I've been a lurker on here for a while. I haven't seen much discussion of the layout software we experimenters like to use. The last time I did any "volume" of homebrew PCBs, I just used something like Microsoft Paint! But now, it seems there are many freeware or demoware software packages available for this work. I'm curious what people tend to use, and what the particular benefits are of the package chosen? I've been using QCAD - has its ups and downs. Good news it can output a Gerber file, which can then be manipulated in any Gerber viewer, and printed/zoomed, etc. Also it ties together the schematic and the PC board, so once you're done with the schematic, you go to layout, move the parts around, and place traces to satisfy the rat's nest. But a lot of this is clumsy, and doing re-work is very tedious. It's also very time-consuming to create anything other than 90 degree straight lines with any accuracy. For those of us who are trying to roll out PC boards for things like 300 watt UHF amplifiers, that limitation can be a killer. What do others use? Kindly, Dave
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What software is in use?
2004-03-25 by emailw8nf
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