Category: Blog

  • Storing components

    I don’t know if this is related to the terrible weather we are having here but I’ve received several questions regarding how I store my electronic components from people who have decided to rearrange and sort their electronic components. Traditionally parts are stored in small storage drawers with a label on the front, so they…

  • The meaning of part numbers

    The other day, a friend had asked me about the difference between a BC108 and BC108C, and this got me wondering about part numbers. The 2N3055, 1N4001, BC108 etc… what do these part numbers actually mean. Well it turns out that these codes aren’t exactly random and do mean something… sort of… JOINT ELECTRON DEVICE…

  • Bi-Colour, Tri-Colour and RGB LEDs

    I was having an argument with ChatGPT today, initially about Bi-Colour LEDs, then it spilled over to Tri-Colour LEDs. Let me explain. A Bi-Colour LED has two different colour LEDs in the one package. In theory any two colours could be used but Red & Green or Red & Yellow are pretty common. Now according…

  • Update on updating the Retro IC Chip-Tester

    Like most engineers I can’t leave something alone for too long if it’s broke and have to keep picking at it. In my previous blog post I talked about wanting to test some suspect ICs I’d bought and the fact that to accomplish this, I would need to update the firmware on my Retro IC…