I've been using Protel 99SE for the past several years for schematic=
=20
and PCB layout. I also have a license for Orcad's tools as well. I=
=20
switched from Orcad because they went "dongled" and kept upping their=
=20
yearly maintenance fee after Cadence bought them. Their PCB layout
package also left a lot to be desired in features and user interface.

I'd say Protel 99SE is one of the best under $10K packages for=20
professional work. It's much better now than the previous versions yo=
u=20
probably used. I don't autoroute much, but the Protel autorouter is O=
K.
Since Altium (former Protel) came out with DXP, they've more or less=
=20
given up support for Protel 99SE. There are still lots of users using=
=20
it however, as DXP is still pretty buggy yet. There is a good email=
=20
list, similar to PIClist for Protel users.

On that list, several users have reported very good results routing=
=20
with Specctra -- mostly higher density designs on 6+ layers. A lot of=
=20
users also report good results with the Protel router for designs les=
s=20
than this. My impression is that like a lot of tools you need to lear=
n=20
it's "personality quirks" to get the most out of it.

Overall, I'm not tempted at this time to switch to any other package=
=20
I've seen. Other than price, I think it's a huge step up from Eagle.

BTW, Altium is still selling Protel 99SE and you should be able to ge=
t=20
a 30-day demo CD from them.

Matt Pobursky=20
Maximum Performance Systems=20

On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 16:37:03 -0400, Bob Blick wrote:
>=A0>=A0Yes, Eagle keeps me from becoming lazy also. Can't beat the
>=A0autorouter
>=A0>=A0for the price though!
>=A0
>=A0I'd like to find something better than Eagle. Price up to $15k. I=
've=20
>=A0got experience with Specctra autorouter, and I consider it very g=
ood,
>=A0can anyone compare it and the autorouter in the Protel 99SE/XP=
=20
>=A0package? My last experience with Protel was in 1995 and it was cr=
ap.

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