when they don't want it. If you can befriend a bunch of local IT managers, they might think of you before binning their junk!
Often I've found people just want to get rid of "junk" and quite often that "junk" is just out of date. Ask everyone you know what's in their attic or basement! I've scored all kinds of crazy stuff by offering to help clean out peoples houses.
Electronics is a god send... I have salvaged loads of stuff for free that was easy to fix. Like a fully working CD player that just required a 75 cent rubber belt. Or the SLA battery charger that needed a new op amp. Or the programmable bench power supply the needed two transistors. Or the 19" monitor that required 1 transistor... albeit a bloody expensive transistor! But hey, 19" monitor for $29AUD, not bad!
I always carry a Leatherman with me and I use it to great effect when I find something worth salvaging. You open up the case, rub your chin say "oh dear, ooh, that looks bad... oh, you can't get that part any more... hmm, I think it'll only be good for spares..." then you offer a pittance.
I've actually salvaged a few things here and there as well, including a car radio for 5c, a free nintendo controller (now the nintendomuff), a free stereo system with a VU meter I used to design that envelope filter... I really want an old PC laptop right now to run impulsetracker, so I can be like Venetian Snares ;) I'll ask some of my geek friends, they probably would sell me one for maybe $20. Just needs to run DOS! XP is too fast for impulsetracker.
-Colin
Woo! nintendo... I still own an original, a SNES and a 64. Goldeneye still rocks my world!
Well, win98 is practically freeware these days! I know microshit would never admit it, but doesn't everyone have an illegal copy or two?!
happy hunting! hide your horde from the girlfriend, they don't understand...