[geeks] Circuit Simulation Software

[Dave McGuire]

On February 11, Dave Kimmel wrote:
> >   I've plotted resist ink onto copper-clad board with an HP7475A
> > plotter.  It's also a trivial matter to print a PCB layout on a laser
> > printer and transfer it to photo-resist; done that lots of times.
> 
> PCB layouts with a laser printer sounds like something I'd love to be able
> to do.  Would you happen to have any pointers for someone who wants to get
> started with this?  I've got no idea where to get the boards and
> chemicals, but I'm sure that finding a small enough bit for my Dremel
> wouldn't be tough.  I used to have a Radio Shack kit that had two copper
> clad boards, a pen, some chemicals, and a few other useful things, but I
> can't seem to find anything of the sort any more.

  Newark Electronics has a complete photo-etch kit for about $30.  Go to
http://www.newark.com, search for newark catalog #00Z1483.  You can
order online with a credit card.

> Active Electronics might have the chemicals (never looked
> closely), but they don't have the copper clad boards.

  Sure they do; I've bought a bunch from them.  They also have tin
plating solution, ferric chloride solution, resist ink pens, heating
tanks, and pretty much everything else.

> ObSlightlyRelatedQuestion:  Does anyone know of any good and free/cheap
> high level languages that will target a PIC processor?  PIC assembly is
> getting annoying now that I've done things big enough to worry about page
> size issues.  Also, has anyone used the Warp13 PIC programmer?  Is it
> worth the money or should I look for better?

  I use the CCS PIC C compiler...it's not cheap, but it's by far the
best I've seen...well worth the money ($250 or so I think).  I've not
yet investigated any of the free tools, but I will eventually.  The
CCS compiler comes with TONS of example code and "driver" routines for
lots of useful peripheral chips, so I've been sticking with it for a
while.  It also produces *really* tight code.

     -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL         "Less talk.  More synthohol." --Lt. Worf