Recommendations for simulator software. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: WPXS472
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2022, 11:12:51 pm
content: I am looking for a source for rf circuit simulator software. I would like to find something that has optimization capability. I only need linear simulation. Don't need EM simulation. I have an anonymous copy of a hacked version of a very well known program whose name I will not mention. But, even after going through numerous tutorials, I still can't get it to do what I need. I used a previous version a few years ago with pretty good success, but they have made a lot of changes. Somewhere, I think I still have a copy of an old program for DOS that actually does a pretty good job. It uses nodal entry, and I remember getting proficient at entering circuits. The optimizer was pretty crude, but usable. I considered Qucs, because it has a good reputation, but doesn't optimize as far as I could tell. My circuit is only passive components, fairly low frequency.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 03:02:31 am
content: see if you can get an older version of APLAC from finnish university. it used to be freeware.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 07:46:40 am
content: Qucs does have some optimization...http://web.mit.edu/qucs_v0.0.19/docs/en/start_opt.htmlThere is also QucsStudio.. A variant.. You can download it and there are optimization examples..Maybe good enough for you..

author: emece67
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 08:38:14 am
content: .

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 09:21:26 am
content: Quote from: emece67 on February 04, 2022, 08:38:14 amKeyword here is optimization...

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 10:50:49 am
content: Micro-cap is one of those spice simulators that has a lot of extra features like monte carlo tolerance analysis, optimization, etc..It is a paid product that recently became abandonware so it is now free to use, but there will be no updates:http://www.spectrum-soft.com/index.shtm

author: WPXS472
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 04:52:34 pm
content: Thanks for the replies. Very useful.I searched for APLAC, and found a reference to a student version, but no place to download. I will look into Qucs further. Sounds interesting. I downloaded Micro-Cap. I'll have to burn the CD and install it to see what it looks like. I used Spice a little a few years ago. I understand it can be very powerful, but I don't think it is the right tool for what I want to do. I understand that there are some newer free versions available, and I would like to try one sometime for another project. The reason I wanted to use optimization was due to the nature of the project. It will be a family of circuits, all with very similar circuits, but with different performance. In the past,I have done this kind of thing by getting one value to simulate correctly, then just enter new optimization goals for each value, and let the optimizer do the rest. The solutions often aren't exact, but close enough that I can finish using built prototypes and empirical methods.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2022, 07:55:17 pm
content: Have a look at this project:http://asco.sourceforge.net/