MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 06:20:58 +0000
Message-ID: <CAGMfzYQvEGxbi69-UFY5sWkRmKK5wE50puODBC2RbSiZ8mi1wA@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: [geda-user] Converting schematic from OrCAD to gschem
From: "Katya M." <katya115200 AT gmail DOT com>
To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com

Hello Community,

I am building a GSM modem board based on a certain obsolete chipset
from a little over a decade ago. I am using the chip vendor's
reference design as my starting point. The chip vendor (who no longer
make these chips and want nothing to do with them) used OrCAD for
their schematics, but for my board I would like to use gEDA.

My question: is there any way to convert a schematic drawing from
OrCAD's proprietary binary format (.dsn) into gschem other than
manually redrawing it from scratch based on a paper printout of the
original?

I found the historic DSN file here:

ftp://ftp.ifctf.org/pub/GSM/Calypso/Leonardo_rev05.dsn

There are also a few Leonardo_*.pdf files in there, containing PDF
schematics for 3 slightly different versions of their board. 3
different PDF versions, but only one DSN - and I'm not even sure which
of the 3 the DSN corresponds to, as I have no way to open or view it.

The parts of the circuit depicted on the "200 Baseband Chip-Set" and
"600 Rita QB RF" sheets will need to be copied almost verbatim from
the reference design to mine, so I would really like to simply
"import" these sheets from the OrCAD drawing, if possible. If no
scripted conversion of any kind is possible, the fallback would be to
redraw all of the symbols and nets on those two sheets manually in
gschem, based on one of the PDF versions, but I'm hoping there might
be some better way...

TIA,
Katya