I also use TinyCAD. Double check the pinouts though. The version I got a few years ago had wrong pin numbers for dual triodes!
I also briefly experimented with KiCAD. I need to go back and try it again. I was used to TinyCAD at the time. I've used Cadence OrCAD Capture at work for 15 years but obviously that's not very cost effective for us to use at home.
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Microsoft Visio has tube symbols, resistors and other implements of schematic making. Not the most user friendly stuff though.
Cadsoft Eagle has a downloadable tube library. I use it for making schematics and PC boards, but they have decided to price it out of my range, so I am looking for a good alternative. Design Spark (FREE!!!!) might be it.
Cadsoft Eagle has a downloadable tube library. I use it for making schematics and PC boards, but they have decided to price it out of my range, so I am looking for a good alternative. Design Spark (FREE!!!!) might be it.
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doing things **** about face again all ready built the amp now i want a schematic.
Thanks Guys
Could not find my copy of visio know I hav one but....
so I went with Express SCH, was at a loss as where to start but jazbo put me onta sum .SCH files and one of em was 5E3 based so i was half way there just had to re organize it.
anyway this is how I think I built the last amp will go back an check all the resistances and capacitance's tomorrow night I know sum are not quite right as I didn't hav all these ones so used what ever i had that was closest.
Could not find my copy of visio know I hav one but....
so I went with Express SCH, was at a loss as where to start but jazbo put me onta sum .SCH files and one of em was 5E3 based so i was half way there just had to re organize it.
anyway this is how I think I built the last amp will go back an check all the resistances and capacitance's tomorrow night I know sum are not quite right as I didn't hav all these ones so used what ever i had that was closest.
Oops, your quite right that should read 2k not 100k. If ya spot any other stuff ups let me know lol.
I had a 12ax7 in the pre to start with but it feed bak too much. the 802 is just about right tho and there is plenty of gain here to throw away lol. when my Weber harp speakers arrive (which dont hav the same High end response) I may try the 12ax7 again. or an ECC803 (supposed to hav a creamier sound.)
Thanks again for your help.
There's an open source very capable version of Visio called Draw by libreoffice or OpenOffice. a plugin template seems to be available Google "electrical schematic libreoffice" also I think someone on YouTube does one using Dia. I've not produced such layouts so can't comment but the software is very good otherwise (and free).
Finished SCH....Till the next Mod lol
Think I'll stick to expressSCH now that i 'm getting a hang on it and installed "image printer" so i can save it in any kinda picture format, tiff gives real sharp copys
check out the results here
Arctic
this is the one I built, goes well, puts out about 25 watts i know this is low for a 6L6 pp but that's good for harmonica.
and sum amp pics here
5E3 6l6
Think I'll stick to expressSCH now that i 'm getting a hang on it and installed "image printer" so i can save it in any kinda picture format, tiff gives real sharp copys
check out the results here
Arctic
this is the one I built, goes well, puts out about 25 watts i know this is low for a 6L6 pp but that's good for harmonica.
and sum amp pics here
5E3 6l6
There are alot of threads here on pcb software. I pulled this one up as it seems the most recent.
I want to use DesignSpark PCB (or at least try it). But I can't register at their site here.
Register DesignSpark
I've downloaded the v6.0 pcb software but until you activate it with the code they give you, cannot save the work. Activation is free but requires registration. I can never register, it keeps saying can't process or something like that.
Has anyone here successfully activated or even registered at DesignSpark? Emails to support go (so far) unanswered!
I want to use DesignSpark PCB (or at least try it). But I can't register at their site here.
Register DesignSpark
I've downloaded the v6.0 pcb software but until you activate it with the code they give you, cannot save the work. Activation is free but requires registration. I can never register, it keeps saying can't process or something like that.
Has anyone here successfully activated or even registered at DesignSpark? Emails to support go (so far) unanswered!
Yep, but I remember it being a hassle and can't recall how I got it to work. I have 4 or 5 browsers on my computer and I probably tried as many as it took to get it done. I never bothered to really learn DS though, as Kicad has worked very well for all my pcb projects so far. I use LTspice for schematics and circuit modeling.
Does Kicad have any vacuum tube libraries? -Or- asked another way, which PCB CAD has a good vacuum tube library? Eagle seems to but the board physical limitation size is too small.
Some PCB CADs, like DipTrace have a 300 pin limit for the free version. That I can use, since tubes are large size parts with small numbers of pins. Again, the library question for tubes?
Some PCB CADs, like DipTrace have a 300 pin limit for the free version. That I can use, since tubes are large size parts with small numbers of pins. Again, the library question for tubes?
Yes, at least the standard octal and nonal ones. Many of us just wind up doing our own component footprints for a lot of things though, or modifying existing ones, both of which are fairly easy since there's a dedicated component editor. The open source aspect of KiCad means you can find many libraries outside of the defaults included with the installer too.
The tube boards I've done so far both had short flying leads to the tube sockets, so in one case I used an octal socket template to keep things tidy and in the other one I didn't really need to. At first the workflow with KiCad felt very goofy to me, but it wasn't a deal breaker and I like using it quite a bit now. Eagle does feel quite a bit more developed in many ways though, for sure.
I've had my hands on about half a dozen commercial (i.e., expensive) PWB layout programs and always end up making footprints and padstacks for components. For me, this kind of "library work" may typically be anywhere from 1/4 to 2/3 of the total effort in a board layout. It's nice to have a built-in pattern to start with when creating your own padstacks but an extensive library isn't necessary.
At the very least you'd like to minimize the number of different hole sizes on the PWB, and match them up with the "standard" sizes offered by the vendor who does the etching and drilling. For aesthetics (and sometimes to improve manufacturability) you also like to have as few different styles of component pads as possible. (E.g., even if a manufacturer recommends a 0.063" circular pad in his supplied library file you may not use it if you already have 0.060", 0.065" or 0.070" already in use on your design.)
Dale
It does look fairly easy to make your own library. Where the question arises is how to make the schematic symbol, but with more reading I'm sure I can do this. Of course, there is no reason an octal tube couldn't be represented as a square with 8 pins as long as the correct pin relationship is made between the schematic symbol and the physical part footprint that the octal socket fits into...
Thought I would post so there is a record. DesignSpark tech support got back to me and after a few exchanges it was determined that some AdBlock software I had enabled under Google Chrome was causing me not to be allowed to log in to the DesignSpark site.
However, I never was able to receive an email with my activation code from the site; but, it was pointed out that once logged-in the code was accessible from my account online page. Hooray.
All that said, I imported an Eagle schematic and a library of tubes from Eagle as well after a little frustration. The library seemed to import well. But, the imported schematic seems to need alot of redoing to work in DesignSpark. Luckily, I only have 1 or 2 schematics to import as I am really low on the pcb-making curve.
However, I never was able to receive an email with my activation code from the site; but, it was pointed out that once logged-in the code was accessible from my account online page. Hooray.
All that said, I imported an Eagle schematic and a library of tubes from Eagle as well after a little frustration. The library seemed to import well. But, the imported schematic seems to need alot of redoing to work in DesignSpark. Luckily, I only have 1 or 2 schematics to import as I am really low on the pcb-making curve.
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