Micro-Cap Circuit Simulator is free now

[rackmonkey]

I had Micro-Cap version 9 and really liked it. It has some pretty cool features. It appears that Spectrum Software (the company that made it) went under, and has made version 12 available free of charge.

I'm just passing on what I read in a Hackaday news article, so don't beat me up if it's not correct. I haven't had a chance to check it out myself yet and probably won't until tomorrow, but thought I'd pass it on.

https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/

 

[rackmonkey]

Versions 10, 11 and 12 are all freely available now. Take a look at the brochure or browse through the manual. It's a cool Spice customization that's worth a look.

Link to the download page.

http://www.spectrum-soft.com/download/download.shtm

 

[PRR]

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/software-tools/340947-ltspice-vs-micro-cap-free-whats-difference.html

 

[rackmonkey]

Thanks for the link. Good back and forth on the pros/cons of switching from LTSpice.

So this is old news then. Became free around the middle of last summer. And I get a pop up story on my news feed from Hackaday like it’s breaking news. Go figure.

Nonetheless, it’s a compelling product. The O-scope, magnetic core analysis, point-and-probe, and the fact that there are something like 400+ tube models built in set it apart from LTSpice alone. And there’s a lot of good stuff for the digital realm as well.

Does anyone regularly use Micro-Cap? Which version(s)? Any thoughts on it vs LTSpice?

 

[john12ax7]

Haven't heard this so it's new to me.  Gonna download and give it a go.  Thanks for posting.

 

[ruffrecords]

I am pleased to report the 32 bit version MicroCap runs successfully on Linux under wine. I like the way when you alter a component value it automagically updates the sim results. Neat.

Cheers

Ian

 

[rackmonkey]

Glad you got it running, Ian. Keep us posted on any interesting observations you make. I’m planning to install 12 tonight and will do the same .

I used uCap 9 for a while, but as it was the demo version I eventually ran into its limitations and went back to LTSpice. Looking forward to digging into the full version of 12.

 

[clintrubber]

FWIW / OT:  Using SIMetrix elements (=free) here, I like the program.

https://www.simplistechnologies.com/product/elements

Circuit limit applies, but haven't hit the roof so far. When that starts to happen I might try MicroCap, thanks for this thread.