Making Etchable PDFs in linux

Question

Hey I am trying to make a etchable pdf for a project of mine. It is supposed to be a 2x9inch board. But I cannot find a good software to make this. Eagle's free version will not allow me to make this size and I cannot understand gEDA. Is there other simpler option?

Answer 1

Eagle's professional edition layout tool can do 64 x 64 inches. Since it seems that you know Eagle, that's the simplest option. It is not the cheapest option, but only because it's not free (as in beer).

Like most powerful tools, gEDA has a significant learning curve. It's not impossible to understand; it's just not as intuitive as Eagle. Keep trying. As with many open-source projects, features come before documentation, so many of the tutorials are out of date. I suggest you follow the geda-user mailing list to get the most current information; it's quite active and the devs want to help!

Answer 2

KiCAD is the best you're likely to get: http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/

On Linux, gEDA, KiCAD and Eagle are the best games in town.

Answer 3

Not an ideal solution, but DesignSpark PCB is reported to run fine under Wine. From their site:

What are the limitations on designs?

There are no intentional limitations on designs. Unlimited schematic sheets per project, up to 1m squared of board size and no limits on layers allow you to get your creativity flowing without restraints.