Simple question

What is your favourite tool to draw schematics?
Is it free or paid?
Any recommendation?

I am trying Schemeit http://www.digikey.com/schemeit/
It is not bad, although I still got some problems. I dont know if it is free, apparently it requires registration to save your work. So far I only export it to a bmp.

I tried another (forgot the name) but it didnt let you do anything if you didnt pay.

Thanks a lot

 

I (and several other members here) use the free LTspice, which is also an excellent simulator (but doesn't handle PCB layout or circuit animation).

 

Eagle is free for single page schematics and limited pcb sizes.

 

diptrace (there is a free version)
or autocad

 

ExpressPCB

Ken

 

ExpressPCB (& ExpressSCH, which is included)

Here is an example..
Click to enlarge

 

Personally I despise ExpressSCH/PCB. It feels like I'm drawing in MS Paint. Personally I use Altium (though that's VERY expensive software, I only have access to it because of my work), but before that I used Eagle and I strongly recommend it. The freeware version is limited, but for most hobbyist projects these limits will not be noticeable.

I have tried the following:

DIPtrace
KiCAD
ExpressPCB/SCH
FreePCB
PCB123
Altium
Eagle
LTSpice
PSpice
Proteus
SchemeIt
MultiSim

Eagle is by far my favorite free one in the list. Here's an example (my dual-resonant solid state Tesla coil design):

 

Hello,

The EDUCYPEDIA has some pages with all kinds of software for electronics:
Analog
Antenna design
Audio
Audio tone generators
Circuit simulation
Digital
Loudspeaker design
Measurement
PCB design
RF Antenna design
RF software
Stripboard Layout Software

Bertus

 

I use Kicad.

 

AutoCad and Kicad.
Max.

 

I'm old fashion and prefer pencil and paper.

 

Hello,

I am using the same style as Bill_Marsden. ( http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/paintcad.10854/ ).
I have a directory with a lot of electronic schematic symbols that I use as an inserted image in the schematic that I am drawing.

Bertus

 

I stole my MSPaint symbols from Bill Marsden.

 

I use Eagle. Here's Bill_Marsdens 25 Open End LED flasher.

One time I bought a license for Eagle. It was great to have the opportunity to have more than 1 sheet. But when I upgraded to 7.2.0 - the license file didn't work anymore. When I contacted the company I bought the license from, they said that: "No, the license file was for the revision you bought." I never gave it another thought...

 

I am trying Schemeit http://www.digikey.com/schemeit/
It is not bad, although I still got some problems. I dont know if it is free, apparently it requires registration to save your work. So far I only export it to a bmp.

I tried it for 2 minutes. Looks very nice and intuitive.
I will give it a workout later.

For the moment I use CircuitMaker.

 

For schematics plus pcb layout I love Diptrace.

I used Eagle before that and found its interface to be much less intuitive and its library functionality in particular to be very cumbersome. Both have free versions. For my particular needs, the Diptrace limitations on free use were much more accommodating, but that would vary for each user's needs.

Neither does circuit simulation, although it looks like Eagle might import and export more easily for LTSpice file sharing.

 

We were asked for a schematic drawing program, and as I mentioned before, I use Kicad.

One advantage it has is that once mastered, it will convert the schematic to a PCB drawing where one can re-arrange the components, then it will route and draw the tracks, then export them to a file for etching.

I did say, "once mastered" this took me a long time to fully work, but I'm not the fastest learner.

Camerart.

 

It took me a while to get the hang of Kicad, ( I resorted to reading the instructions)!

I have an older ($$$) copy of Orcad and Kicad competes very well with especially being free.
Max.

 

Any capture program will take some getting used to. Eagle is a steep learning curve for some, but personally I found it far easier to use than KiCAD or DIPtrace. Altium is by far the trickiest I've used, but it's also the most powerful.

 

Eagle was out for me due to the limited boards size.
Max.