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I am new to EDA tools, I use xcircuit to draw circuits but that is very time consuming. I see these diagram a lot on internet with green wires and blue labels that look nicer than xcircuit: enter image description here

  1. What EDA tool this is, is it free?
  2. Can someone tell what other circuit drawing softwares/websites I can use to draw better and faster than xcircuit??
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  • \$\begingroup\$ #2 is more suited for softwarerecs.stackexchange.com \$\endgroup\$
    – jsotola
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 3:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ Why does it matter what EDA tool it is? \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ Because it's looks better than xcircuit diagrams \$\endgroup\$
    – Kutsit
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:11
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    \$\begingroup\$ Recommend you just find a few free EDA tools and try them out. How it looks will be the least of your worries when you see how unintuitive certain things in some software is. \$\endgroup\$
    – DKNguyen
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ Looks like an old PSPICE from WINDOWS XP era. CADENCE DESIGN took over PSPICE. A 9.1 version PSPICE looks something like that. I doubt their schematic capture looks like that now. You might try a demo download - they still offer something. Better yet, try @DKNguyen advice \$\endgroup\$
    – glen_geek
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:56

3 Answers 3

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I can't tell you where that schematic was created, but I can recommend KiCAD as an EDA tool. It's open source and there is good community support (YouTube tutorials, etc.)

It is integrated with a PCB layout tool, and there is also a Spice function that I haven't really messed with.

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    \$\begingroup\$ You'd have more success with LTspice for your SPICE simulations. I've never been able to get the SPICE function working in KiCAD. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, @Hearth. I mostly use Multisim for simulation, but I expect that sooner or later my student license will expire. Additionally, there are a great number of components not included with Multisim's education and/or student offerings. I'll check out LTspice. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lawrence
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 4:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ Microcap 12 is also freely available now. I'm not sure how it compares. And then for small things there's the circuitjs (Falstad) simulator that I think is particularly good for didactic purposes. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 5:03
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What EDA tool this is, is it free?

It looks like PSpice, which is free for students. Texas Instruments have a customized version which they call PSPICE-FOR-TI, which is free for all users.

PSpice is a theoretical circuit simulator. If you want to draw schematics of real circuits (eg. for constructing or documenting a device) then a PCB design program like Eagle or KiCad might be better suited because it includes physical components such as board connectors etc. which are not used in simulation.

I prefer Eagle, but the free version is quite limited and their commercial licensing is too onerous for me. KiCad has the advantage of being open source and truly free without restrictions. Run it in Linux and you can have a totally free system with no strings attached!

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I recommend to you Altium designer tool. It is the best software especially for layout drawing. In addition, you can find a lot of knowledge about program's tips and trick on the web.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Maybe true but it also has a $250/month price tag, quite a showstopper for hobbyists. \$\endgroup\$
    – TypeIA
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 5:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ @TypeIA I agree with you, I use Altium in the company but I use KiCAD at my home because of the price of Altium \$\endgroup\$
    – mtoprak
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 5:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ "I use KiCAD at my home" Then why do you recommend Altium to someone who is obviously a hobbyist?! \$\endgroup\$
    – Maple
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 6:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ Actually I said this why I use. If I had enough money for using at home, I could use. Unfortunately, I cant use Altium at my home because of company's private server license type. \$\endgroup\$
    – mtoprak
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 6:54

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