Poll

Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use?

Yes
29 (25.7%)
No
84 (74.3%)

Total Members Voted: 110

Author Topic: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use  (Read 16157 times)

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Offline jancumpsTopic starter

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Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« on: September 27, 2013, 09:12:26 am »
How many of us purchased a PCB tool specific for hobby/non-commercial use?
Let's count hands.

Yes if you paid money.
No if you never paid money.
Do not apply if you use the software for professional use  :)
« Last Edit: September 27, 2013, 09:14:52 am by jancumps »
 

Offline Fsck

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2013, 09:40:31 am »
Newp.
"This is a one line proof...if we start sufficiently far to the left."
 

Offline BravoV

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2013, 09:50:54 am »
So far I'm still happy with the free non profit license of Diptrace 2 layers 500 pins, thanks to Diptrace.  :-+

Before Diptrace, tried to use & learned hard Eagle for few weeks and simply gave up, maybe its just me, cause I think the interface & gui is way too unintuitive.   :-//

Offline Balaur

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2013, 10:02:50 am »
I would purchase the Eagle Hobbyist version if the price gets better!
 

Offline mcinque

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Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2013, 10:14:59 am »
Yes. An "Mega" UV lamp exposer.


--
Inviato da iPhone
 

Offline komet

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2013, 10:23:13 am »
I must have spent $100s of my pocket money on rub-down transfers and tapes.
 

Offline Fsck

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2013, 10:32:06 am »
pretty sure he's talking about EDAs only.
"This is a one line proof...if we start sufficiently far to the left."
 

Offline mcinque

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2013, 10:51:24 am »
pretty sure he's talking about EDAs only.

doh   :-[
 

Offline Alana

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2013, 11:07:16 am »
No. And as not-buisness entity i see it pointles until [if ever] i become buisness entity.
 

Offline madires

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2013, 11:15:17 am »
yes: BAE light (Linux version)
no: Eagle light (Linux version)
but: would buy Eagle Hobbyist if Eagle gets the essential features I expect from a professional PCB tool
 

Offline JoannaK

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2013, 11:28:40 am »
Nope. none of them seems to work even half decently on manual routing. And by half decent I'd expect something like 15 years back commericial ones.

Otoh, I have not seen pricing (or demo) of Cadstar yet.. their Free and Lite+ packages may be what I'd might like to use.
 

Offline tehmeme

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2013, 11:38:30 am »
no on software tools
yes on hardware tools
 

Offline jancumpsTopic starter

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2013, 12:54:12 pm »
I would purchase the Eagle Hobbyist version if the price gets better!
but have you paid for a tool?
 

Offline JackOfVA

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2013, 01:02:30 pm »
Yes, back in the days of DOS, I bought a couple of inexpensive PCB layout tools.

Then after I started my post-retirement ham radio kit business, I bought a rather expensive simulation and PCB layout tool, Multi-Sim. Gave up on that because it kept crashing and was far too buggy to be used.

Then downloaded the free version of DIPTRACE for evaluation, really liked it and bought the 1000 pin commercial license. 

Also looked at Eagle and found it not to my liking at all. As I recall, Eagle ignored all the standard Windows practices and made you learn a new set of commands and menu layouts that would be usable just for Eagle.

DIPTRACE - unlike Eagle - follows the normal Windows conventions and I found it easy to use and priced at reasonable levels.  And, far less buggy than Multi-Sim.

 

Offline tcleavela

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2013, 01:26:07 pm »
I'm currently using DipTrace (500-pin non-profit license). I could see springing for the 1000-pin commercial license someday.
 

Offline free_electron

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #15 on: September 27, 2013, 03:11:54 pm »
Yes. I have bought an Altium licence. A couple of years ago they had a deal at 2750. I bit the bullet then. I pay annual subscription too.

I only use it for hobby (we have licences at work. )

You could see it as semi-work because i also use it to make boards for the books i write , but then writing books is also a hobby to me...
The number of hobby things i do with it far outweighs the other usage.
I even use altium to make mechanical drawings.
Professional Electron Wrangler.
Any comments, or points of view expressed, are my own and not endorsed , induced or compensated by my employer(s).
 

Offline david77

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #16 on: September 27, 2013, 03:26:24 pm »
Yes. I purchased Abacom SPlan 7.0 a while ago. As far as I'm concerned a brilliant piece of software at least for my very modest needs.

If anybody's interested: http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/splan.html
 

Offline fvdpol

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #17 on: September 27, 2013, 06:25:43 pm »
yes, in the mid 90's I purchased a limited version (pin-count) of Ultiboard/Ulticap. Haven't used it for a while though as priorities changed.

Today it's mostly tiny stuff to glue the arduino/jeenodes to sensors/io. Schematics just sketched on paper, and the circuit build ad-hoc on a piece of breadboard.
Maybe at some point in time I'll need a custom pcb... not sure what to use then... had a look at Eagle and did not like it at all (but it will get the job done).
 

Offline 0xdeadbeef

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #18 on: September 27, 2013, 07:13:49 pm »
I bought the non-profit standard license of Diptrace as my project exceeded the 500pin limit. Paid around 118€ including VAT. Very well spent money from my point of view (despite of some smaller quirks here and there).
Trying is the first step towards failure - Homer J. Simpson
 

Offline SArepairman

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #19 on: September 29, 2013, 05:59:28 am »
what is the point of buying it, even if you use it commercially *assuming you don't have a crew of rats?*
even then, seems like  a hard crime to prove.

what will the IRS man audit you to see if you have a licensed altium?

everything in this whole profession is expensive as hell, seems like a wise man would steal all he can steal...... especially if he wants to do RF.
 

Offline tnt

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #20 on: September 29, 2013, 07:14:15 am »
I paid for an eagle pro update.

I had a pro license from back in the days that was bought for commercial work. And I paid the latest update even though I don't have any commercial use for it.
 

Offline JTR

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #21 on: September 30, 2013, 03:15:17 pm »
So far I'm still happy with the free non profit license of Diptrace 2 layers 500 pins, thanks to Diptrace.  :-+

Before Diptrace, tried to use & learned hard Eagle for few weeks and simply gave up, maybe its just me, cause I think the interface & gui is way too unintuitive.   :-//

this++
 

Offline bugfix

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #22 on: October 07, 2013, 07:27:16 am »
Yes, I bought a Eagle Hobbyist license.
 

Offline MinK

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #23 on: October 07, 2013, 03:26:01 pm »
No, using Eagle Free edition
Hope Altium will offer free version for makers :)
 

Offline Kjelt

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Re: Have you purchased a PCB tool only for hobby/non-commercial use
« Reply #24 on: October 07, 2013, 07:30:04 pm »
Yes Eagle hobby version. I love companies that offer their products for hobbieists for a fair and affordable amount of money. I wish the micro controller compiler firms would dothis and not a time limited version since then if you have to update or bugfix in the future you,re screwed.
 


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