Bring out yer Diptrace
- Thread starter Grubb
- Start date
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
If diptrace is giving you Win95 vibes, kicad is Ms DOS
benny_profane
Well-known member
Yeah, KiCAD is pretty retro looking, but it functions pretty well on Mac. There’s a bit of a learning curve with some things, but it’s very capable. It’s also really easy to do rev tracking with GitHub.
I learned/started out with eagle. It has many flaws, but it has the most ‘modern’ GUI of the programs I’ve used.
finebyfine
Well-known member
One program I don't see discussed often are EasyEDA and EasyEDA Pro. There are parts of schematic editing that I couldn't figure out in EasyEDA that I use a lot in Diptrace (I didn't have any incentive to switch though) but IMO as someone who has a hard time using frustrating UIs who has tried Eagle and KiCAD, EasyEDA is pretty user friendly. I'll probably always keep a PC around just for Diptrace when I'm buying a mac soon for my daily driver but I'll test the waters on switching over a bit more fully
Robert
Reverse Engineer
I bought an iMac a couple years ago but DipTrace is a pretty big part of my day so when I realized how bad their implementation was I had to jump ship.
It might be more usable in a virtual Windows session, but I figured if I was going to do that I might as well just keep my Windows machine.
A lot of folks use Eagle, so it's obviously more than capable, but the UI is just so awkward and unusual that when I found DipTrace there was no looking back. DipTrace behaves like you'd expect a standard Windows application to behave. There wasn't much of a learning curve to figuring out basic functionality if you've use any other drag-and-drop type application.
KiCAD is a bit unusual as well, but I figure if I was going to struggle through the learning process all over again I might as well go for a free and open-source option. I think it is improving, however.
It might be more usable in a virtual Windows session, but I figured if I was going to do that I might as well just keep my Windows machine.
A lot of folks use Eagle, so it's obviously more than capable, but the UI is just so awkward and unusual that when I found DipTrace there was no looking back. DipTrace behaves like you'd expect a standard Windows application to behave. There wasn't much of a learning curve to figuring out basic functionality if you've use any other drag-and-drop type application.
KiCAD is a bit unusual as well, but I figure if I was going to struggle through the learning process all over again I might as well go for a free and open-source option. I think it is improving, however.
swyse
Well-known member
I use easyeda for all my pcb work and I found it very intuitive and especially convenient if you're using JLCPCB and LCSC as well.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I tried Eagle when I was still shopping around for programs, and I just couldn't get it to do what I wanted it to do. I spent more time watching tutorials than actually working my design. DipTrace is just about the most intuitive thing out there in my opinion.
finebyfine
Well-known member
swyse
Well-known member
I was just looking at that the other day, I never found out what rotate does.
Passinwind
Well-known member
I finally got around to downloading KiCAD v6 last week and there have definitely been substantial improvements from v5. Once they get the integration with Spice fully worked out it looks like it could be a great one stop shop.
finebyfine
Well-known member
Along with gate, it defines the compression region. Took me forever to grasp it. Pulled from the SSM2166 datasheet
Wish I had found a circuit with the NE572 (edit: didn't realize the ne/sa572 isn't drastically cheaper than the 2166 until just now actually) which is what I was looking for when I found it.
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cdwillis
Well-known member
If you think that's bad you should check out LTSpice for Mac OS X. I'm a pretty calm dude, but that program actually pissed me off. They just decided that Mac OS X didn't need toolbars. You're just supposed to start out knowing the shortcut keys.
Bricksnbeatles
Member known well
Yeah, I downloaded LTSpice on my Mac last month, and after an hour of trying to get anything out of it, I gave up. Absolutely terrible UI. I’ll have to keep spicing on the desktop only
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
The very first day of my very first circuits class in university, the professor was walking us through installing all the software we needed for the semester, providing both Windows and Linux instructions. The guy sitting next to me raised his hand and asked "What about on mac?" And the professor without hesitation and completely deadpan replied "Engineers don't use macs."
Poor dude changed majors to creative writing
Feral Feline
Well-known member
I'm a compressor junkie, and love this circuit (even though I've never built it. I've got the Small-Bear adaptered-IC but still haven't ordered the PCB yet.
Your layout looks so much better, and it seems you've added some of the suggested mods vis-à-vis the toggles.
Will you have any spare PCBs for sale?
fontoponto
Well-known member
My largest so far Edit: but I have to admit that it has a lot of flaws and will be redesigned. And it was made in Kicad not Diptrace... 
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finebyfine
Well-known member
thank you! and yup the dpdt is the AVG Cap and the SPDT is the input cap. I changed the silkscreen a bit to reference that after posting and also made some tweaks based on forum posts on analog devices.
And I’ll drop one in the mail for you one once I confirm it
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