High Voltage Forum
General Chat => Laboratories, Equipment and Tools => Topic started by: Mads Barnkob on January 13, 2020, 11:30:11 PM
-
From: https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/
If you are looking for simulation software, you are probably thinking LTSpice or one of the open-source simulators like Ngspice (which drives Oregano and QUCs-S), or GNUCap. However, there is a new free option after the closing of Spectrum Software last year: Micro-Cap 12. You may be thinking: why use another closed-source simulator? Well, all the simulators have particular strengths, but Micro-Cap does have very nice features and used to retail for about $4,500.
The simulator boasts a multipage schematic editor, native robust digital simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, 33,000 parts in its library, worst-case and smoke analysis, Smith charts, and it can even incorporate spreadsheets. There’s a built-in designer for active and passive filters. Have a look at the brochure and you will see this is a pretty serious piece of software. And now it’s at least free as in beer.
Download: http://www.spectrum-soft.com/download/download.shtm
-
I downloaded it already and tried a few small things... I find it nice, but will stay with my LTSpice for a moment...
Most interesting is the 64-bit executable which will speed up computations in my opinion, but othersiwe the interface is a bit cloudy to me
-
If it will accept encrypted PSPICE models it will be very useful. Its always frustrating when part vendors only supply an encrypted model or one specific to their own simulator (I'm looking at you, TI)
Just tried simulating the high voltage regulator I've been designing.
The UI is ... awkward and unintuitive. ( ctrl-R for rotate? seriously? This was one of my pet peeves with PADS)
The transient simulation was painfully slow. And its really not that complex a circuit.
And theres something funky with the zener model I chose - wouldn't operate properly at 700uA.
Frankly I wont be using microcap unless I have to. I'll stick with Simetrix - its fast and intuitive.
-
+1 for Simetix. I use the free version ("Elements") - good performance and I can re-visit it after months (or even years) and dive straight in. (The free version doesn't support encrypted models, though.)