Circuit Design/Simulation Software Recomendations

[SteveMeisel]

I am looking into some circuit design/simulation software.
I am looking at Multisim and Spice. Are there others out there that are popular?
Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[felixc]

What price range are you looking for? Quality and performance classes boil down to the price aspect.

 

[Skogsgurra]

I use the Electronics Workbench quite a lot. It is very easy to use and has a reasonable price tag. It is based on Spice, but is a lot easier to use.

 

[SteveMeisel]

I am not sure as to the price range I am looking for. I guess it depends on what is the most popular. Kinda like autocad, you wouldn't want to learn some off the wall drawing program when 99% of the population use autocad. Or at the very least your program must be compatable with autocad (import/export).

I currently have the book version of multisim. It is extremely limited in it's functionality. So I am thinking about purchasing it. But I want something that is also popular in the industry. Like it was noted with price also comes quality and performance. I maybe able to justify it here at work and get them to foot the bill!

 

[cbarn24050]

Hi, what do you want to simulate? and why?

 

[logbook]

I use SIMetrix (a SPICE like simulator). The free version has great functionality, is easy to use and quick to learn.

http://www.catena.uk.com/

It is not worth buying a SPICE simulator since you can get the demo version free and it is better than some you could buy.

 

[ianholmes]

Go for SIMetrix it's dead easy to use and very powerful. We even bought the whole thing! Great help from them too when you get stuck.

 

[felixc]

AutoCAD isn't made for electronics design. For other works, if you like AutoCAD but not its price, take a look at IntelliCAD. It is very close to it (language and user interface as well) for a fraction of the price.

 

[2dye4]

Electronics workbench is a dog.
Many silly simulated instruments and poor
simulation stability
Check out Intusoft for a good simulator.

 

[walker1]

I have used the lite version of B2 spice a lot for small circuit simulations. Frequency and time domaine.

http://www.beigebag.com/adv4_lite.htm

The lite version limits the number of components in your circuit (25 I believe), but otherwise it is fairly easy to use. And it is free!

 

[BrianG]

Hi,

As mentioned by other posters, I would say go for Simetrix. We started about three years ago with the free demo and then quickly bought the whole package. We can't do without it now! (Probably time we got a later version though)

It's really easy to use, and for any components that don't come with the standard demo library you can usually download the SPICE models from the web.

One final note: Simetrix is now marketed by Catena software and the link if you want to download a free version is

http://www.catena.uk.com

 

[SteveMeisel]

Sorry for the slow reply.

I am going download the demo of Simetrix and go from there.

Thanks to all.

Steve