The word "transistor" is formed from two words: transfer and resistor. The first word is translated from English as "transmission", the second - "resistance." Thus, a transistor is a special kind of resistance, which is regulated by the voltage between the base and emitter (base current) of bipolar transistors, and the voltage between the gate and source of field-effect transistors.

Initially, several names were proposed for this semiconductor device: a semiconductor triode, a crystalline triode, a lotatron, but as a result, they focused on the name "transistor", proposed by John Pierce, an American engineer and science fiction writer, friend of William Shockley. To begin with, we will plunge a little into history, then we will consider some types of transistors from the electronic components common today in the market. William Shockley, Walter Brattain and John Bardin ...

To power various electronic equipment, DC / DC converters are very widely used. They are used in computing devices, communication devices, various control and automation circuits, etc.

In traditional transformer power supplies, the voltage of the mains is converted using a transformer, most often lowered, to the desired value. The reduced voltage is rectified by a diode bridge and smoothed by a capacitor filter. If necessary, a semiconductor stabilizer is placed after the rectifier.

Transformer power supplies are usually equipped with linear stabilizers. There are at least two advantages of such stabilizers: it is a small cost and a small number of parts in the harness. But these advantages are eaten by low efficiency, since a significant part of the input voltage is used for heating ...

Time is flowing, technology is evolving, and many devices are improving along with them. Newspapers and magazines are increasingly giving way to web pages, cell phones have almost replaced landlines, and no one is using pagers. The modernization and needle multimeters, which are now almost everywhere replaced by convenient digital devices, did not bypass.

The advantages of digital multimeters over analog multimeters are obvious, they have much wider functionality, and their price is not high. So, digital multimeters took their place in the arsenal of not only radio amateurs, but also engineers. Nevertheless, pointer testers are too early to write off, real professionals know that sometimes a pointer device is simply irreplaceable. What is the feature here? And the difference lies directly in the internal structure of arrow and digital multimeters. The dial gauge is ...

Among the many chips presented on the modern market of microelectronic components, there are real legends that have rightfully earned their high reputation. In this article, we will focus on four such legendary analog microcircuits, namely: NE555, A741, TL431, and LM311.

The NE555 Analog Integrated Circuit is a universal timer. It successfully serves in many modern electronic circuits to produce repetitive or single pulses with constant time characteristics. The microcircuit is essentially an asynchronous RS-trigger with specific input thresholds that are precisely set by internal analog comparators and an accurate voltage divider. The integrated structure of the microcircuit includes 23 transistors, 16 resistors and 2 diodes. NE555 is still available in various packages ...

There are many different types of capacitors in the electronic components market today, and each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some are capable of operating at high voltages, others are notable for significant capacitance, others have a low inductance, and some are characterized by an exceptionally low leakage current. All these factors determine the application of specific types of capacitors.

Consider what types of capacitors are. In general, there are a lot of them, but here we will consider the main popular types of capacitors, and we will figure out how to determine this type. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors, for example K50-35 or K50-29, consist of two thin strips of aluminum twisted into a roll, between which paper impregnated with electrolyte is placed. The roll is placed in a sealed aluminum cylinder, at one of the ends of which contact pins are located ...

Do you want to master the modern field of electronics and learn how to program microcontrollers? There is everything to start developing your own electronic devices on microcontrollers yourself - the author’s video course "Programming Microcontrollers for Beginners".

Who is this course for? First of all, I created it for beginners, for those who are already familiar with the basics of electronics and programming, who know basic electronic components, assemble simple circuits, know how to hold a soldering iron and want to go to a whole new level, but constantly postpones this transition because difficulties in mastering new material.

The course is perfect for those who have just recently made their first attempts to learn microcontroller programming, but are ready to give up everything because it doesn’t work or works, but not as it needs to (is it familiar ?!). The course will be useful to those who are already collecting ...

Despite the wide choice in stores of LED flashlights of various designs, hams are developing their own options for powering white super-bright LEDs. Basically, the task boils down to how to power the LED from just one battery or accumulator, to conduct practical research.

After a positive result is obtained, the scheme is disassembled, the details are put in a box, the experiment is completed, moral satisfaction ensues. Often, studies stop at this, but sometimes the experience of assembling a particular assembly on a breadboard goes into a real design, made according to all the rules of art. The following are some simple circuits developed by ham radio operators. In some cases, it is very difficult to establish who is the author of the scheme, since the same scheme appears on different sites and in different articles. Often authors of articles honestly write that this article was found on the Internet ...

Is it possible to repair purchased LED lamps? This question, given the high cost of the lamps, is quite relevant, a lot has already been written on this topic in Internet forums. The most frequently discussed issues are the repair of lamps purchased at Aliexpress.

In the article “Shopping on Aliexpress - personal shopping experience in a Chinese online store”, among other things, it was told about the purchase of LED lamps that are so popular recently. Actually, the article started with these lamps: the quality of these lamps left much to be desired, mostly attracted by the low price. But in some places where too much light is not required, these lamps came in handy. Further exploitation revealed that these lamps are not as durable as promised in the advertisement.If the lamps of the brand "Navigator" with the author of the article have been working without fail for almost two years, then the lamps purchased at "Aliexpress" fail ...