anyone using LTspice?

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
hi,

i'm wondering if there is anyone using LTspice?
(i downloaded it because it's free)

Question 1:
is there a forum for ltspice users?
i know there is an yahoo group, but it seems not suitable for non-electronic
background user.

Question 2:
how to draw the following symbol (which is very commonly used):

AC in 220v
o-------

o-------

i know it's ridiculous to ask this, but it's more than ridiculous they don't
have any word describing names and keys of this simple "o" .

I'm so tired reading their manual again and again, please let me know if
anyone has an idea of this .

whoever you're , thank you.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
It is an AC voltage source. It uses the same symbol as a DC source, but in the specifications you set the frequency and the amplitude. You should go to the yahoo group and look at the examples. If you don't find what you want ask a question. More so than on this forum, there are people who will do the work for you if you ask nicely.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
sorry i've forgot the manners.

yes they have tutorials, but i can't find one
starting with the route mentioned above.

most of the cases start with ac or dc signal
drawn in advance.

it seems the software is not putting an elementary introduction about
drawing component and symbols.

should i buy other spice tool books and start with a more common
spice software?

thank you very much.
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
What are you trying to do with ltspice?
Its not really a schematic generation program.
Its a simulation program..
You just use the component button and place a "voltage" source node.
Its not going to look identical to your "typical" o--- symbol.

work with the built-in icons THEN move on to creating your own if needed.

A simple google search for "ltspice tutorials" yields hundreds of results though.

But if you are a "non-electronic" user there will obviously be a steeper learning curve for you.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
thank for your prompt reply.

i'm using this to draw some simple schematics.
you've mentioned this software is a simulator, does it mean
the premier rule of this software is "not allowing o----", every
time drawing schematics must start with ac or dc signal?

am i right?

What are you trying to do with ltspice?
Its not really a schematic generation program.
Its a simulation program..
You just use the component button and place a "voltage" source node.
Its not going to look identical to your "typical" o--- symbol.

work with the built-in icons THEN move on to creating your own if needed.

A simple google search for "ltspice tutorials" yields hundreds of results though.

But if you are a "non-electronic" user there will obviously be a steeper learning curve for you.
 

Ramussons

Joined May 3, 2013
1,404
thank for your prompt reply.

i'm using this to draw some simple schematics.
you've mentioned this software is a simulator, does it mean
the premier rule of this software is "not allowing o----", every
time drawing schematics must start with ac or dc signal?

am i right?
As a new user of LtSpice, I notice that you can draw the schematic in any order. I draw the power and signal sources at the end. What is necessary is that the schematic be properly wired. LtSpice does throw up a lot of feedback on errors.

As mcgyvr mentioned, "... if you are a "non-electronic" user there will obviously be a steeper learning curve for you. "

And I will agree that the tutorials are not too easy to understand :rolleyes:, but they give "inputs" that need to be understood for proper application.

Ramesh
 

Ron H

Joined Apr 14, 2005
7,063
You can draw a lot of different things in LTspice, but it's not the easiest drawing tool to use. For schematics, it's very good if you know how to use it. The learning curve is fairly steep.
 

Attachments

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,281
If you are using the software just to draw schematics then you can use the "Label net" symbol (between the ground and resistor symbol in the toolbar) to place a name at the end of a wire. Otherwise a free program specifically for schematics may be better for you such as Tinycad or one from Digikey.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
Thx everyone, I know it's a long far way to work out this thing.

and may i ask RonH, the image you illustrated contains "o--",
may i ask how to draw the same route in your sample?



You can draw a lot of different things in LTspice, but it's not the easiest drawing tool to use. For schematics, it's very good if you know how to use it. The learning curve is fairly steep.
 

Ron H

Joined Apr 14, 2005
7,063
Thx everyone, I know it's a long far way to work out this thing.

and may i ask RonH, the image you illustrated contains "o--",
may i ask how to draw the same route in your sample?
You can draw a circle by left-clicking Edit on the toolbar, going all the way to the bottom, hovering on Draw, and selecting Circle. Or, you can use the shortcut ctrl-c.
If you hold down the shift key while drawing, you will get a circle. Otherwise, you get an ellipse.
The default line style is dashed. If you want to change it, put the mouse on the circle and right-click. Choose the line style you want.
 

vk6zgo

Joined Jul 21, 2012
677
I am most definitely an "Electronic Person"!:D

I downloaded LT Spice & find it a pain in the butt!

It is very far from intuitive,& being an old fart,I lack the patience to stick with it long enough to get a handle on it.

I would like a nice schematic drawing program,but they all seem to be tied up with simulators.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,281
I am most definitely an "Electronic Person"!:D

I downloaded LT Spice & find it a pain in the butt!

It is very far from intuitive,& being an old fart,I lack the patience to stick with it long enough to get a handle on it.

I would like a nice schematic drawing program,but they all seem to be tied up with simulators.
So it is true, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. :rolleyes:

LTspice is well worth the effort to learn if you design analog circuits. It can save a whole crapload of design mistakes before you get to the breadboard.

Read my post #8 for a couple suggested schematic entry programs.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,976
I don't know if there are copies still around or not, but back with MicroSim was it's own company they had a schematic capture program (MicroSim Schematics) that I found very intuitive and made very nice looking schematics. Even when they were selling their products, the schematic capture program was free.
 

LvW

Joined Jun 13, 2013
1,752
MicroSim Schematics...I found very intuitive and made very nice looking schematics.
100% agreement. I work with Schematics/PSpice since more than 20 years.
Drawing modifications, parts placement and move/delete actions are much more easy than in LTSpice.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
thx for recommendations about considering microsim or pspice.
currently i'm still working with ltspice intros.

may i ask that, is pspice also a well-accepted schematic and simulation software?
i mean it would be easier to find a handbook in the book store?

thx all.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
thx so much!! it's been there but i just ignored the sub menu.

now i'm trying to figure out the K statements when applying I(inductors) to fulfill T(transformer) functions.

thx a lot,

You can draw a circle by left-clicking Edit on the toolbar, going all the way to the bottom, hovering on Draw, and selecting Circle. Or, you can use the shortcut ctrl-c.
If you hold down the shift key while drawing, you will get a circle. Otherwise, you get an ellipse.
The default line style is dashed. If you want to change it, put the mouse on the circle and right-click. Choose the line style you want.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,976
thx for recommendations about considering microsim or pspice.
currently i'm still working with ltspice intros.

may i ask that, is pspice also a well-accepted schematic and simulation software?
i mean it would be easier to find a handbook in the book store?

thx all.
"PSpice" is a simulation engine. It is NOT a schematic capture program or a waveform display tool or any of those things. OrCAD bought MicroSim to get their hands on PSpice and basically threw away the MicroSim Schematics schematic capture program. Cadence then bought OrCAD.

Now, to be fair and honest, as much as I really liked the look and feel of MicroSim Schematics, all of MicroSim's software (except for the PSpice engine, which was nothing more than a port of the Berkley SPICE program) were nototially bug ridden and their management had no interest in fixing the bugs instead of adding new features. Several times we reported bugs that they provided a patch for but then the bug was back in the next release because they were only willing to patch bugs for specific customers who bitched loudly enough but not willing to put the fixes into their code base unless a large number of customers bitched about it.

Moving from Win3.1 to WinNT actually solved most of the problems. In particular, MicroSim would cause the entire computer to crash several times a day and the program to crash about as often. With WinNT it was still able to crash the computer, but it only did it a few times a month and the program only crashed a few times a week. And this was purely because of the OS change because we were running identical versions of the software on both the old and the new computers for a long time.
 

Thread Starter

flyingmax

Joined Jul 29, 2013
8
well, sorry to hear that.

so far as i heard of,
schematic
simulation
PCB layout (CADing)
are the 3 main functions in this field.

should i use ltspice if i want to :
1.simulate some simple diy circuit
2.avoid (too much) bread board operation
3.simple and easy to operate at any computer

or, there is some other recommended software?
(i'm using software because of personal interest)

thx a lot.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,976
Most software packages offer either free (or substatially reduced) version or at least free trials. Which one YOU like best is going to depend on what YOU are doing and what YOU like in a program. Some people hate using the mouse when they can use keyboard shortcuts, and so a program that doesn't have many keyboard shortcuts is not going to be very attractive to them. Other people don't want to have remember keyboad shortcuts except the ones they truly use all the time, so those people are going to be more interested in having the mouse-driven menu system be easy to use.

So invest some time and take several for a spin.
 
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