Ni Multisim Education License
Torie Crivello
1 This is just software, correct? Do I have to get it shipped - is it just the installation disks? Is there anything else with the package ? The shipping alone is more that the price in the link. One way would be if one can download the soft and just get the license key(s) emailed.
2 The version is outdated (at least a couple of major's?), so is it worth it? Is the included license only for v14, and the update to later (also student) versions not covered?
I believe would have to be shipped as it is a CD installation. There aren't actually any newer versions of Multisim as you can see on the National Instruments page for it: -us/support/downloads/software-products/download.multisim.html#312060. The latest version available is 14.2, which I believe we ship now, so perhaps it is possible that we can just email the appropriate serial number/activation code and you use it to appropriately activate the software after downloading it from NI's website. Whether or not that is worth it to you is more of a personal opinion so I won't be of much help in that regard.
NI does have Multisim Live now ( ) which has both a free and a paid version, though I'm not fully certain of the differences between the online version and the desktop (i.e. CD/downloaded version onto a PC). I do know that the online version does not interact with any physical hardware so it can be used as a standalone tool (as can the desktop versions, no physical hardware is required).
I must have dreamed that I saw version 16 as latest ... yesterday on their website. Sorry, probably had too many things looking at the same time, and may be confused LabView latest version number with multisim. Anyway.
The latest version 14.2 can just be downloaded from NI's website and not need a CD for installation. Otherwise yes, you will need a USB CD drive or an actual disk drive on your computer. I don't think any of the machines here at Digilent have a disk drive either, so it's been awkward for everybody. And if you do get a USB drive for it, maybe one day you'll watch an old DVD on your computer or upload an old music CD to a digital library, who knows.
The best way to make sure that the latest version is shipped would be to email our Sales team, sales at digilentinc dot com. My understanding from email threads that I have seen is that the latest version is shipped, but (for whatever reason) the associated pictures and description have not been updated.
I've been programming for about 10 years. I never learned electronics. After getting my Arduino, I'm hooked. But I feel limited. I'd like to be able to make my own simple circuits, PCB's and attachments for the Arduino.
Is there a software program that can teach electronics for less money? I now electronics is a hobby that requires cash. I understand that. I'd rather learn through software and apply what is learned to the Arduino and my bread board instead of buying tons of extra parts to experiment with that could be adequately simulated in software.
I'm not sure where you're getting $400.00 from - a basic kit to get started can be assembled, provided you know what you need (check out some of the Arduino starter kits from places like Adafruit, Earthshine, and Sparkfun for parts they use) - and you make judicious use of surplus and other low-cost outlets - for well under $100.00.
Of course, this won't stop you from burning out parts, but neither does all the education in the world. Realize now that you -will- burn parts out, sometimes expensive parts (hopefully not often, though).
Software does exist to help you learn, but you still need a knowledge base to work from. Look into tools call "circuit simulators", "SPICE modeling", and similar. Note that some of these tools aren't cheap (some are available free, though). Nor are they very easy to use (especially SPICE modeling tools - some are very heavy mathematically). Some are more geared toward beginners, though.
The biggest problem with any circuit simulator though is the fact that they work with "ideal components"; these "perfect" components don't exist in the real world. Thus, a circuit may work well in simulation only to utterly fail in real life. They are useful, though, in getting an idea of how a circuit will (or should) work, as well as for tweaking a non-working circuit to get it to work.
The first will teach you electronics from A-Z and then some; it starts off with "what is an electron and how does it work" and moves from there. The second is a series geared at more practical aspects of circuit design. It used to be you could pick the series up from Radio Shack, but not any more (though I have seen one or two of the current edition volumes at Fry's Electronics).
Make sure one of things you purchase is a multimeter. It doesn't have to be a fancy Fluke - a simple $3.00 throwaway chinese meter (like a Cen-Tech) is fine to start out with. As you purchase parts for a project, always buy a few extra of the components for possible future projects or experiments (as well in case you blow the first one, too!). The cost per part on most components (especially that of resistors, capacitors, diodes, and small transistors) is pennies extra. Just be sure you have a good storage solution for all your components (a good thing to start with is a cheap fishing tackle box or two).
Finally - I can't stress enough to use surplus dealers for the majority of component needs. For most parts, you can find the same as you would from "name brand" suppliers for a fraction of the cost (my favorite three here in the USA are All Electronics, Electronic Goldmine, and Alltronics). Next in line would be chinese suppliers via Ebay, then finally the "big guys" like Mouser and Digi-Key. Some things are only available from them, unfortunately.
I truly enjoy my Arduino. Even though I've only done the blinky tutorials, I've found my programming experience has allowed me to really play around with it regarding how it reacts and making modular code.
Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy more parts. I will consider the books, but if they're pricey they'll have to wait. If it comes down to books or parts to experiment on, maybe I'll suffer and get the parts first. At least there's info online to look up.
Believe me, most parts are mega-cheaper if you can order them from surplus vendors like I've mentioned; now, you don't say where you're from - from what I understand some surplus dealers won't (or can't?) ship to international addresses. However, if you are located here in the States, you are doing yourself a diservice by not shopping thru them.
As you can see, such software exists, both in mixed mode and digital-only (and analog-only as well, but I didn't see one off-hand). I would be willing to bet that somewhere out there, you can even find vaccuum tube simulation software, if you look hard enough! At any rate, the above are three packages I found googling on "circuit simulation software teaching"; I'm sure with a bit of effort, you can find more. As I noted before, prices are all over the map (most of the free simulation software you will find will be *nix based; look into the gEDA project for example stuff - note that the stuff is fairly powerful, but very complex to learn).
sunsun:
Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy more parts. I will consider the books, but if they're pricey they'll have to wait. If it comes down to books or parts to experiment on, maybe I'll suffer and get the parts first. At least there's info online to look up.
I would stress that if you are serious about this hobby, get the books you can -first-; even if you use simulation software, you will still want and need them to understand what is going on. A copy of Grob's "Basic Electronics", of an older edition, shouldn't be too expensive (a brand-new current edition will run you $100.00+ USD, simply because it is a college level, EE101-course textbook - but a used older edition shouldn't cost more than $25.00, depending on the condition and edition - anything post-1992 or so will have everything you need to know in it). Now, the Mimms book series can be expensive (I think new, each one of the current editions go for about $25.00 USD or so - and there are several volumes), but you can find the small pamphlet-style versions that Radio Shack used to sell in the used and second-hand category (check Ebay, Amazon, Alibris and Abe Books for starters). Depending on who, what, when and condition, you can pick them up for a couple bucks each.
The problem with online information is finding information you can trust to be accurate. Fortunately, you have these forums; you can also be sure of places like Electro-Tech Online forums - but after that, you really need to know at least something about what you are doing in order to know that the information you are reading has merit and value (and won't just cause you to scratch your head while blowing up parts). That isn't to say this forum, any others, or even Grob is perfect, but considering how long Grob's "Basic Electronics" has been published and trusted over the last couple of decades and more, it has that "authority" of accuracy to reccommend it.
sunsun:
I will pursue the college book you mentioned. I've looked online but couldn't find an ebook version. Shame. I prefer to be mobile and books are heavy. I enjoy having all of my books on one device.
Looking at the writeup there, apparently it comes with a "free" version of Multisim for the problems in the book - since you were wanting simulation software, I would say that getting the 10th edition with the CD is probably the best thing you can do (if you can afford it).
As far as scanning the book is concerned - good luck with that; if I were going to do that, I would have the book professionally debound into pages, then run them thru a high-speed multi-page scanner with OCR. The book is pretty large - it would be virtually impossible to do it one sheet at a time.
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