Re: gEDA-user: lost newbie

[sdb@xxxxxxxxxx (Stuart Brorson)]

Hi --

> 
> Stuart this is more your area. I am interested too? Is there a tutorial
> on using gschem, gnetlist, one of the spice packages and then a wave
> form display package?

The best we have is the documentation I pointed to here:

http://archives.seul.org/geda/user/Jan-2006/msg00073.html

The "all about circuits" website has useful info about SPICE in
general: 

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_5/chpt_7/index.html

However having looked at Marc's circuit, I suggest -- with all
kindness -- that he do a little more reading about power supply design
before he gets too involved with SPICE.  Then, he will need to learn
more about SPICE itself too.

To start off,  on the circuit sidethe secondary of his
transformer will be a short for 1/2 of every cycle. (Look at how D1 in
his first schematic is wired across the secondary.)  He also has a LED
shorting the nets he thinks are the power/GND rails.

On the SPICE side, well, he doesn't know it but SPICE doesn't have
models for transformers.  YOu need to create two inductors and then
define a mutual inductance.  It's not for newbies.  Also, he has a
Zener in the circuit -- again not a SPICE native component (although
you can gin one up by playing with the .model paramters ... not for
newbies.  Finally, he doesn't have a GND, which is a SPICE 101 no-no.

There are many other basic errors here.  I suggest that Marc do a
little more reading and then come back.  The difficulties he is
experiencing are not due to gEDA being "hard to use", but are rather
because he needs a little more knowledge.  I suggest he go out and buy
"The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill, which is a most
excellent introduction to electronics. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521370957/qid=1136572727/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3632161-7873654?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Looking forward to hearing from Marc again after reading Horowitz and
Hill, 

Stuart