Project Standards

The following file formats are represented in the design database. All files are released under the GNU General Public License, which is included with each file set.

Design Specifications

All Specification documents are supplied as both Adobe Acrobat .pdf files, and rich text format .rtf files. The native file format in which the document was written may also be included. If this is the case, the program and version are explicitly stated.

Hardware Design Files

Manufacturing file sets – Gerber photoplotter and Excellon Drill Files. These are the most common of the manufacturing formats, and are sufficient to send to most any printed circuit board manufacturer to have the bare board manufactured. We use these exact files to have our prototype bare boards built. We attach the .zip format file to an email, and send it to the shop for quotations and fabrication. The .zip format is used, since all board shops are able to handle that.

Schematic files in HPGL plotter format. If you have a plotter available, this makes beautiful prints. Actually, these files can be read by a lot of other programs, and since they were generated straight out of the CAD program, they give excellent detail.

Schematic files in Adobe Acrobat format. These .pdf files contain the schematics in a form which can be read by anyone with the freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader.

CAD Source files

Several CAD systems are represented among our volunteers, and any given design may have been designed in one or more of the following formats. The choice of these formats is based on what the volunteers have available for use.

Eagle version 4.13 – generated by the GNU/Linux version of Cadsoft?s excellent Eagle CAD program http://www.cadsoft.de/ . These files will also work perfectly with the Wxx version of Eagle. The directory includes the schematic, printed circuit board, and library components.

Tango Schematic 1.50 and Tango PCB Plus 2.30 – generated by the last DOS version of Tango Schematic and Tango PCB. The directory includes the schematic, printed circuit board, and library components. The PCB files may be read by OrCad Layout, although we have had some errors in file conversion. Use of Tango is deprecated.

Programmable Logic Source Files

All CPLD design is done in VHDL. The files we provide include the entire directory tree for the design, as generated by Lattice ispExpert with Synplicity, version 8.2 or later. This runs either under Wxx or Solaris, and we keep applying pressure for Lattice to port it to GNU/Linux. Files include not only the source code in VHDL, but also the JEDEC file for programming the CPLD, and the full compiler simulation results.

Driver and Test Files

Driver file formats are explicitly listed as to what system was used in their development. The default system for GNU/Linux is GNU cc. The default 16-bit (dos) system is Borland Turbo C 2.0. The default 32-bit (Wxx) system is Borland/Inprise C++ Builder 5.0.

Future Formats

Additional file formats may be added at any time. It all depends on what additional tools may be made available, and what tools future volunteers use.