This document describes eaglesp3, an spice3 simulation upgrade to the eagle 3.5 light edition system from CadSoft. It consists of the following parts:
1.) a basic simulation library that includes voltage sources and measurement
instruments. It can be easily extended by the user, e.g. by downloading
models from semiconductor manufacturers
2.) a spice3 netlist eagle ulp program that does not only netlisting,
but takes care of the special devices such as voltmeters
3.) a small linux shellscript that will launch the simulator automatically
if the new netlist is ready. This is just a workaround for the fact that
eagle is not able to call another OS program. Essentially it saves you
one extra keypress. In principle it should be possible to do the same thing
under any other multitasking system with scripting facilities (volunteers
to the front...). The environment does not depend on this feature, but
without it you will have to start the simulator yourself. Perhaps CadSoft
decides to include an external program call function in one of its next
versions....
4.) this documentation...
As a prerequisite you should install the eagle 3.5 light edition (or
any "heavier" version) and any version of the berkeley spice3 simulator.
This environment will be sufficient for educational purposes. To simulate
real circuits, you will have to download and install additional real device
models from semiconductor manufacturers websites. I have downloaded a lot
of models in the past, but i have got no license to spread them, so please
don't ask me for real device models. If anything in the eagle/spice3 interface
fails, or the spice3 device library does not work for you, don't hesitate
to send me an email. Please be aware that i would just ignore questions
about eagle or spice3 itself.
And don't forget:
You have to license the eagle system if you use it commercially!
For me there have been a few strong reasons to choose the Eagle system to write an interface for the Berkeley Spice3 simulator:
1.) CadSoft has provided an excellent schematics editor with it. On
my favorite list of 6 PC and UNIX editors, its now on rank 2 (on rank 1
is a $10000.- product, and eagle has ~90% of its functionality!)
2.) CadSoft decided to license it for free for non-profit and evaluation
purposes. If one wants to use the system commercially, the license fees
are moderate.
3.) Eagle comes with a powerful extension programming language (ULP).
4.) Rudi Hofer of Cadsoft has written a basic ULP interface for PSpice
which has been a good starting point (thank you very much, Rudi!).
5.) There is a linux version, which means full scripting facilities
and multitasking.
To learn about the system, the best way is to install it and then run through the tutorials. But before, you have to read the following
Disclaimer:
Permission to copy, use and modify this software and its documentation
for any purpose, without fee and without a signed licensing agreement,
is hereby granted, provided that the following two paragraphs appear in
all copies and modifications.
IN NO EVENT SHALL DR. ULRICH BACKES BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF DR. ULRICH BACKES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
DR. ULRICH BACKES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION, PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS PROVIDED "AS IS". DR. ULRICH BACKES HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
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