[SI-LIST] Re: Inexpensive SI software

Hi Alex,

Altium's SI tools were updated with their last release.  There is a video of 
the most recent features in action here:

http://altium.com/VideoPlayer/index.htm?lib=ad66_nf&flid=2

It does have a 'sweep' feature to compare various parameters on a single graph 
but I don't know if it takes board stackup or layout into consideration.

Also, it looks to be more fiddly to analyse crosstalk than HyperLynx - you need 
to set up a rule to find nets which run next to each other before you can 
select and analyse the crosstalk.

I don't have the most recent version of Altium Designer to be able to comment 
more on the video's features.  It has come on a lot in the latest release - 
beyond that I can't say.

Best regards,

Iain Waugh


On 16/01/2010, at 9:57 PM, alex@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi Dave,
> 
> Altium is very good at Schematic+PCB and I've been a very happy user for
> the last 10 years.
> 
> Having said that, the SI and Spice simulation part of Altium is not really
> useful for anything.  Figuring out how to add the right model (and in the
> format that _Altium_ want) is a pain.  After reading the documentation and
> trying to import some SPICE models for a few days, I gave up.  I've not
> found yet how to properly import IBIS models in Altium... but I look at
> this over a year ago.
> 
> 
> I'm using LTSpice (free) when I need to do simple Spice simulations.  At
> least, I get a results without spending DAYS importing Spice models.
> 
> 
> As a happy customer of Hyperlynx, I can really recommend that tool.  You
> can buy only the "LineSim" part of it, and it should be cheaper that the
> complete LineSim/PCB/PI/... product.  With LineSim, you'll be able to
> perform 99% of what you said you want to simulate.  The big advantage is
> that you're going to start simulating the SAME day you get the tool :) and
> get good results.  Try to get a 30 days fully functional evaluation
> version from Mentor.
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Alexandre Desnoyers
> 
> 
> 
>> All:
>> It doesn't have to be HyperLynx ;)  It could be some other product.  I
>> don't know anything about
>> Hspice, and at $12K, I can't afford it.  BTW, does anyone know what
>> Altium's Designer product's SI
>> module is like.
>> 
>> -Dave Pollum
>> 
>> 
>> Joel Brown wrote:
>>> Although we have Hyperlynx, I find myself using Hspice instead.
>>> The drawback is you have to manually enter models in a text file but it
>>> has
>>> a lot of flexibility. I find Hyperlynx very clumsy when it comes to
>>> using
>>> different types of models such as IBIS, Hspice, RGLC, etc.
>>> I think Hspice costs around $12K. Often IC vendors can only provide
>>> Hspice
>>> models and then you have no choice anyway.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>>> On
>>> Behalf Of Dave Pollum
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 3:47 PM
>>> To: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [SI-LIST] Inexpensive SI software
>>> 
>>> I've been doing some freelance PCB layout using a low cost PCB CAD
>>> software
>>> (Cadsoft's EAGLE).  I'm
>>> getting into situations designing denser 4 layer boards where it would
>>> handy
>>> to use an SI tool.  I'm
>>> concerned about rise/fall times of 1 - 2 ns or faster signals,
>>> crosstalk,
>>> the effects of long
>>> traces, and switching layers (top to bottom), etc.  I've download the
>>> HyperLynx demo (BoardSim &
>>> LineSIM), and it looks really cool.  But I can't actually use the demo
>>> to
>>> anything real.  And I
>>> suspect I can't afford it.  I'd like to spend no more than $4K(USD).  As
>>> an
>>> alternative, I've
>>> considered buying Altium's Designer software ($4K) that claims to have
>>> built-in SI abilities.  Are
>>> Altium's SI features any good?
>>> 
>>> Suggestions, anyone?
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------

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