.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students. I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro. As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too. That man was a genius in PCB program design.)


The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

,
,

You are kidding, right?  A thousand dollars a station with 24 stations in
the classroom?  Sorry, no cigar.

Jim

--
"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."
        --Henry Ford



http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:59 -0700, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"





j...@rstengineering.com> wrote:
.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students.  I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro.  As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too.  That man was a genius in PCB program design.)

The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people. Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you. I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:55:17 -0700 (PDT), Leon





leon...@btinternet.com> wrote:
On Mar 15, 4:19 am, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:59 -0700, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"

j...@rstengineering.com> wrote:
.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students.  I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro.  As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too.  That man was a genius in PCB program design.)

The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just downloaded the demo and tried it. It's got a weird user
interface and crashed on me after a few minutes, when I autorouted a
schematic (the option was there so I thought I'd try it) and then
tried to undo the changes I had made. I don't think I'll be using it
instead of  Pulsonix!

Leon

Yes, the user interface is different.  How much per seat does Pulsonix
cost?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Mar 15, 4:19 am, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:59 -0700, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"





j...@rstengineering.com> wrote:
.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students.  I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro.  As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too.  That man was a genius in PCB program design.)

The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just downloaded the demo and tried it. It's got a weird user
interface and crashed on me after a few minutes, when I autorouted a
schematic (the option was there so I thought I'd try it) and then
tried to undo the changes I had made. I don't think I'll be using it
instead of Pulsonix!

Leon

On Mar 16, 4:23 pm, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:55:17 -0700 (PDT), Leon





leon...@btinternet.com> wrote:
On Mar 15, 4:19 am, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:59 -0700, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"

j...@rstengineering.com> wrote:
.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students.  I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro.  As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too.  That man was a genius in PCB program design.)

The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just downloaded the demo and tried it. It's got a weird user
interface and crashed on me after a few minutes, when I autorouted a
schematic (the option was there so I thought I'd try it) and then
tried to undo the changes I had made. I don't think I'll be using it
instead of  Pulsonix!

Leon

Yes, the user interface is different.  How much per seat does Pulsonix
cost?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Starts at about $3,000, IIRC.

Leon

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:47:31 -0700 (PDT), Leon





leon...@btinternet.com> wrote:
On Mar 16, 4:23 pm, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:55:17 -0700 (PDT), Leon

leon...@btinternet.com> wrote:
On Mar 15, 4:19 am, JosephKK <quiettechb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:59 -0700, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"

j...@rstengineering.com> wrote:
.
.
Ya know, I teach PCB layout to first year engineering students.  I would
dearly LOVE to find a low end or "freebie" PCB package that they could
upgrade when they graduated and went pro.  As it is, I struggle along with a
demo package out of an obsolete layout program that originated from a long
since defunct company (actually absorbed into a bloatware company) called
MicroCode Engineering.

If anybody ANYWHERE can point me to an easy to learn student oriented CHEAP
package that they can go pro with in a few years, I'd dearly love to hear
about it.

Jim

(And if anybody knows where Art Hatfield and company have relocated, I'd
like to hear about that too.  That man was a genius in PCB program design.)

The standard gameplan in the U.S. then, would be to be handing out Easy-PC
to universities for free or almost free to get the students "hooked,"
making sure they're aware that the "professional" version of the software
is Pulsonix so that's what they should be purchasing when they begin
working professionally and have some capital to blow. :-)

http://www.holophase.com/

Try talking to these people.  Their full package is not all that
expensive, they may have something for you.  I have used an earlier
version and it is pretty easy to use.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just downloaded the demo and tried it. It's got a weird user
interface and crashed on me after a few minutes, when I autorouted a
schematic (the option was there so I thought I'd try it) and then
tried to undo the changes I had made. I don't think I'll be using it
instead of  Pulsonix!

Leon

Yes, the user interface is different.  How much per seat does Pulsonix
cost?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Starts at about $3,000, IIRC.

Leon

OK and how much for a "typical" seat?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The software has been developed since around 1990 so it is a long way
down the road to doing what I want.
I wrote the software after trying to use other companies efforts.
A lot of features I found were missing on other packages, I was also
shocked at the number of crashes and holes in other packages.
Before anyone asks, no it is not DOS it is .net framework v3 now.

You are kidding, right? A thousand dollars a station with 24 stations in
the classroom? Sorry, no cigar.
It goes down to $250 a seat, in volume.

"Brad Velander" <bvel...@SpamThis.com> wrote in message

news:k6HDj.92869$w94.6755@pd7urf2no...

Previously they posted it clearly on their website, it was there when I had
looked one day.

Indeed.  I've asked them about it, and they say it's gone now basically due to
the U.S. dollar having dropped like a rock: They realistically can't go and,
say, double the U.S. prices, but with the dollar's falling value, they're
trying to discourage those outside the U.S. from buying from a U.S. vendor and
effectively getting it for, say, half price.

It's a little odd to suddenly be in a country that's kinda dropped into
"second world" status in some ways. :-)

The fully blown unlimited version 'was' listed at approx. $8K USD a year or
more ago.

Full-blown schematic/PCB (including auto-router) is US$7250 node-locked,
although these days they have plenty of extra "cost" options (database
connectivity, chip packaging, SPICE, etc.) that can still increase the price
from there.  It's US$4875 without the auto-router, which I think is
potentially the better deal: If you really want a good auto-router, you might
be better off applying the money saved to another standalone program, as the
Pulsonix auto-router falls into the "good if not great" category, IMO.  (On
the other hand, Leon claims the Pulsonix auto-router is better than the very
inexpensive Eagle auto-router... I'm comparing it here more to the old Protel
"advanced" (gridless) auto-router, which I recall as being better than
Pulsonix's and -- at the time -- cheaper.  But I do mainly RF/analog stuff
these days, and hence very seldom use an auto-router.)

If you're in the U.S. and e-mail their rep (www.tsi-reps.com) I imagine
they'll still send you the complete price sheet -- they did for me.  (I won't
post the full list publicly out of respect for Pulsonix's wishes...)

---Joel

Previously they posted it clearly on their website, it was there when I had
looked one day.

The fully blown unlimited version 'was' listed at approx. $8K USD a year or
more ago.

"Leon" <leon355@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:fdce87fe-f4e7-466a-9e16-a80f48e3100b@13g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 15, 5:38 pm, "RST Engineering \(jw\)" <j...@rstengineering.com
wrote:
You are kidding, right? A thousand dollars a station with 24 stations in
the classroom? Sorry, no cigar.
It goes down to $250 a seat, in volume.

For the a point of comparison, Agilent hands ADS (normally a "high five
digits" package) to universities for some "very low four digits," and Ansoft
does similar for HFSS. In the ADS case, that was something like 10 licenses,
whereas it was just one for HFSS.

Academic software licensing is weird...