Got a new rework station and soldering iron. I pulled out an antique VGA video card that I'll never use again just to practice pulling chips off of it with the rework station.
Of course, I then hop to google to find out what some of these chips are.
1 is an IC hex inverter which after reading a few minutes seems pretty straightforward though I can't figure out a practical application for that (other than the obvious video card I just pulled it off of, but that doesn't mean I understand what it was doing on there).
1 has me overwhelmed with words that don't mean much to me. (The phrase that keeps running through my head is: I'm a monkey banging on a typewriter.)
I can tell you it's a "SKC14.318A center tap Schottky rectifier module" http://www.seekchip.com/icstock-S/SKC14.318.html
All google attempts to understand this only further my awareness of my ignorance. Schottky diode is here: Schottky diode - Wikipedia which is where I start to get lost. Voltage drops for fast switching action. Wha?
My ?...
Either 1. Where is a good online PRACTICAL place I can make some of these words mean more to me? I see MIT has quite a bit online, but I'm not finding anything for this monkey.
or 2. Is there an easy explanation for what this thing does? 2 connectors. Something I assume goes in, and something comes out.
This seemed like the best place to drop that question.
There are some basic families of parts... The passives (resistors, capacitors, coils, etc) the Discrete Semiconductors ( Diodes, Transistors, etc) and the Integrated devices ( Logic chips, Linear, Operational Amplifiers, Processors, Ram, etc).
If you start with the basic family, say DIODES, you will see the basic function of a generic diode come clear... then you can focus on the variants, like Light Emitting Diode, Zener Diodes, Signal Diodes, Rectifier Diodes, Bridge Rectifier Diodes, Shottky etc.
So once the basic component is understood... for example, a diode will block current flow in a particular direction... the variants can start to make sense. Like why would you want a faster switching diode or one that allows flow once a voltage threshold is reached (Zener). The details of a part's particular behavior would get matched, by the circuit designer, to the needs of a specific circuit.
When reverse engineering (Or recycling parts as I call it) it can become a fun game to try to imagine WHY the designer chose a particular component. There can be many reasons... some might even be related to cost versus function.
You are making the mistake that I made many years ago. You are being too detailed and making it much harder for yourself in the long run. You won't be able to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Just keep looking at schematics and datasheets. Datasheets are nice because they often have reference schematics showing how to use the device.
The name kind of says it all: center tap Schottky rectifier module
This part would connect to the output of a dual winding transformer, like this one http://www.radioshack.com/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/2731352_PM_EN.pdf
The output has 3 wires coming out. If you measure from the 2 ends, you see 12VAC.
If you measuer from either end to the middle you see 6VAC.
If you rectify the 2 halves indepently, and call the middle ground, then you can have a +/Gd/- power supply, good for analog projects.
See "Dual polarity full-wave center tap rectifier" that;s almost halfway down the page.
Schottky diode usually have less voltage across them (0.3 to 0.4V) compared to regular diodes (0.7V).
afremont:
You are making the mistake that I made many years ago. You are being too detailed and making it much harder for yourself in the long run. You won't be able to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Just keep looking at schematics and datasheets. Datasheets are nice because they often have reference schematics showing how to use the device.
The funny thing about that is the link for the datasheet for the rectifier was dead (not sure if that's a temporary problem) and I couldn't find it anywhere else varying up my words quite a bit. I can tell you about 30 web sites (and I'm sure there's more) that'll sell them to you though.
One reason I looked them up was for the potential to recycle some parts as Pete referred to. Seems silly to spend $30 on AF or SF (or $4 straight to Asia via dx) if I have components collecting dust that can go in to my arduino playing.
I fully appreciate that. It's also pretty hard to discourage me when I want to learn something...even if it's just for fun like this.
I was hoping some here that might have the more fleshed out discipline mastered better might point to the next bunny slopes of the topic.
Right now, using the "passives" as Pete called them for example this is what mastering them looks like to me (and it's incomplete):
Resistor: Controls how much electricity can go through it (Ohms law and all.)
Diode: Does that one direction.
^^ Those are fairly well documented on this site, wikipedia, and from a practical examples across many wonderful learning sites.
...
Google/Wikipedia
...
Expert in EE.
Since I'm just wanting to do this for fun, I don't think I'm aspiring to go back to college and get an EE degree.
CrossRoads:
The name kind of says it all: center tap Schottky rectifier module
This part would connect to the output of a dual winding transformer, like this one http://www.radioshack.com/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/2731352_PM_EN.pdf
The output has 3 wires coming out. If you measure from the 2 ends, you see 12VAC.
If you measuer from either end to the middle you see 6VAC.
If you rectify the 2 halves indepently, and call the middle ground, then you can have a +/Gd/- power supply, good for analog projects.
I can't recommend a good website. But if you want to learn online, you need to find a website that has tutorials from "A to Z"... Starting at "A" with some kind of logical sequence & structure.
I'm not sure how much you know already, but diodes & hex inverters are NOT the place to START. You need to start with voltage, current, and resistors. You need to understand [u]Ohm's Law[/u] and [u]Kirckhoff's Law[/u].
Once you understand all about what voltage and current are, how they are related, and how they divide and distribute with series & parallel components, it shouldn't be too hard to understand diodes. And once you understand how a garden-variety silicon diode works, it's easy to understand Schottky & zener diodes.
The best way to learn is to take a class. You get structure, feedback (quizzes & tests), an instructor to answer questions, fellow students to learn from, etc. If that's not practical or possible, or you just don't want to do it, I recommend you get a basic-beginning electronics book. I'm sure you can find one in the library if you don't want to buy one.
I'm sure you can find everything you need to know on the Internet... If you know what to look for... There's probably enough information on the Net to become a brain surgeon, but random self-study isn't going to work for most aspiring surgeons. Electronics and programming are NOT easy "subjects", and most of us need some structure.
Huh - I couldn't find a datasheet for the part. Do you have a good link to one? Maybe I'll revise my writeup.
Either that or some of the wires were removed & only part of the device was used.
Interesting that your response comes off very confident, but this rectifier only has two wires sticking out of it.
But does it have a metal tap with a mounting hole? That could be where the common cathode connection is made. Your link didn't point to a loadable datasheet so we need either a good link or a decent picture of the device to tell for sure.
Thanks for the responses. I remembered while looking at the recommended book in this thread that I have a Safari subscription and they have the "Make: Electronics" book that I started reading. I may follow that one with the recommended one here.
Re: the rectifier (Lefty & Crossroads).
I'll post a picture of it some time. My time to play with this today is almost gone.
Re: What is my background/knowledge? (AKA: How big is the hole?)
Trying to stick to the things relevant to arduino...
HAM radio technician license
20 years of working with computers professionally. The programming part of this is 2nd nature to me. I consider myself more of a scripter than a programmer. I have been taught to program and I read GDB stack traces fairly regularly with work.
SKC14.318A is most likely a crystal or an oscillator of some type. Since this is a video card, 14.318 is 4 times the basic color frequency of 3.579545 MHz
You can download this applet and run it locally, too. It's a great way to "see" what's happening with basic components, and thereby learn how they work and what they do. I've built a lot of circuits after simulating them with this little plaything. Next step from here is one of the SPICE simulators.
Note that both of these are essentially "EE101" style books (that is, closer to course books than mere reference) - so if you buy them new (and current editions), expect a steep price ($100.00+ USD).
That said, used copies and older editions will be much cheaper, and still give you everything you need to learn and build a base to advance with.
Electronics and programming are NOT easy "subjects", and most of us need some structure.