<whitequark>
azonenberg: what do you use to calculate coupled microstrip geometry?
<whitequark>
the kicad calculator refuses to give me anything besides "nan"
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<azonenberg>
whitequark: These days? I dont use any of the closed-form pcb calculators anymore
<azonenberg>
i just use a field solver
<whitequark>
i should've known better lol
<azonenberg>
i trust Sonnet's numbers much more than some curve somebody fit to a very complex pile of differential equations that may or may not be a close fit in the particular dimensions i'm working with
<azonenberg>
as much as i'd love for openems to be usable, it's not
<azonenberg>
its a nice solver core with zero usability because there's no UI
<azonenberg>
coding my geometry up in python and writing my own renderer for the results is unacceptable
<whitequark>
ouch
<azonenberg>
So i figured given the choice between not getting my work done, and getting my work done using a proprietary blob with excellent support
<azonenberg>
the choice was pretty clear
<azonenberg>
When i say excellent support, btw, i mean that I bought the software two days before christmas
<noopwafel>
(get distracted and try writing your own new tool?)
<azonenberg>
On christmas eve, i was tinkering around and managed to create a design that segfaulted the solver
<azonenberg>
i emailed support and an hour later, had a reply from a support engineer with a workaround that avoided the crash
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<whitequark>
hm. how expensive it is
<azonenberg>
an hour after that, i had a reply from a developer who had identified the root cause, began working on a fix to be included in the February point release, and had a better workaround
<azonenberg>
On CHRISTMAS EVE two hour turn time to feedback from an actual developer
<azonenberg>
whitequark: Depends on which version you want :p
<whitequark>
oh there's a lite version
<gruetzkopf>
as a developer i do not find it that desirable :>
<azonenberg>
The lite version (requires email registration) caps you to 32 MB of ram so only fairly small models, and no thick metal model so you can't do super closely coupled coplanar waveguides or diffpairs accurately
<azonenberg>
also only runs on windows because version 15 didnt have linux support
<azonenberg>
the paid versions are at v17 and all run on linux natively, although i haven't yet got the 3d geometry viewer to work on linux (havent cared enough to open a support ticket, i'm sure they'd get it working)
<azonenberg>
L2 basic is on the order of $4K
<azonenberg>
That's what i have, although i plan to upgrade to L2 silver (roughly double that, although if you already own a lower version they credit the cost toward an upgrade) down the road. and possibly higher
<azonenberg>
But the lite version is more than adequate for basic trace impedance calculations as long as you have a windows VM handy. It might also run under wine, haven't tried
<azonenberg>
gruetzkopf: the whole company wasnt working on xmas eve
<azonenberg>
but apparently they try to get at least one or two people to cover holidays
<azonenberg>
whitequark: another closed source but good option is Saturn PCB. I don't know the exact algorithm it uses for impedance calculations but it claims to track sonnet
<azonenberg>
my conjecture is that they did a bunch of parameter sweeps for standard microstrip, diffpair, etc geometry in sonnet and fit a curve to it
<azonenberg>
it's much faster since it's just a polynomial evaluation and not actually evaluating maxwell's equations on a grid, but of course it won't work for arbitrary geometry
<azonenberg>
as with the lite version of sonnet, saturn is a closed source windows blob
<azonenberg>
unknown if it runs under wine
<azonenberg>
but it's free-as-in-beer, i dont think they even have a paid version
<GenTooMan>
hmm maybe I should look at the KiCAD source for what they are using to do the calculator. I'm curious.
<kc8apf>
given my power has been out for 16h now, a 24V backup solution seems useful
<azonenberg>
kc8apf: thats like twice the size of the meanwell i'm going with
<azonenberg>
(DR-UPS40)
<azonenberg>
actually its shorter and wider, might not be that much different volume
<kc8apf>
Rhino is Automation Direct's house brand. Cheap but often....awkward
<gruetzkopf>
i could run down an take pics of my backup battery :P
<kc8apf>
they have a more normal sized module for $60
<gruetzkopf>
60V 3200Ah lead/acid job :P
<kc8apf>
gruetzkopf: I'll be putting in a 20kVA generator w/ ATS as soon as my old house sells
<gruetzkopf>
right next to the 60kVA diesel
<azonenberg>
I have a 6 kVA UPS with hardwired emergency power to eight circuits around the house
<azonenberg>
as well as a transfer switch for a genset but i dont actually have one installed yet
<kc8apf>
Diesel! luxury! I'll have a big propane tank for generator and backup heat
<azonenberg>
i sold my old 120V genset to lain a few months ago
<azonenberg>
I'm going with propane as well. Much more storable for a seldom-used system
<gruetzkopf>
heh, the generator is far older than me
<kc8apf>
Monroe has propane delivery that will come out to where I am
<azonenberg>
gruetzkopf: my battery right now is an eaton 9px6k
<azonenberg>
:p
<azonenberg>
i plan to get some EBMs for it but right now just running on the internal battery
<gruetzkopf>
it's legal (and far more reliable) to run them on heating oil here, as long as it's not providing traction power for something (yay tax code)
<kc8apf>
I'm only online right now because Comcast Business has 1/2 price if I got phone service and an LTE backup. Turns out the LTE backup actually works whereas my phone does not
<gruetzkopf>
soo for UPS i have one old 230V/40A/1ph-out inverter on that battery
<azonenberg>
kc8apf: interesting, they never made that offer to me
<azonenberg>
but the cell towers dont have a ton of backup power here, i think just UPS
<azonenberg>
so in an extended outage they drop off too :p
<azonenberg>
if i got backup i'd probably want satellite or something
<kc8apf>
VZW seems to still be functional
<kc8apf>
the Cradelpoint box Comcast provides runs both AT&T and VZW
<gruetzkopf>
and for some "fun" stuff there's a few rotary converters