I also try to spend time emulating posters’ problems. It is also a great way to learn finer points of the programme I rarely, if ever use.
The only topics I usually keep away from are:
anything to do with Mac. I’ve never been exposed to Apple in any shape or form.
simulation; because I would rather bread-board and observe with a CRO.
& 3D: because I’d rather just look at and measure the real parts with a rule.
I used to be a Windows person, but I became sick and tired of them changing things for the sake of change, not for improvement.
Pretty happy with Linux these days.
Oh, and I also started with Protel… Protel for DOS (a floppy disc for schematic and a floppy disc for autotrax)… the good/bad old days. Early 1990s, I think, along with dial-up internet and “chat rooms”.
Your list it very close to mine.
I skip over any questions regarding directly operational system problems.
I used to simulate only simple circuits and Demo (limited) version of PSpice I use rarely is enough for me. I tried LTSpice but after simulating one circuit and having no more need through 5+ years I forgot everything about it. I need not to learn new tool for simulation.
Starting with KiCad I learned FreeCad only to a minimum extent to be able to make 3D element models. The biggest problems I had with disappearing surfaces colors. But as last model I defined myself an year or more ago I will have a problem to do it again.
Consider changing your Profile Picture - it helps to associate the person with his statements. I do not make any distinctions between the Js who are speaking here
I just used my old photo I like the best.
Heck I eat Apples from the tree outside my window!
After advice on this forum, I installed Linux Mint on a HDD segment of my XP lab computer because I could not run KiCad under XP. But when I installed KiCad, I found that I could not choose the desired nightly version. Or at least…not when those were 5.99. Now a big segment of the HDD devoted to Mint is there unchanged but unused. Maybe I should try again when 6.0 is the stable release?
Thanks. This was all many months ago. I am very unfamiliar with Linux and I do not remember what I did. But anyway it seems that the process of installing software under Linux seems very different from that under Windows.
I probably will not be able to try this today but are saving your ideas and will attempt it within a few days.
For sucky time reasons I ended up going back to Eagle to finish up the earlier board, but I downloaded the KiCad 6.0 nightly build a few days ago and this morning I’m making a display board and it’s going swimmingly.
6.0 is really nice! It’s intuitive, clean and well designed. Now I just need to know where to send the beer
Thank you all for your help, I’m sure I’ll be back here with more questions but for now things are going well.
@jmk you’ll come around to 3D I used to think the same thing, but once I started making complex cases for my boards 3D is truly a miraculous improvement to the whole process.
I can’t say for certain. but recently i had some schematics where,visibly, the connections were valid but were not logiocally made as connections in the netlist. Sometimes if you draw a line over the “connector” to the symbol it does not connect. Sometimes its alignment precision. Its not a good behavior, but fairly rare. messed up one PCB on me though.
