You can take any program that has a size limit, subdivide your
schematic, and "make do".  Eagle seems to be a very popular program, and
fairly well supported (if one with a bit of a learning curve.)

<G>  A sneaky person would do their board at 1/10 scale or something.  I
rarely see a limit that was all that well implemented, in software with
limitations.  Some people don't think system-wide...

  Mark

Mario Thomaidis wrote:
>
> Hello
>
> I have a question to pose to those you who are familiar with PCB design.
> I have a PCB I would like to create for production, but am having
> trouble deciding on what route to take. First of all, I will ask about
> PCB tools. At this point, I am not inclined to spend several thousand,
> or even hundreds of dollars for a PCB CAD tool (read: looking for a very
> low cost solution - will not be used often).
>
> To this end, I have noticed that both Protel (30 day evaluation) and
> Eagle Lite have been mentioned several times before. The problem with
> Protel is the huge cost (after 30 days) - although the 30 day evaluation
> period would be more than enough for me to do what I need. The problem
> with Eagle Lite is that I have a big board to design ~33cm(14")x15cm(6")
> - so it is not really an option (there are not many components, however
> - in fact, I think I might even be able to get away with a single sided
> board with jumpers), but I ask about it because maybe the full Eagle
> package will be a practical solution.
>
> I have in fact tried using Protel 99, but have found it impossible to
> use given my lack of familiarity and its very poor documentation. I have
> not tried Eagle Lite since it doesn't support a large enough board.
>
> My questions: Do I have a hope for a low cost solution to my PCB design
> goal? If so, what might it be? If I go the route of the full Eagle
> package, what does it cost? Is it well documented? If I try the
> evaluation version of Protel 99, does anyone have any kind useful
> documentation or hand-holding guidance to provide? I doubt Protel can be
> worth the money for purchase given that I don't expect to have to make a
> board this big ever again - can anyone convince me otherwise? Thanks.
>
> Mario

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