cad software

[ArcticBreaze]

I had the same problem with design spark ended up using expressSCH ,works real good.

 

[nigelwright7557]

Any pcbcad package will do if you don't mind making your own valve components.
I use my own PCBCAD package I wrote myself and I added a few valves to it. ECC82, ECC83, EL34 and EL84.
If I do it myself I can make the valve look any way I like.

 

[dchisholm]

. . . If I do it myself I can make the valve look any way I like.

Everybody has personal preferences for drafting styles, etc. Making your own symbols and pad stacks gives you flexibility to do this. For example,

• On the schematic you may include the heater within the tube symbol itself, or just show all the heaters connected on some convenient corner of the drawing.
• You may prefer connections to screen and suppressor grids on the right-hand side of the pentode symbol, or the left.
• (If the suppressor is internally connected, you may or may not show it on the symbol at all.)
• On the PWB silkscreen pattern you might label all pin numbers - or only pin 1 - or none of them
• Or etch the pin numbers into the solder-side copper rather than top-side silk
• Or include the pins' functional connections ("P", "G", "K", etc) on the silk or copper

DIY projects are almost always an outlet for individual creativity and (up to a point) this personal expression is more significant to the builder than the personal time expended on a project. Learning to create and edit the library files lets you satisfy your creative urges.

Dale