the reason i'm asking is that i feel like i always end up getting bit by some requirement or parameter i wasn't aware existed, let alone knew how to interpret a data sheet for. does anyone have any opinion on any of these op amps?
If you're only wanting low voltage operation the TLV2771 seems to have the best specs for output voltage swing.
However the MC33171 is not bad and will run from +/-15V too, so as a general purpose opamp to have available for other projects it makes a lot of sense.
Basically all opamps these days are pretty good - you are really only interested in the input and output voltage ranges for single-rail use, go for the one with the best range which I think is the TLV2771, but note its limited to 6V supply max (it will work with 3.3V which might be useful - although the input range won't be great then).
The other parameter worth noting is the input-offset voltage, which basically is a measure of the tracking error - unfortunately low volt opamps always have poor offsets because they use FET input stages rather than bipolar (good bipolar opamps manage < 0.1mV offsets, FETS typically 1mV or worse IIRC). But for driving the arduino this doesn't matter because you can callibrate in software
thank you so much. your post makes me feel better.
i think i'm going to go for the TLV2771 because, if i understood you correctly, your only misgiving is that it wouldn't be usable in a broader variety of projects compared to the MC33171 due to its lower maximum supply max.
fortunately, to me (for now) i do not anticipate having to use op amps for anything other than non-inverting amplifiers with the purpose of arduino's input pins (5v max).
thanks again. any further musings would be much appreciated
