PS-CAD Software for Students at University of Toronto
University of Toronto ECE Department holds licenses for the electrical simulation software 'PS-CAD' from Manitoba Hydro. PS-CAD is used in some ECE courses such as ECE1049, ECE1059, as well as in graduate research.
PS-CAD runs on Microsoft Windows. There are licenses for classroom use installed on the 'ECF' drop-in Windows computing labs. Undergraduate engineering students have access to these computing labs and can run PS-CAD there.
Students in the M.Eng. program have use of a small drop-in computing lab in Bahen building, where versions of PS-CAD v.4 have been installed.
As well, M.Eng students or undergrads taking a course with PS-CAD may receive access to install PS-CAD on their own Windows computer or laptop, using a 'join code' which the course instructor will provide. This lets you activate a license that is valid through the length of your course.
ECE MASc and PhD students working in Energy Systems may access the research licenses for PS-CAD by contacting ECEHELP to get a different 'join code' for the research licenses. This license activation can be used for any research application you may have, and the activation will remain valid for several years.
How to install PS-CAD software
Register a user account at HVDC MyCentre website
The latest release of PS-CAD can be downloaded for free from the Manitoba Hydro website. To download the latest installer from www.pscad.com, each user has to register for a free login using their UofT email. This is the link to register:
https://mycentre.hvdc.ca/register
Once logged in, users can go to
where there is a Download tab with links for the products their login can access.
Users need to get a certificate license through our subscription so their login will have access to the Educational edition. Use the 'join code' given to you by your instructor or by ECEHELP to link your MyCentre login to the appropriate license “workgroup” for ECE's PS-CAD license.
Installing PS-CAD on your Windows computer
Documentation on installing PSCAD on a Windows PC or laptop is posted here:
v.4.X: https://www.pscad.com/knowledge-base/article/577
v.5: https://www.pscad.com/knowledge-base/article/640
When installing, be sure to check the option to include the EMTDC / Fortran (GFortran) compiler option, as this is needed to link PS-CAD with Matlab. If this is omitted, the compiler can be added later by downloading G77 Fortran from their site via this link:
https://pscad.com/resource/File/PSCADV421Student/ecgs.zip
You can run PS-CAD as a standard Windows user; log in with the Windows login you normally use, and configure licensing, using the HVDC MyCentre login and password you created earlier. You can follow the license activation steps in the Quick Start guide PDF for your version of PS-CAD (v. 4.x or v. 5)