EIA Codes! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2021, 09:55:28 pm
content: I'm back to work on my EIA Code compilation project after a long hiatus, so I thought I'd re-post it for those that may have missed it.What are EIA codes?For anyone researching old electronics and their manufacturers (circa 1946 to 2001), the 6-8 digit EIA code that is printed on components can shed a lot of light on the history of electronic components. A lot of people use these codes to find who made speakers, potentiometers, transformers, etc. and also to date when those components were manufactured.This page on Triode Electronics does a great job of explaining how to make use of them, but the list of companies on that page is far from complete:http://www.triodeel.com/eiacode.htmSo what is this thing?Over the last 2 years I've been digitizing and compiling as many EIA Production Source Date Code lists as I could scrounge together into a massive, searchable spreadsheet. No longer will you need to fiddle with PDF documents containing scanned images of 50 year old paper!My list so far (V 3.4) compiles 25 different yearly lists (of the total 55 lists ever published between 1946 to 2001), and despite that there are still plenty of different company numbers that are missing from the list (about 61 by my count, not counting re-used EIA numbers over the years).I just got physical copies of 7 EIA code lists, that are unavailable on the internet, from about 1964 to 1971 and I'll be digitizing them in the coming weeks/months. The plan is to have a total of 31 lists in the compilation by the end of summer.Eventually the plan is to complete the collection and then I can simplify the list down to just date ranges.Is all this really necessary?Of course not. I'm just weird and I like doing this archival work.If you work on old Tube gear, you could probably get by fine with just using one or two lists from the 50's and 60's, but the history of the codes in the 70's and onwards is still murky. Seeing enough esoteric components over a long enough career, you're bound to run into some obscure EIA code that requires way too much research than is worth to figure out the manufacturer.Well I've done the work for you and it's freely available to anyone who wants to make use of it!Here is my ever-evolving Google spreadsheet compilation of EIA codes.Save and share to your hearts content:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P1jeVIQ9UdwlhXTDLQEDxYuShjFQZO_4tUchw5_8N9o/edit?usp=sharing

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2021, 04:27:19 pm
content: 1965 and 1967 lists added, and list renamed to V 3.6.Link above still works but here it is again:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P1jeVIQ9UdwlhXTDLQEDxYuShjFQZO_4tUchw5_8N9o/edit?usp=sharing

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2021, 11:24:47 pm
content: V 3.9 now live! Added 1968, 1969 and 1971The total is now up to 30 different lists.I'm re-designing the color masking for the different years and plan to have those updated in V 4.0

author: ANTALIFE
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2021, 01:11:48 am
content: Thanks for taking the time to make such a comprehensive list, always love finding random resources like this!

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2021, 11:23:57 am
content: I appreciate it! Glad if I can be of some small help.I'm getting more lists soon, so the compilation will continue to evolve in the near future, but the link should stay unchanged.

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2021, 04:50:03 pm
content: V 4.0 now live! Biggest update to the list so far, even though I just added one yearly list.Added 1973 list (Thanks to Tim from the antiqueradios.com forum!)Completely revamped the color range for years. Overhauled lots of smaller things to improve legibility and fix various formatting issues, spelling inconsistencies and design issues.This is the definitive version of my compilation until I get more lists to digitize (on the way!)

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2021, 01:27:12 pm
content: V4.3 of the compilation now live! Added 1977 and 1987 listsAmong the companies just added to the compilation for the first time is #425 - Moog Electronics in 1987Got 2 more lists waiting for digitization: 1966 and 1980, so they'll be added very soon.Old link still works, but here it is again:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P1jeVIQ9UdwlhXTDLQEDxYuShjFQZO_4tUchw5_8N9o/edit?usp=sharingAnd for those who want a shorter URL: tinyurl.com/eiacodes

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2021, 05:51:45 pm
content: V4.5 now live! Added 1966 and 1980Updated the custom PDF version of the list, which can be downloaded from the top bar of the compilation or from this link:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pK5ywjTc2VVk-acPPP3CZwBRFjY5UzED/view?usp=sharingIt's break time for me until I get more lists to transcribe. Got about 7 more lists I'm hoping to acquire in the next few weeks, but any help in finding or scanning more lists is always welcome

author: jaycobie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2021, 04:47:05 pm
content: V5.0 is now live!Added 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 lists (Thanks to the ECIA for scanning their library copies!)Also added information on the 20 numbers still missing from the list. See "More information" tab in the compilation for details.Updated the custom PDF version to V5.0 as well. Here are direct links:Main compilation:tinyurl.com/eiacodesorhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P1jeVIQ9UdwlhXTDLQEDxYuShjFQZO_4tUchw5_8N9o/PDF version of V5.0:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1amkDtjsn9VPbdUomzMiuRCD0UvEj4Wtw/view?usp=sharing