Is the 1N4001 going obsolete? Fry's thinks so... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ratdude747
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:00:46 am
content: Here's a real winner; Fry's selection of diodes. They have every NTE diode pack known to man... but no freaking 1N4001's!It's like the most jellybean of jellybean diodes. I was just looking for two for a little project (my part stash is at my parents' house still)... but no.The staff was no help... "diode applications are like obsolete"... Yeah...Without diodes your phone wouldn't charge and your computer wouldn't have a PSU.Looks like I'll be raiding the part stash the next time I'm over... At least Fry's had automotive style relays (with screw-tabs for mounting); the project is recreating a missing relay harness to a HID light kit that I bought for cheap (5000K, all new, $25 at Goodwill) and the diodes are used on the control side of the relay. For those who are curious, I've attached a copy of my crappy schematic I sketched (because I was too lazy to KiCAD it).

author: SteveK
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:34:01 am
content: So far it looks like a lot of manufacturers are making 1N4001 so unlikely obsolete anytime soon. But other thru hole parts are rapidly going obsolete. Many common TO-92 transistors in particular seem to have been particularly hard hit. Not too big of a deal for new designs but a pretty significant problem for repairing older products.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:54:15 am
content: I would imagine they are making 1n4007 and 1n4003's and binning components accordingly, a poor 4003 still meets or exceeds a 4001,

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:55:23 am
content: Are they saying "specifically" 1N4001"s or does it include 1N4004s, 1N4007s etc ? both of which are better replacements. I just buy 4007s for everything.What about 1.5A etc? If it is only 4001s, good riddance I say :-) Never understood why they had several Vrevs, when a single 1000V did it all.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:55:28 am
content: Does it matter? A 1N4937 won't work for you? Or a 1N4006 or 7?

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:57:12 am
content: Quote from: digsys on September 13, 2016, 02:55:23 amI suspect this comes from the days when avalanche conditions were different for each wafer and whatever they began to conduct at in reverse bias, that was what they were badged as.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:59:19 am
content: Unless you're really relying on the 50V avalanche (which is absolutely not guaranteed), why not just use a 1N4007?

author: ratdude747
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 03:19:39 am
content: Quote from: digsys on September 13, 2016, 02:55:23 amThe whole 1n400x series was missing it seemed. Going back to some of my old project schematics I did the same and forgot about it. I know, sad, but in my current job I don't really work at a component level. A lot of this old part number specific knowledge has gone to mush more or less. Not to say I don't like my job; its engineering, just not electronics engineering. That's why I have hobbies.Quote from: calexanian on September 13, 2016, 02:55:28 amQuote from: amyk on September 13, 2016, 02:59:19 amNo, any of those would have worked. The other beef I had was the piss poor layout. It was all organized by part number... while the bridge rectifiers were in one area , pretty much all the diodes were on a wall without any markings. I figured out that there was one block of zeners... but the rest was a mess.Aside from the 1N400x series and ones like the 4148 I haven't really used any other non-zener diodes in projects... never had a need.I guess this is why digikey and the like stay in business...

author: ivaylo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 06:47:11 am
content: Fry's wouldn't be my criteria what is obsolete. Or any of their staf for that matter...

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 07:35:21 am
content: AFAIK the bigger ones have higher junction capacitance and are painfully slow but then again if you are having this problem you should probably pick a different diode series altogether.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 11:52:54 am
content: The 1N4001 to 4004 are usually the same, just increasing break down voltage. The 1N4005-4007 can be a slightly different design (kind of PIN Diode) and can have a slightly high forward voltage and lower capacitance and maybe even slower turn off times. They are slow (reverse recovery) anyway.At least some manufacturers seem to plan to make them obsolete and mark it as not recommended for new designs:http://www.diodes.com/_files/datasheets/ds28002.pdfBut there are usually plenty replacement types (at least for normal use) and quite a lot of manufacturers. So there will be one left for quite some time.

author: ratdude747
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 02:59:37 pm
content: Quote from: ivaylo on September 13, 2016, 06:47:11 amThat was the joke...

author: bitslice
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 06:09:15 pm
content: I heard that all 1N4001's were going to be replaced by a signal processor on a FPGA...

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2016, 03:13:00 am
content: Quote from: bitslice on September 13, 2016, 06:09:15 pmActive diode equivalent simulating unit. I think Maxim makes that.. Oh.. out of stock.. sorry.