Eagle PCB light
http://www.cadsoftusa.com/download-eagle/freeware/?language=en
I think I was overly ambitious with my first eagle project and it stalled last fall. I’ll have to try again after tax time is done.
Eagle feels user-interface wise like a time travel in the early 90s (or worse )
I’d give diptrace a go: http://www.diptrace.com/
It also has a free non-profit version (2 layers, 300 pins. you can request a 500pin version for non-profit hobbyist or academic use) and a big upgrade/ui overhaul is coming in the next months.
Thanks for drawing these carriers Helios, although the design would not have been as time-consuming as making a circuit board, it must have taken some effort to make them.
I think the pace at which ideas come up for Oshpark designs would justify such request/suggestion thread, perhaps you could start one, or Rdb or Mattaus?
Did you see Hikelite's carrier? He may still have some left over, but if not, let's see if his design can join the list.
Good on ya, just keep it up. Another I have no idea what to do with it, but I just have to have it item. Very pretty.
Helios’ new 4 x AA boards now in op. How about a 2s2p version?
Will OSH cut those boards in square or round shape?
Ok, I’ll send him a pm to see if he can list it on Oshpark.
EDIT I pm’d him and he is still selling them so for the time being he is the place to get those triple carriers. The idea of this thread is to collect and index open sourced DIY projects that are listed on Oshpark not to pirate anyone else’s work and post it here. It’s bad karma.
I went ahead and listed Scaru’s board. I hope he doesn’t mind since it’s already shared.
Hikelite still has these boards for sale. I did enquire not long ago but I really want 4 x battery carriers.
4 x carriers are listed in the op.
Thanks, Warhawk and Dave_. Diptrace is nice I’ve been watching tutorials of both and I agree (Bare in mind that know 4/5ths of nothing) that the Diptrace is more user friendly. I like the proof reading function that checks for errors and un-connected leads and highlights them. I think I will experiment with Diptrace and see what I can learn. It looks like if you know what sensors, chips, resistors etc. as well as what pins you want to connect it will do the rest all you have to do is specify what size of copper poor and via’s you want it to use and then let it run. (Take that last statement with a very large grain of salt as I have less than 1 hour of experience and a lifetime of enthusiasm)
Eagle can do auto routing as well however from experience I can guarantee that you will want to manually trace the routs yourself. On boards such as LED drivers they don't get mind bogglingly complex so manual routing is easy to do. It also depends on how 'beautiful' you want your board to look. I can say this - automated routing will very rarely give you the best solution. You can also run design rule and routing checks in Eagle, do automated pours etc. I tried doing all that stuff at the start but the more I used Eagle the more I preferred the manual methods because of the control it gives you. It's almost as if I 'paint' the boards I make now. I do basic layout and routing and then 'free trace' every bit of copper. It's easier than it sounds.
Yeah, setting up the autorouter for the different trace sizes needed for power and signal traces etc. will take more time than routing such small projects by hand and will look way worse. 
I find little use for them at all as you can only trust them with really unimportant stuff.
A plus factor for Eagle is the number of tutorials and videos out there.
Some claim the big part libraries are a plus, but they contain so many errors that one has to check pinouts and footprints anyway. To frustrating for my taste, I rather take the few minutes to make them myself then . . .
I think that for someone who hasn’t had any contact with any cad tools, eagle will be way more difficult to get used to than diptrace or other tools.
A new user should not need to battle an unintuitive user interface, the lerning curve is already steep enough.
But that’s a question of personal taste in the end.
I’d really like to see an OshPark tutorial. I’d like to order the parts and try it. However while Ordering a custom circuit board seems really cool, I am not really sure what to send them.
Which projects might be easier to start with?
Would like a single battery driver but don’t have to have that
How is your soldering on small parts?
If you use Eagle to layut your board, all you have to do is upload OSHPARK with your Eagle .BRD file and they do the rest… none of that tedious mucking around with gerber files…
Exporting gerbers is that tedious?
Oshpark has choked on some .brds. Gerbers get processed smoothly.
I have found that if it chokes on the first try, resetting and trying again usually runs it…that is if the .brd meets the “rules” requirement…