These 3 Cent Components are actually USEFUL! EB#56
video description
Date: 2023-10-02
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
UpLateGeek
In my opinion, there's no good reason to use any component for which the manufacturer doesn't provide a datasheet with the relevant specifications. Even if you can measure those specifications yourself as you did here, the fact that you need to do that for every single one makes them impractical to use. Especially considering your measurements won't be based on the same parameters as those of the manufacturer of the other part you're comparing it against, so they may not be accurate.
But the biggest problem is that you're using your own time to do the job of the manufacturer, and since the part is only worth a few cents compared to the alternative that would still cost
reply
In my opinion, there's no good reason to use any component for which the manufacturer doesn't provide a datasheet with the relevant specifications. Even if you can measure those specifications yourself as you did here, the fact that you need to do that for every single one makes them impractical to use. Especially considering your measurements won't be based on the same parameters as those of the manufacturer of the other part you're comparing it against, so they may not be accurate.
But the biggest problem is that you're using your own time to do the job of the manufacturer, and since the part is only worth a few cents compared to the alternative that would still cost
reply
StickySli
Like most people pointed out, color ring inductors or the equivalent in SMD footprint are not used for power applications but for filtering. I should also point out that datasheets for this kind of devices do exists which usually state: inductance, tolerance, minimum Q, minimum self-resonant frequency (SRF) in MHz, DC resistance (DCR) in ohms, and rated current. These values are also specified and tested at a specific frequency, like 0. 8, 2. 5, 8, or 25 MHz. In my opinion, they are certainly not particularly useful in the through-hole footprint, so SMD are more prevalent.
reply
Like most people pointed out, color ring inductors or the equivalent in SMD footprint are not used for power applications but for filtering. I should also point out that datasheets for this kind of devices do exists which usually state: inductance, tolerance, minimum Q, minimum self-resonant frequency (SRF) in MHz, DC resistance (DCR) in ohms, and rated current. These values are also specified and tested at a specific frequency, like 0. 8, 2. 5, 8, or 25 MHz. In my opinion, they are certainly not particularly useful in the through-hole footprint, so SMD are more prevalent.
reply
Dafydd
Excellent video. Your bench setup for measuring saturation current was excellent. I strongly recommend a second video where you walk through the reasoning for each of the parameters you selected in the function generator and the scope. (e. g. why repeat at 100Hz? Why did you select a pulse time below 5uS. The way you showed visually what what saturation looks like was awesome, and briefly touched on the thermal runaway. Excellent.
One small Q/Thought -- the stored energy in the inductor -- it's dissipated through that flyback diode when the mosfet is off, right?
reply
Excellent video. Your bench setup for measuring saturation current was excellent. I strongly recommend a second video where you walk through the reasoning for each of the parameters you selected in the function generator and the scope. (e. g. why repeat at 100Hz? Why did you select a pulse time below 5uS. The way you showed visually what what saturation looks like was awesome, and briefly touched on the thermal runaway. Excellent.
One small Q/Thought -- the stored energy in the inductor -- it's dissipated through that flyback diode when the mosfet is off, right?
reply
Some
Video Idea: Take different package sizes of resistors and test them for actual rating before they run away with heat at say ambient 20C. Then put shrink wrap. Also maybe pot them in RTV silicone or some other compounds (its regional so whatever is good but in my case I can get Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone for dirt cheap st autoparts stores, maybe test against electronics store silicone potting. I think temperature is something that a lot of people and. cough cough. countries dont take into account.
reply
Video Idea: Take different package sizes of resistors and test them for actual rating before they run away with heat at say ambient 20C. Then put shrink wrap. Also maybe pot them in RTV silicone or some other compounds (its regional so whatever is good but in my case I can get Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone for dirt cheap st autoparts stores, maybe test against electronics store silicone potting. I think temperature is something that a lot of people and. cough cough. countries dont take into account.
reply
ZeldaFreak
Also they can be used to cheap out. Just imagine you are building 1 Million devices and you can save 0. 47. It's nearly half a million. Added bonus is, when you do it right, the device breaks down after the warranty. Its proven that some devices would had a few additional years, when added 1 worth of better components. The added costs per device is tiny. Even when you add research to check on how bad a component needs to be, so it just passes the warranty, its still worth it for them.
reply
Also they can be used to cheap out. Just imagine you are building 1 Million devices and you can save 0. 47. It's nearly half a million. Added bonus is, when you do it right, the device breaks down after the warranty. Its proven that some devices would had a few additional years, when added 1 worth of better components. The added costs per device is tiny. Even when you add research to check on how bad a component needs to be, so it just passes the warranty, its still worth it for them.
reply
///M3
What I remember is they are the opposite of capacitors. Capacitors store voltage and not current. Inductors store current and not voltage. Capacitors pass high frequency and not low frequency like DC. Inductors pass low frequency like DC and not high frequency. Capacitors and inductor trade places in cross over networks for woofers and tweeters; high pass filter vs low pass filter. Power supplies filter AC better if you replace the series resistors with inductors.
reply
What I remember is they are the opposite of capacitors. Capacitors store voltage and not current. Inductors store current and not voltage. Capacitors pass high frequency and not low frequency like DC. Inductors pass low frequency like DC and not high frequency. Capacitors and inductor trade places in cross over networks for woofers and tweeters; high pass filter vs low pass filter. Power supplies filter AC better if you replace the series resistors with inductors.
reply
ladyattis
Yeah, these you have to get from a reputable manufacturer like Vishay or something to get the full specifications. There's power inductors and then there's inductors for low power uses like in RF work which often it's best to use self wound inductors unless your form factor is tight then these and other SMD inductors are a better choice which then require you to build your circuit (like filters) around common values and combos of values.
reply
Yeah, these you have to get from a reputable manufacturer like Vishay or something to get the full specifications. There's power inductors and then there's inductors for low power uses like in RF work which often it's best to use self wound inductors unless your form factor is tight then these and other SMD inductors are a better choice which then require you to build your circuit (like filters) around common values and combos of values.
reply
pJosephl
I have a slot in my bins cabinet with the (I believe) exact collection of these little color ring coils. I have used them in many RF and other low power places, but never what you have done here. Cool as it was to see these little gems fail as they did in your experiment, I was told they are not meant for power systems, but more as an RFI and other lowe power systems. Thank You for the knowledge!
Peace
reply
I have a slot in my bins cabinet with the (I believe) exact collection of these little color ring coils. I have used them in many RF and other low power places, but never what you have done here. Cool as it was to see these little gems fail as they did in your experiment, I was told they are not meant for power systems, but more as an RFI and other lowe power systems. Thank You for the knowledge!
Peace
reply
Aeasala
late to the party, but could you make some videos on analog PI(D) control? (or digital) even though it gets so complicated past the surface, i feel it's something really simple, interesting, and useful a lot of people could pick up at a basic level.
( i see you made a video on digital PID control before, but i just think it's super cool how it can be accomplished just using an op amp as well)
reply
late to the party, but could you make some videos on analog PI(D) control? (or digital) even though it gets so complicated past the surface, i feel it's something really simple, interesting, and useful a lot of people could pick up at a basic level.
( i see you made a video on digital PID control before, but i just think it's super cool how it can be accomplished just using an op amp as well)
reply
education
I found one in my tool cab that was gifted by the lab to me as a souvenir. I have encountered a problem when I am designing a Bluetooth wireless headphone that the RF transmitting noise will leak through the power bus to be amplified by the power amplifiers. so I just connect the ring inductor in series to the Bluetooth board and ass a bypassing cap. It miraculously made the noise dissappear.
reply
I found one in my tool cab that was gifted by the lab to me as a souvenir. I have encountered a problem when I am designing a Bluetooth wireless headphone that the RF transmitting noise will leak through the power bus to be amplified by the power amplifiers. so I just connect the ring inductor in series to the Bluetooth board and ass a bypassing cap. It miraculously made the noise dissappear.
reply
Anik
Sir, Please make a video of, How I choose the exact capacitor, inductor, MOSFET, diode, and resistor based on my requirements. We failed to choose the exact mosfet for controlling load cause on the datasheet there are many specifications that are very hard to understand, And also for the capacitor resistor size and value for the loads. Please that will be very helpful for us.
reply
Sir, Please make a video of, How I choose the exact capacitor, inductor, MOSFET, diode, and resistor based on my requirements. We failed to choose the exact mosfet for controlling load cause on the datasheet there are many specifications that are very hard to understand, And also for the capacitor resistor size and value for the loads. Please that will be very helpful for us.
reply
Peter
Hi Scott you young spunt! What your generation obviously did not learn is that this type are for 2 AREAS filtering of signals and RF up to 30mhz higher with a lower Q and that's it. You we with 1w hot enough to melt solder so never use at 1w it was nice for me to see you trying however ha ha. My old data sheets say 0, 5w max which is from the size logical.
reply
Hi Scott you young spunt! What your generation obviously did not learn is that this type are for 2 AREAS filtering of signals and RF up to 30mhz higher with a lower Q and that's it. You we with 1w hot enough to melt solder so never use at 1w it was nice for me to see you trying however ha ha. My old data sheets say 0, 5w max which is from the size logical.
reply
Jim
We used particle photon in our intro to computer science class in college. That was 4 years ago. I really enjoyed using that MCU. Programming it is nearly identical to programming Arduino, and you can open their IDE on any webpage anywhere, then flash code to your MCU through wifi. I havent used one in a few years, but I should start using them again
reply
We used particle photon in our intro to computer science class in college. That was 4 years ago. I really enjoyed using that MCU. Programming it is nearly identical to programming Arduino, and you can open their IDE on any webpage anywhere, then flash code to your MCU through wifi. I havent used one in a few years, but I should start using them again
reply
Nyan
I know these, I've seen them in broken old circuit boards, mostly the boards found inside VCRs
when I first saw these, i thought these were resistors and I used a power supply to overcurrent these things thinking they'd make a nice light bulb, but they exploded. I took a closer look and saw that they were inductors and not resistors
reply
I know these, I've seen them in broken old circuit boards, mostly the boards found inside VCRs
when I first saw these, i thought these were resistors and I used a power supply to overcurrent these things thinking they'd make a nice light bulb, but they exploded. I took a closer look and saw that they were inductors and not resistors
reply
rfmerrill
I work with old game consoles a lot and these inductors are found on them. Usually they are found in the NTSC/PAL encoding section, as part of the chroma trap or delay line. They are also used in some places as part of a pi filter to provide a cleaner reference voltage for analog sections--at very low current, of course.
reply
I work with old game consoles a lot and these inductors are found on them. Usually they are found in the NTSC/PAL encoding section, as part of the chroma trap or delay line. They are also used in some places as part of a pi filter to provide a cleaner reference voltage for analog sections--at very low current, of course.
reply
Steve
These axial lead inductors are popular with radio hams in low power applications. Maybe you need a large value inductance like a few hundred uH or few mH to make and RF choke. These can fit the bill and save you having to wind loads of turns to make one. Please don't smash anyone of these with that hammer.
reply
These axial lead inductors are popular with radio hams in low power applications. Maybe you need a large value inductance like a few hundred uH or few mH to make and RF choke. These can fit the bill and save you having to wind loads of turns to make one. Please don't smash anyone of these with that hammer.
reply
John
WOW, I've been involved with electronics for quite a few years, not very good at it I must admit, if students were exposed to practical illustrations of theory like this one instead of dry discussions, students' understanding would increase like current beyond saturation levels in an inductor.
reply
WOW, I've been involved with electronics for quite a few years, not very good at it I must admit, if students were exposed to practical illustrations of theory like this one instead of dry discussions, students' understanding would increase like current beyond saturation levels in an inductor.
reply
Jeffrey
I have been using those inductors in many digital circuits, usually for power supply filtering but other uses as well, for many years.
If you are building circuits, they are great for keeping the current draws affecting other circuits on the board, when used with filter caps as well.
reply
I have been using those inductors in many digital circuits, usually for power supply filtering but other uses as well, for many years.
If you are building circuits, they are great for keeping the current draws affecting other circuits on the board, when used with filter caps as well.
reply
Gordon
They are useful for LC passive filters for various RF signals. There is software that will choose the best 5% or 10% values to give the desired response. They can be used in lowpass, highpass, bandpass and other filter circuits. They can not handle large signals as they saturate.
reply
They are useful for LC passive filters for various RF signals. There is software that will choose the best 5% or 10% values to give the desired response. They can be used in lowpass, highpass, bandpass and other filter circuits. They can not handle large signals as they saturate.
reply
Rex
At 10: 25 I'm pretty sure that the rated current in the datasheet represents the saturation current. It seems unlikely that the one in the third row is limited to 500mA by heat dissipation, as its DC resistance is only 0. 26, i. e. dissipation at rated current is just 65mW.
reply
At 10: 25 I'm pretty sure that the rated current in the datasheet represents the saturation current. It seems unlikely that the one in the third row is limited to 500mA by heat dissipation, as its DC resistance is only 0. 26, i. e. dissipation at rated current is just 65mW.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
