circuit simulation

Tip.
Before i start to play with my pi i use this to check if everything is right :wink:
Power,resistors,etc…
Simulation

fritzing is nice too, and is not an online tool.

I miss that…
I will check it :wink:

Fritzing is nice,but miss the most basics.
No multimeter for voltage,current volt,oscilloscope.
No visual display.

I am using KiCad for my electronic circuits. I using it on this moment to design and build an on-demand microcontroller.

The learning curve is a litle steep but it is free and powerfull. It also does PCB design.

Fritzing is indeed limited but nevertheless a good solution for novice electronics.

But despite all those powerfull softwares, you have to know what you are doing in the first place and secondly; test test test and test again with your oscilloscope and multimeter. You do not need expensive things, in most cases only a multi meter is enough. Mine costed 2 euro, is not the latest model but very sensitive and I can test transistors too with it. In most cases that is all I need.

I only use software to create a visual overview of the circuit. I do not use it to simulate. Once designed, I build it on breadboard and test every step along the way until the circuit works as expected. Then I solder it on a PCB for the final version. This is the old way and still the best.

Sometimes I use Serif DrawPlus which is a vector drawing programm. Works like a charm!

[quote=261777:@Loannis Kolliageorgas]Tip.
Before i start to play with my pi i use this to check if everything is right :wink:
Power,resistors,etc…[/quote]

123d looks like a really good tool, I’ll look into it a little more. Thanks Loannis.

@Robin Lauryssen-Mitchell introduced me to this great tool. It saves a large amount of time when creating circuits.

what I love about them is that they use mac computers in all their presentation of the software on their web site
and that finally it works only on … windows ! :slight_smile:

My knowledge in electronics is let’s say i am novice.
Some times i don’t know where i put the resistor, or something else.123d save me from this mistakes.
Like why my lead is no full bright?resistor 1k? resistor 250? and working fine.
I know there is more complicated software for mac or windows but the good ones is expensive.
Still 123d not have the pi board and from what i read maybe will be on the far future,but still is free and working well for novice users :slight_smile:

I recently moved to KiCad after many years of using a paid for windows only package which I had to run in the VM.
KiCad like many such packages has its little learning steps, but after a few hours it fell into place, most impressed with it for a collaborative effort as opposed to paid.
Plus the cross platform ability means its useable by all people in a single team.

Indeed, KiCad is very much worth the efforts. I also like it very much. When a piece is missing, it is easily added to the library.

Indeed, Serif uses Macintosh for their presentation. But people are wrong assuming their software only works for Windows. Affinity for Macintosh is a hugh success story for Serif. Within a few months, Affinity for Windows will be available. There is no longer any development on the …Plus range which indeed was Windows only. By the end of the year, Affinity will be true multi platform.

Nevertheless, their software is very good as is their customer care.