# Electronics Tips and Tricks Thread

  1. > It has occurred to me that a thread where posters could pass on useful tips, tricks, rules-of-thumb, and conventions that may be of use for when you need a 'how to answer' not an in depth understanding. Please don't use this thread for asking questions.   
>   
>  I will kick off with a very simple but useful formula for making a non standard resistor by adding a **parallel** resistor to a standard one.  
>   
>   
>   
>  is the required **shunt resistor**  
>   
>  is the desired non preferred value  
>   
>  is the (next) higher preferred value 

  2. > In retaliation for StudioT's post...   
>   
>  Attached files:  
>  1) Series_ParallelResistanceCalculator.zip - contains an Excel spreadsheet that has StudioT's formula in it, and also does series of lookups on standard E6 thru E192 series resistance tables to ensure use of only the standard values in the results. Just put in the resistance you want where indicated, and resistor combinations for all E-series are displayed.  
>  2) E24PLL.ZIP - contains E24PLL.TXT, a rather large (224kb) text file that you can scroll through to find pairs of resistors to use in parallel to obtain a particular resistance.  
>   
>  Here's a handy web page that does both series and parallel calculations for you, for E12 and E24 series resistors:  
> http://www.qsl.net/in3otd/parallr.html  
>  Note that you must select E12 or E24 each time you enter a new value, or you will receive an error message.  
>   
>  [eta]  
>  3) CapSMTMarkings is an excerpt from a KEMET Packaging and Marking document, for identification of SMT capacitor values.  
>  If there are two letters and a number, the manufacturer is the first letter. If just a letter and a number, only the value and multiplier is specified.  
>   
> 

  3. > Rule of thumb for calculating power supply filter capacitors:   
>   
>  C = 0.7(I)/ΔE(f)  
>   
>  Where I = load current, ΔE = acceptable ripple voltage, and f = pulses per second from the rectifier.  
>   
>  For full wave rectified 60Hz, this works out to:  
>  C = 0.00583 * I / ΔE 

  4. > Rule of thumb for RFIC inductance calculation:  
>  1mm ~ 1nH 

  5. > Tip: check things more than once when soldering a big project. (i just soldered 50 transistors backwards) 

  6. > If any of you can get a copy of the November 2008 QST, I have an article in Technical Correspondence called "Making the Glass Half Full." I discuss in detail the reciprocal impedance parameters: conductance, susceptance, and admittance. These GREATLY simplify otherwise daunting parallel impedance problems.  
>   
>  73,  
>   
>  Eric 

  7. > If your 9V battery connection is too short for the power supply, why not try the following and kill your project.  
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>   
>   
>  You won't need to power it up anymore. 

  8. > VIP chart for quick guide  
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> 

  9. > Remember the skin effect. When trying to rid yourself of EMI, don't try to run it out of your system on a regular wire, rather ensure the wire has a large surface area (i.e. shielding). 

  10. > When designing power supplies be sure to size the input protection fuse so that the equipment being power blows up first so as to protect the power supply fuse from blowing open first.  
>   
>  Lefty 

  11. > > When designing power supplies be sure to size the input protection fuse so that the equipment being power blows up first so as to protect the power supply fuse from blowing open first.  
> 
> 
> Er... aren't fuses meant to protect circuitry? I think you meant so that the 'fuse' blows up first to protect the circuitry and not the other way around.  
>   
>  On the topic of fuses, make sure your fuse is placed as the first part of the system, before any surge protection. I recently had someone put 415VAC across a design intended to only allow 300VAC, so the VARistors popped, but the fuse downstream from the VARistor didn't, so then 600+VDC creeped into the circuit unimpeded. In reality, when the VARistor started to suck large amounts of current, the fuse should have been upstream so that it got a chance to blow from the VARistor current. 

  12. > > Er... aren't fuses meant to protect circuitry?
> 
> No, the primary function of fuses and other disconnection devices in mains equipment is to avoid electric shock to users from faulty equipment.  
>   
>  The secondary function is to avoid electrically caused fires to property.  
>   
>  Protection of the equipment itself is only a tertiary consideration, and a bonus if that can also be acheived. 

  13. > capacitor reactance is inversely propotional to frequency and inductive reactance is directly propotional to frequency.As frequency increases capacitive reactance decreases and inductive reactance increases. 

  14. > this one helped me when I first started learning about transistors just passing it on  
>  when looking at a schematic of a transistor the arrow always points to the n device  
>  this is true in fets also 

  15. > > this one helped me when I first started learning about transistors just passing it on  
>  when looking at a schematic of a transistor the arrow always points to the n device  
>  this is true in fets also
> 
> The way to remember it is for an NPN transistor the arrow is **N ot Pointing iN**.  
>   
>  Dave 

  16. > I can vouch for all the above said,thanks for the useful information and keep uploading more stuff for novices like us! 

  17. > > The way to remember it is for an NPN transistor the arrow is **N ot Pointing iN**.  
> 
> 
> Funny,I also had the same trick put for PNP....PoiNing in (I know it's missing a P at the end,but it works for me) 

  18. > I think "pin-up" for PNP - like a tack holding a poster to the board. At least I used to. I seem to finally have the association down after all these years. 

  19. > Please this thread is meant to be a list of Tips, not a discussion thread.  
>   
>  Here is another one.  
>   
>  π does not appear in plane formulae.   
>  1/2π appears in cylindrical formulae  
>  1/4π appears in spherical formulae.  
>   
>  For example  
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>  The field E above an infinite plane charge density Q,   
>   
>  E = Q / ε  
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>  Field near a long line, linear density Q  
>   
>  E = Q / 2πεr  
>   
>  Field surrounding a point charge  
>   
>  E = Q / 4πεr

  20. > Thermal time constants of resistors de-rate them under duty cycle. A 5W resistor at continuous might be thought to allow 50W at 10% duty cycle (i.e. 50W pulses). This is incorrect! Generally the de-rating at 10% would allow more like 10W pulses and not 50! The internals of them heat up much faster than they can dissipate it into ambient!  
>   
>  I recently got 'burned' on this. (Pun intended.)