Best circuit simulator for beginner experimentation? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: nbritton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 08:44:07 pm
content: What are some of the best circuit simulators for beginner experimentation? I want to be able to drag and drop virtual components onto a virtual breadboard and then hook up virtual test equipment. I remember MultiSim had this capability, what else is out there?

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 09:12:57 pm
content: LTspice IV from Linear technology.0 dollarshttp://www.linear.com/designtools/software/

author: nbritton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 10:47:17 pm
content: Quote from: DimitriP on September 15, 2015, 09:12:57 pmIt's not very intuitive. I built a simple battery powered circuit and when I click run it simply says "No analysis command found." Furthermore their GUI on Mac OS X leaves much to be desired. Furthermore they don't have simple things like the LM317 in their inventory. I'm not liking it at all.

author: Aodhan145
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 10:47:56 pm
content: Quote from: nbritton on September 15, 2015, 10:47:17 pmIts the best for free. Learn how to use it.

author: nbritton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 10:51:27 pm
content: Quote from: Aodhan145 on September 15, 2015, 10:47:56 pmI never stated it had to be a free solution.

author: 0xdeadbeef
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 11:13:18 pm
content: MultiSim Blueis free and very intuitive to use. You can use switches, generators, and even oscilloscopes in realtime.What I really love about it though is the realtime current/voltage "probes" you can attach anywhere in the circuit and which show realtime values even when you switch buttons, change voltages etc.You can also import spice models but they are only available in the current project. No means to create your own library or so.Most severe drawbacks are:1)You need to register and the free license is time limited.2) When they decide to discontinue the free license and it expires, the software will not even start anymore. All your work is lost until you buy the commercial version which is several k$.3) Even if in the future there will be another free version, you won't be able to load the files create with another free version.All of this is very limiting. Even though LTSpice is a bit of PITA (editor sucks, non-interactive simulation, long calculations, sometimes a drag to get it to simulate), I switched to LTSpice for my recent projects.Still, as easy to use and comfortable tool, I can recommend MultiSim Blue. Just keep in mind that you might not be able to use it anymore in two years or so and all your work will be lost then.And yes, this already happened oncewhen the Analog Devices edition from MultiSim was discontinued.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 11:18:21 pm
content: Quote from: nbritton on September 15, 2015, 10:47:17 pmAahhh....specifications...I love those:It should leave less to be desired than LTSpice on the Mac OS X,by more intuitive,include analysis commands by default,and include LM317 in the inventory.OK, this will make it clear for the next person that answers your question.

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2015, 11:22:59 pm
content: Proteus is very intuitive & user-friendly for simulation.

author: liquibyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 12:00:08 am
content: Simulation has its place but you have to be willing to put in the work to understand things. LTSpiceIV has a horribly windows centric interface from last century I'll admit but once you get used to it you'll find that the program is quite capable. I personally use it daily on Gentoo through WINE and I've never had a problem with it. As far as models go, my first statement stands and Google is your friend here but I'll give you a little push in the right direction.http://ltwiki.org/?title=Components_Library_and_CircuitsI use the models from here and can verify that they work as expected. Going even further you can obtain specific spice models from the manufacturers and they work well if you know how to use them. This is where the include statements come in. I actually have most of the models from TI on my home partition just in case I need something. There are those here that have much more knowledge than I do with it but if you need help with something all you have to do is ask. The link I posted has many resources and tutorials for getting things done and sits in my bookmarks just in case I can't figure something out and need a little help.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 12:16:01 am
content: See the thread from earlier this year:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/simulator-for-electrical-engineering/for a few more options, and more about why it is worth persevering with LTSpice.

author: Delta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 12:38:52 am
content: QUCS.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 02:05:13 am
content: Digikey has a free online simulator that is very easy to use. Click on the Try It Now button.http://www.partsim.com/

author: dentaku
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 12:03:54 pm
content: I still like Circuit Wizard for basic stuff.http://www.new-wave-concepts.com/ed/circuit.html

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 04:30:29 pm
content: My first experience with Spice used Hollerith cards (q.v.). At work, I later obtained a 5-1/4"-based copy of PSpice.At present, I use AimSpice, which is also file-oriented, rather than circuit capture. It uses an interactive menu to specify simulation parameters (sweep range, etc.) and its post-processor can access any part of the circuit.A limited (free) version can be downloaded athttp://venus-ngl.iet.ntnu.no/download.html

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 05:41:07 pm
content: Nobody's mentioned Tina TI yet.... TI's response to Lin Tech's LTspice. I'm not in a position to compare and contrast, but just for completeness.Edit: With TI's various acquisitions I guess it means that Tina now has access to more device models than LT. Tina was an existing simulation package before TI acquired rights for the TI version.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 06:56:16 pm
content: Quote from: nbritton on September 15, 2015, 08:44:07 pmYour brain, thought and understanding - followed by using a soldering iron (and ignoring those wretched solderless breadboards that cause endless trouble).If you really insist on simulating afewaspects of a circuits behaviour, there are many many simulators operating at many levels. It would help if you mentioned whether you were interested in analogue, digital, register-transfer, software, communication-link, EMI/EMC, RF, microwave fields, or any others.

author: Tom45
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 07:48:02 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on September 16, 2015, 04:30:29 pmThat brings back some memories. My first job in the mid 60s was to translate ECAP (Electronic Circuit Analysis Program) from IBM 1620 FORTRAN 2 to CDC FORTRAN 4. I never really used it other than to create circuits to use in testing it. After that project I moved on to translate CIRCUS from IBM 7090 to CDC FORTRAN 4.Note that it was FORTRAN in those days, rather than the current Fortran.

author: John_ITIC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 07:58:31 pm
content: Multisim. Very accurate and much easier to use then the free spice-based ones. A modern analog simulator should be schematics-driven. Good old free SPICE forces the user to draw on paper and enter the node connections between the parts. Not very "2015". I have not tried Multisim Blue but if the license works 2 years, go for it.

author: fivefish
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 08:12:32 pm
content: Go with LTSpice.It's FREE.Runs on both Windows and OSX.Lots of people know it, therefore... lots of people you can ask and help you.

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 08:27:32 pm
content: Quote from: nbritton on September 15, 2015, 10:47:17 pmWhen you use LTSpice you have to define the type analysis you're looking for. Pretty simple really just click Simulate / Edit Simulation Command and pick one of the analysis tabs at the top of Command Box. "Transient", AC Analysis, DC Sweep.. etc.YouTube has some pretty informative tutorials on LTSpice check them out. Once you watch a couple of those you will get the hang of it.When using various devices be sure to watch for the Library Requirements on some parts as well.Best of Luck,Jon

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2015, 01:23:22 am
content: Quote from: John_ITIC on September 16, 2015, 07:58:31 pmWhy not PCB based too?

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2015, 03:00:43 am
content: If you are in school, you can get the edu edition of multisim rather cheaply.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2015, 11:11:38 pm
content: Throwing this in here since there seem to be some Multisim users in this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/multisim-3d-breadboard/- just looking for some thoughts on what might be causing this Multisim issue? Thx

author: tec5c
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 12:46:14 am
content: Depending on what circuit you're running, this little online tool can come in pretty handy.http://www.falstad.com/circuit/

author: nbritton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 01:39:15 am
content: I tried playing with LTspice more and I'm thoroughly unimpressed. It is a usability nightmare on the mac. I still can't get the simulator to run, I tried plugging the error message into google but only like 5 search results are returned and none of them are relevant.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 02:59:04 am
content: Quote from: nbritton on September 20, 2015, 01:39:15 amRight-click -> 'Draft' -> 'Spice Directive', right-click in the textarea -> 'Help Me Edit'.

author: Aodhan145
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 11:59:31 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on September 20, 2015, 04:06:06 amYou have a good point.

author: MagicSmoker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 12:06:08 pm
content: Quote from: Aodhan145 on September 20, 2015, 11:59:31 amAnd it is nicely tinned, too. (rimshot!)Okay, more seriously - I've used both TINA and LTSpice most recently. TINA is a decent enough program for analog and digital circuits and has a good selection of ICs and components built-in whereas LTSpice is a surprisingly capable program for switch-mode converters, but not general purpose simulation nor is it particularly user-friendly (one step up from manually entering a netlist, really). LTSpice is much better at dealing with real world components (ie - parasitics in inductors, capacitors, transformers, IGBTs, MOSFETs, diodes, etc.). You can get real leakage inductance spikes, ringing, etc., with LTSpice, whereas TINA (and many other similar PSpice derivatives) tend to rely on ideal components, sometimes exclusively.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 12:16:03 pm
content: falstad circuit simulator without a single doubt in my mind,http://www.falstad.com/circuit/Apart from the mosfets, its just forgiving but equally cruel enough that you can work out why something is going wrong in minutes vs hours for proof of concept circuits, see if a values power is suitable, etc, have fun!

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2015, 07:16:30 pm
content: Quote from: Rerouter on September 20, 2015, 12:16:03 pm