Anybody familiar with multiple packages?

I've used Eagle PCB and am fairly happy with it. The freeware version is very limited in maximum board size though. But I hear a lot of people mentioning Protel and I got the impression it's more popular.

I used Protel a long time ago, the one I had was unstable and I learned to hate it. Part of that might be that I was using the auto-placement feature and it made such poor decisions that being random would have created something easier for the autorouter to handle. Then the demo ran out on it and I dropped it, they made it so you can't just reinstall the demo either. So I'm not sure I used it long enough to fully understand it.

I've seen Protel99 mentioned a lot more than Protel2004. Is 2004 not just an updated version of 99? Is it somehow not as useful? Or- let me guess- they upgraded security since then so hacked versions of later models aren't available?

 

I just started using Protel 2004; its very nice. It has some awsome features like automaticaly linking a FPGA project to your PCB schematics. It just came out a month or so ago though and is still a little buggy- nothing major but a few little qwerks (its much less buggy than the previous version Protel DXP). Protel 2004 has some fairly substantial upgrades from 99, or so I understand, I haven't used 99. The licensing scheme is sort of like the microsoft products activation - you can get a free 30 day trial though. You might be able to talk them into extending that a little if its for an educational purpose.

My co-worker who had used P-Cad for years said that he thinks protel is a better package.

Hope this helps
Brent

 

Haven't had extensive use of other packages, but Protel99SE is the best bang for your buck. Its also quite good if your learning PCB design through to medium-advanced, as it is more flexible and easier to use than some of the higher end packages.

 

I used to use Protel many years ago, but was not that impressed with it.

I now use Proteus Pro. It has some very nice features.

Steve