High Voltage Power Supply Unit Article

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Karl Williams
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High Voltage Power Supply Unit Article

Post by Karl Williams »

Hey Peter,

Nice job on the High Voltage Power Supply Unit article!

The printed circuit boards look really good. What software do you use and where did you get the boards made?

Can anyone recommend good schematic and pcb software that doesn't cost too much ($100-$200 range)?

I've been trying out the Eagle Cadsoft free version but the board size is limited and it looks like it would cost about $600 to get the schematic, pcb layout and autoroute functionality from EAGLE Standard (Limitations: 4 signal layers, 160x100mm routing area). Has anyone tried Proteus Lite?

Take care, Karl
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dacflyer
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Post by dacflyer »

have you ever tried pcb express ??
Bigglez
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Re: High Voltage Power Supply Unit Article

Post by Bigglez »

Greetings Karl,
Karl Williams wrote: The printed circuit boards look really good. What software do you use and where did you get the boards made?
The proto boards were made through BatchPCB in
Denver (the factory they use is Golden Phoenix in China).

The production boards (for NandV's Webstore) are
being made by Advance Circuits also in Denver
(coincidence). NandV has also been using PCBExpress.
Karl Williams wrote:Can anyone recommend good schematic and pcb software that doesn't cost too much ($100-$200 range)?
The PCBExpress house has their own layout software
for free, to mesh with their board fab service.

I have been using EAGLE since about 2001, started with
the freeware, went to EAGLE Lite, and now I have the
EAGLE Standard suite. Nothing comes close to it for the
price, although it's often compared to professional
suites costing multiple thousands of dollars.

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Bob Scott
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Post by Bob Scott »

Could someone please tell me where I can find standard western library items for schematic components like transformers that show the windings correctly and Xor gates that look like Xor gates? I can't find them in Eagle. The library file system at Cadsoft is impossible to peruse.

Thanks
-=VA7KOR=- My solar system includes Pluto.
Bigglez
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Post by Bigglez »

Greetings Bob,
Bob Scott wrote: standard western library items for schematic components
Can you clarify this request? Are you seeking WeCo (Western Electric)
specific parts?
Bob Scott wrote:transformers that show the windings correctly.....Xor gates that look like Xor gates?
Like This?
Image
Bob Scott wrote:I can't find them in Eagle. The library file system at Cadsoft is impossible to peruse.
That's a bit strong. Have you opened the library browser
from the EAGLE control panel? Seems to give a snap shot
of each library entry, grouped by type.

Any CAD software is only as good as it's parts editor.
I find EAGLE to be fairly easy to use and I typically
add one or two of my own parts each time I start a project.
Admittedly, much of the bundled library parts are from
German vendors, as the program was written and released
in Germany first. Many date back to the 1990s, too.

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Bob Scott
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Post by Bob Scott »

dacflyer wrote:have you ever tried pcb express ??
I found:

http://www.expresspcb.com/

? I didn't see and software at:

http://www.pcbexpress.com/
-=VA7KOR=- My solar system includes Pluto.
Bigglez
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Post by Bigglez »

Greetings Bob and Fred,
Please excuse me butting in here...
Bob Scott wrote:
dacflyer wrote:have you ever tried pcb express ??
Do you mean:
http://www.expresspcb.com/
? I didn't see and software at:
It's the fourth itemon the lefthand list look for CAD.

There are two *free* programs, one to capture schematics
and the other to design a PCB. After the process the PCB
design is linked to the PCBExpress site and gives the
price, etc.

AFAIK, the software format is not industry standard, one
is *required* to use this PCB shop. Also, the software does
not support back-annotation and other features you're
using in EAGLE.

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dacflyer
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Post by dacflyer »

bigglez>> your right , my mistake. i wasn't exactly sure at the time i posted,, was in a rush to goto work.

hey BTW, what sort of tube is that on the left in your artical in N&V
the one with a million pins..lol
i see the others as nixies and numatrons and deckatrons, but that huge one with the topcap has me currious.
also what was it used in typically ?
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Post by Bigglez »

Greetings Fred,
dacflyer wrote: what sort of tube is that on the left in your artical in N&V the one with a million pins.
i see the others as nixies and numatrons and deckatrons, but that huge one with the topcap has me currious.
also what was it used in typically ?
The large tube is an X-beam switching tube. This one is
a 24 channel device, missing from the PIX is a ten
channel X-beam tube typically used with Nixies.

The X-beam tubes were electronic switches built on
vacuum tube technology, using a steering magnet
and multiple commutation electrodes.

The 24 channel device was intended for telephony
to MUX 24 subscriber lines onto one wide bandwidth
channel. There was a companion demodulator tube
at the receiver end. The technolgy never caught on
as solid-state devices arrived with superior performance.

Also, the beam-X tube (also known as a Trochotron)
was flawed. It responded to random gamma rays
from space and was quietly taken off the market.

My rare example was won at a tube collector's
auction (I was one of only two bidders that new
the back story - the tube was presented as a PMT
- Photo Multiplier Tube).

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dacflyer
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Post by dacflyer »

cool. info,...thanx

are the giant nixies still available ??

also i have some miniature filiment numeric displays about 3/4" tall they were used in older aircraft insturmentation, plan to make a clock with them some day. currious if they made any others like this bigger than 1"
i do not know what the filiment displays were called. mine are only numeric ( filiment version of the led numeric display )
Bigglez
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Post by Bigglez »

Greetings Fred,
dacflyer wrote: are the giant nixies still available ??
For the right money everything is available...
The biggest true Nixie (number shaped Cathodes) was
built in Japan and mostly used in Germany for roadside
truck scales. The tube is 220mm tall and the digits are 135mm
tall. Very few remain and command many hundred dollars
each on eBay.

The next smaller tubes are Burroughs B7031 have 50mm
high digits and are equally rare but fetch less money.

The Burroughs B7971 is a 64mm high digit 15 segment neon
tube, there is one in my Avatar PIX for this forum. These were
made for a single project installed at the NYSE satellite rooms
during the 1960s. Only about 5k tubes are thought to survive.
dacflyer wrote:also i have some miniature filiment numeric displays about 3/4" tall they were used in older aircraft insturmentation, plan to make a clock with them some day. currious if they made any others like this bigger than 1" i do not know what the filiment displays were called. mine are only numeric ( filiment version of the led numeric display )
These were introduced by RCA under the name
"Numitron" and operate from 5V per filament to be compatible
with DTL (and later TTL) logic of the early 1970s. LEDs did them
in! The tubes were also sourced by Apollo (Japan) and IEE.
There are several sizes, 3/4 inch is common, 1/2 inch was
used in some desktop calculators, and larger ones are used
(were used) on the BART rail train ticket machines (late 1970s).

There is a newer version that is flat and will fit a DIL IC socket.
These were introduced by PinLite (and popular in avionics),
and later by Minitron in Japan. I uploaded PIX of my Minitron
six digit clock earlier. I used a green plexiglass filter - with filaments
you can have just about any colour.

Here's Dieter's extensive catalog of all Nixies.

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Re: High Voltage Power Supply Unit Article

Post by muntron »

Karl Williams wrote:I've been trying out the Eagle Cadsoft free version but the board size is limited and it looks like it would cost about $600 to get the schematic, pcb layout and autoroute functionality from EAGLE Standard (Limitations: 4 signal layers, 160x100mm routing area).
Cadsoft does have a "Not For Profit" license Here which provides the Standard features for less money.
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Re: High Voltage Power Supply Unit Article

Post by Bigglez »

Greetings (No Name Supplied),
muntron wrote: Cadsoft does have a "Not For Profit" license (...) which provides the Standard features for less money.
Be aware that designs made by this version are coded to
identify the source. CADSoft will procecute anyone abusing
the privilages. There are reports of EAGLE Cadsoft designs
causing problems for legitimate users who unwittingly
shared projects that were created outside the license
terms. If you plan to publish or share your final EAGLE
designs the Not-For-Profit license is not for you.

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Karl Williams
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Post by Karl Williams »

Hey Guys,

I've been using the free CadSoft Eagle version for my latest project and really like it so I do want to go ahead and buy it but I'm wondering about a few things. I do eventually want to be able to use it commercially (like writing books and articles for Nuts'n'Volts) so I probably won't get the educational version.

Is eagle Light the same as the free version but can be used commercially?
Does the Light version let you edit library parts?

I'm a little confused about the pricing on their website because it seems like a big jump in price from $49 for the light to $597 for the standard. They should have a version in between the Light and Standard priced at about $250 that gives you 2 signal layers and 160x100mm routing - I wouldn't hesitate to buy that one right now.

EAGLE Light (Limitations: 1 schematic sheet, 2 signal layers, 100x80mm routing area)
Module 1-User
Layout+Schematic+Autorouter US$ 49.

EAGLE Standard (Limitations: 4 signal layers, 160x100mm routing area)
Layout-Editor (basic program) US$ 199.
Schematic-Editor module + US$ 199.
Autorouter module + US$ 199.

Also, does anybody know an easy way to copper fill the rest of the board once the autorouting is done and still leave reasonable space around all of the traces and pads? I want to do this so I won't have to etch all that excess copper.

Take care, Karl
Bigglez
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Post by Bigglez »

Karl Williams wrote: Is eagle Light the same as the free version but can be used commercially?
No. Light has phone support, Freeware does not.
Karl Williams wrote:Does the Light version let you edit library parts?
Yes.
Karl Williams wrote:They should have a version in between the Light and Standard priced at about $250 that gives you 2 signal layers and 160x100mm routing - I wouldn't hesitate to buy that one right now.
There has been several suggestions (on several forums) for
different limitations, but so far CadSoft has not responded.
Karl Williams wrote:Also, does anybody know an easy way to copper fill the rest of the board once the autorouting is done and still leave reasonable space around all of the traces and pads? I want to do this so I won't have to etch all that excess copper.
Sure! Place a rectangular polygon over the entire area, change
the net name to ground or another signal, unless you want it
floating. Use Ratsnest to fill the polygon. The fill can be solid
or cross-hatched (thermal relief). The spacing from other
copper can be set as desired.

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