[Ideas For Design]
A Look Back At 40 Years Of Ideas For Design
Though many facets of design execution have changed significantly over time, numerous core ideas for design remain timeless.
A very high percentage of what comes up online is limited in quality, and some of it is outright garbage. A caveat emptor is definitely due here, given the dubious relevancy of too many Web postings. In this regard, it should be obvious that the original article on the topic is to be sought, not a watered-down adaptation posted on a circuits smorgasbord Web site. This research often takes real work, but there isn’t really any substitute for it. A couple of mouse clicks just won’t be enough.
The Internet also touches the design cycle in other positive ways. Who orders parts or even reads datasheets from a paper catalog anymore? Fast, efficient Web sites such as those set up by Digi-Key and Mouser make the prototyper’s job much easier, and PDFs of datasheets have reduced the number of trees necessary to get through a design task. All of this is to the good.
And, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Another point noted in my review of older IFDs was that many popular parts still remain so, even after 40 years! Those older IFD books feature familiar transistor parts like the 2N2222, 2N2907, 2N3904, and 2N3906. I still use these today, as do many of you out there.
Likewise, early op amps like the LM301A, 741, and CA3130 can still be found. Then there’s the number-one linear IC in lieu of all those op amps, the 555, still around and as popular as ever. And similarly, 4000 series CMOS parts are still being used. Whether or not any of these would be the best choice in a new design today is another matter, though.
However, the popularity of such ancient parts even today might boil down to meeting the minimum required specs at the lowest cost. When that’s the case, 40-year-old parts like 2222s and 3904s still get used. They hit a performance sweetspot on bang-for-the-buck (or pennies, actually). Another plus is that, unlike the originals, today’s variants come in multiple-unit packages, tiny small-outline ICs (SOICs), and so on, making them a greater bonus on utility.
This “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theme reminds me of an apt story. The late Tom Sweiger, an engineer friend wiser than me back in those 1960s design days, told me that he didn’t need to use the (then new) IC transistors, like the CA3046. He said his own favorite 2N3904 “works fine and does the job!” That was true back in the late 1960s, as it still is today.
A Dream Archive While I do have a lot of IFDs accumulated in paper and PDF form, I wish I had more. I also wish I had them well-catalogued as to author, function, date, and other criteria. On the one hand, that sounds like a pipe dream. On the other hand, take a look at what Google has done with books and patents, and think again. Certainly, it is possible.
References 1. Edward E. Grazda, Editor, 400 Ideas for Design, 1961-1964, Hayden Book Company, 1964. 2. Frank Egan, Editor, 400 Ideas for Design, Vol. 2, 1965-1970, Hayden Book Company, 1971. 3. Morris Grossman, Editor, 400 Ideas for Design, Vol. 3, 1971-1974, Hayden Book Company, 1976. 4. Morris Grossman, Editor, 400 Ideas for Design, Vol. 4, 1975-1979, Hayden Book Company, 1980. 5. Steve Scrupski, Editor, Best Ideas for Design, Electronic Design special issue, Oct. 24, 1996. 6. Steve Scrupski, Editor, Best Ideas for Design, Electronic Design special issue, Oct. 23, 1997. 7. John Novellino, Editor, Best Ideas for Design, Electronic Design special issue, Oct. 22, 1998.
An Electronic Design author since 1968, Walt Jung most recently penned “Walt’s tools and tips,” a practical, analog-oriented column that ran in 1997 and 1998. He also was named to ED’s Engineering Hall of Fame in 2002. In addition to numerous applications articles for various publications, he has published many books. the most popular of these is The IC Op Amp Cookbook, in print since 1974. He retired from Analog Devices Inc. in 2002 after editing the ADI book, Op Amp Applications (Handbook). He is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society and an IEEE member as well.
This would be a good multi engineering school project. Have each schools analog engineering professor's dole out a few articles to each student and have them read, understand, rate (Have each article rated by more than a few students and post to common site. Have the site allow readers to rate each article easily (2 second rule).
Techron
Ron Davison -November 05, 2009
Your publication is above the quality standard. I have never enjoyed reading so much because the articles, papers, illustrations are always on the mark. Thank you, thank you, thank you. David
david austin -October 01, 2009
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