Customer Reviews

Protolab Circuit & Test PC Simulator

5 star:		(2)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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I bought this item through Amazon.com. First thing you should know is that the advertising of the product while true, does not tell you that It is on 3.5 inch disc. In 2008, who still uses 3.5 inch discs? The soft ware works, but is at least 10 years old and really out of date. Had I known this I would have not bought it as there are newer and better design software available. So yes it does work, but wished I bought something different. I would not recommend this item.

This software can be very helpful when you need to calculate the value of a resistor needed to do a particular job. You could do the calculations with Ohm's law, or you can just insert values until you get the current or voltage you want in the circuit. If you are studying electronics, or puzzling out a circuit, you can use this software to build a circuit without the expense of the actual components, the time required to assemble an actual circuit, or the risk of blowing components.

Capacitors available in the program are not polarized as are electrolytics. There are inductance coils available, but no transformers, which would be helpful at times.

Recently I tried to simulate a voltage doubler circuit from the schematic of a circuit known to work, but the results in simulation did not reflect what I know works. The simulation voltages were much lower, and I do not know why.

After I bought this program on sale at Radio Shack for Windows 3.0 up through 98, I upgraded my computer to Windows 2000 and now I have an XP machine. The Protolab folks were very helpful and sent me the files for Windows 2000/XP with no hassle.

If I knew more about electronics, I might attempt things the program will not do. But, it has been a good value for me. I am still learning things about using it. If you print a circuit to paper, it prints black circuit lines and component symbols on a white background.

First, the product arrived on a CD-ROM, not a floppy. Not a big deal, I have a USB floppy drive, for old copies of documents, etc.

Second, it cannot be installed on Window 7. The application is 16-bit, and unless you have XP or older, or have Windows XP mode within Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you are unable to use it. The company, Global Specialties Software, on their website, also warns their product does not run on 64-bit Windows systems (7 or Vista).

I haven't spent enough time for a full review of the software, just wanted to send out this warning, so others don't hit the initial roadblock, like I did.

Great tool to use to learn about circuits while taking an electronics course. Easy to install (requires disk drive)