free (handy) componat ID softeware

[petey twofinger]

this may be in the wrong place , but maybe someone could use this , i know i will !!

http://www.moyerelectronics.com/free-software.aspx

[ve3wwg]

I generally prefer to use online tools. This way they're available no matter where I go (Google for email and files is good this way also).

For resistors, the only site I tend to use is this one:

http://www.daycounter.com/Calculators/Standard-Resistor-Value-Calculator.phtml

The only disadvantage to online tools, is if they are down or disappear.

What I like about the above is that you can choose your tolerance and plug in your exact number of ohms. Then it will select the standard value for you and show you how much error there is in the selection. For example if I wanted 930 ohms, the site tells me:

The closest 10% resistor for 930 ohms is 1K ohms.
The error is 7.5 %.

If I determine that this is not good enough, I can try a 5% resistor:

The closest 5% resistor for 930 ohms is 910 ohms.
The error is 2.2 %.

This very helpful if you are designing circuits.

[petey twofinger]

i would really like to get an old lap top for schematics and such (all that SW i posted). my work area is pc/internet connection free . i really dont want to run wireless here . when i am working my bandwidth is always tied up .

i print scheme on this thick paper i dumpstered , and i want to eliminate that , for a number of  reasons . that link has an NTE part number converter . i live close to a FRYS electronics . the prices are better than Rat Shack , but i am not sure about NTE stuff . i have read bad things about it , but so far i have been happy with it .

[ve3wwg]

For schematics (and simulation) you can use the freely downloadable LTspice. It does schematics though if all you want is a schematic, then there are better tools. But LTspice lets you simulate the circuit and is fairly easy to use, once you get used to it.

I get you started with a step-by-step tutorial here:

http://www.experimentalistsanonymous.com/ve3wwg/doku.php?id=ltspice_main

The software is available here: http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/#LTspice