Your Component Best Friends - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 10:32:57 am
content: What are your component best friends? That is those that you favour dearly. You can trust them, they never let you down, are reliable, great specs, readily available, and low cost. And you would give them thewithout hesitation.OK, many of us favoured 2N3055's and 555 timers in years gone by. But what about now?Let me start with two of mine...IRFML8244 - A very low cost n-channel MOSFET from International Rectifier in a SOT-23 package with a very low RDSONthat is rated to about 5A.PIC16F1947 - A nice, low cost Microchip micro that has become a favourite for low to medium end embedded projects. It has a nice mix of I/O and features for general purpose.Anyone else got their favourite component, or even brand? Why do you favour them and why?Sharing this knowledge is good so we can keep up with great components to use in our own designs.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:09:33 am
content: IRF5851 Complementary P & N channel mosfets in SOT23/6 package.Use for gate driver for many power devices. Great for driving with logic.Tiny and NO quiescent current

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:16:10 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on March 28, 2014, 10:32:57 amYou might find the FDC637BNZ an interesting part to look at.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:29:43 am
content: 10k resistors and 0.1u capacitors.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:44:28 am
content: ONSemi NCP1402, 5v projects from a single AA

author: bookaboo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:58:06 am
content: ULN2803A relay driver.If it's failed, someone has done something wrong.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 12:14:35 pm
content: TIP122, LM358, LM2904, TL084, LM317, 1117 regulator, OP07, BC847, BC857, BSS123, BSS84, IRFZ44 and shitload of others

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 10:49:54 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on March 28, 2014, 11:16:10 amYep, nice specs. The part is rated up to 6.2A. But it has 4 drains and only 1 source pin. It would be better to have 2 source pins, so the current can be more balanced between the drain and the source.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 10:54:08 pm
content: Quote from: zapta on March 28, 2014, 11:29:43 amTrue. And 1K as well. But go into any well used electronics lab anywhere in the world. You will find plenty of resistors of odd values, but the 10K resistors are always missing.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 10:55:11 pm
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on March 28, 2014, 10:49:54 pmI believe it's done that way for thermal reasons.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2014, 11:57:38 pm
content: Many years ago, I got a free bag of a few hundred 100uF, 10V tantalum caps, and I still have about 1/4 of the bag. I called it "noise away" and regularly used them to stiffen voltage rails in various equipment.As for resistor values, 10k, 1k, and 4k7 are the values I seem to use the most in microcontroller projects. I don't seem to have a specific microcontroller I really like. I just use whatever best fits the application, which most of the time is a PIC24, dsPIC, PIC18, or MSP430.

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 03:00:09 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on March 28, 2014, 10:54:08 pmIf it's really popular the 4.7ks will be missing as well.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 03:48:11 am
content: Knowing that my 4.7k and 10k supplies are constantly dwindling, I try to keep a full baggie of 200 on hand at all times.My average breadboarding session involves...Resistors: 1/4W 5% carbon film, various (usually E6) valuesPower resistors 0.05 ohm - 50k+ as neededCapacitors:<= 100pF: C0G ceramic disc100pF - 999pF: C0G MLCC1nF - 0.1uF: film, PP or PE, boxed or dipped style0.1uF: also 50V X7R MLCCBeefy bypass: 1uF 160V and 8.2uF 250V film, as neededElectrolytics:10uF 50V, 47uF 35V, 220uF 25V, 1000uF 25V (and others as needed)Tantalum:10uF 35V (also, some surplus 10uF 50V M39003 style dry slug cans... heavy!)Inductors and transformers: various (mostly salvage); made-to-order as neededBJTs: 2N3904, 2N3906 for almost everything; 4401/3 for higher current; TIP31/32 for power, or various others;2SD1273 for when you need, say, a low-dropout emitter follower with as little bias as possible (now obsolete; superbeta power transistor!); MJE13007 for high voltage switching; various othersJFETs: 2N5486, PN4393, J105, etc. (infrequently used)MOSFETs: 2N7002/BSS84 (on breakouts), IRF510, IRFZ46N (and other salvaged parts), NDT3055L (on breakout, or in deadbug prototypes), IRF640, various others (from IR, Fairchild, ST, Infineon, etc.)ICs:LM393 by far the most handy; if I just need an oscillator, I'll reach for one as often as I do NE555 (which isn't very often), plus lots of other things.Op-amps: LM358 (GP), LF412, TL072 or LM833 (high quality, not RR; JFET types for lower input bias current); TLV2372 (RRIO); various othersLM319 (faster, beefier than LM339/393)Optoisolators, in order of performance: 4N35, 6N136, SFH6345, HCPL-something (I have to look up which)SMPS controllers: TL494 (PP, voltage mode), UC3842 (flyback or etc., peak current mode), UCC3808 (PP, peak current mode), TPS54233 (2A, 300kHz integrated switch buck regulator)Computation: ATmega324P, others as needed (I've played with a Z80-CPU before; also have an MC68000, but haven't touched it)Logic: anything CD4000 (usually for interface with 12V analog circuits) or 74HC (5V logic and interface) (not so much HC, unfortunately; most of what I've salvaged has been LS, and I buy HC slowly).Tubes: 12AX7, 12AU7, 6AU6, 6GH8, 6AL5, 6CS6, etc. (also power devices, but I don't have bench supplies to run or heat them)I'm sure this is just scratching the surface of an exhaustive list, especially if you want to get deep into the tail of the "rarely used" set. A great many circuits can be built from just the components (or types) listed, but a great many more circuits need things just a little bit better, or different, from these, especially just to make sense (e.g., why use a hundred 2N3904s when an IC will do).Tim

author: ErikTheNorwegian
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 12:28:44 pm
content: 20 and 30 mm glas fuses.. loads of them.

author: TerminalJack505
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 06:24:28 pm
content: Probably one of my favorites is the TL431. A three-pin wonder.

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 06:29:02 pm
content: BC337

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 08:29:56 pm
content: Quote from: TerminalJack505 on March 29, 2014, 06:24:28 pmOh yes, how could I forget!I love making "three transistor" switching supplies with 0.1% regulated outputs. Cheating with TL431s is amazing.Also the TLV431 -- 1.24V, < 0.1mA bias, ~10V max.Oh, I remembered what opto I was forgetting: HCPL-7710. 5V CMOS logic level output, high speed (>>1Mbps). In case anyone was wondering (probably no one even got that far).Tim

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 09:34:18 pm
content: LM339/LM393 and LM358/LM324.For higher BW and lower bias current, TL072/TL074.

author: rollatorwieltje
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 09:42:19 pm
content: BC547 / BC557LM324CNY17 / 4n32 (in a stylish white package)red diffuse 5mm LED0.1" pin header stripsI know, some ancient parts, but theyJust Work™

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2014, 10:51:34 pm
content: I don't have any component friends but I always was kind of a weirdo

author: TMM
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2014, 07:04:52 am
content: LM4562 for low distortion audio work.2N2222A/2N2907A because TO-18 packages are cool :pQuote from: VK3DRB on March 28, 2014, 10:32:57 am+1. IRLML0030 is pretty good too. IRLML9301 if you need a P-channel.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2014, 07:34:36 am
content: As an analogue old kind of guy 1N4004. Bit thick and slow.