Bob:
Re: Tee networks. When I sent you the e-mail that you published in your column (Electronic Design, Aug. 20, p. 90), I thought you would realize it was a joke and get a laugh. Maybe I could create an urban myth for electrical engineers: Bob Pease had discovered a way to tell the difference between Delta and Tee networks, other than the parasitics. I thought the excited tone of the first sentence of the second paragraph—and its exclamation point—would tip you off. But I guess I didn't have my tongue far enough in my cheek. Perhaps you should mention that it was a joke in a subsequent column.
Rodger Rosenbaum
via e-mail
No, I did not realize that it was a joke! Every week I get a letter, or e-mail, from some very serious guy arguing that I'm obviously wrong about something I said in a column, which is a bit annoying when I know that I'm right. I get responses from guys who think that I'm wrong about Taguchi Methods. I'm contacted by readers who think I'm wrong about Fuzzy Logic. I receive letters from guys who think they have discovered perpetual motion with output power bigger than the input. I even get mail from guys who think that I'm wrong about Tee networks! So I'm sorry to be so slow, but I did miss the joke!—RAP
Dear Robert:
I believe that in one of the past 12 issues of Electronic Design, there was a reference to a "socket/adapter" for the SOT23 family of ICs. I have searched the site with zero success. Can you help? Thanks!
Ron Raspet
via e-mail
Hello, Ron. According to NSC's Emmy Smaragda Denton, "You can find them at Fry's and in the Digi-Key catalogue. We used to send out samples of the LM45/50, etc., on a little conversion board, but we no longer do that. You can also order an LM62 demo board. The LM62 comes in a three-lead SOT23 package. URL: www.national.com/store/view_item/index.html?nsid=LM62EVAL. It costs $4.00 from us. But if you buy the parts from Digi-Key and solder them up yourself, it would probably be cheaper."
Emmy is right. I grabbed a May-August catalog for Digi-Key, and you can buy these as a "Surfboard" at about $1.50 each, for the five-pin SOT23-5, in quantities of 10. The six-pin version is a few pennies more, but it's more versatile. These are sold by Capital Advanced Technologies. I bet you can even search and find this on the Digi-Key Web site, www.digikey.com, now that we have proven that they exist. Look for Digi-Key part number 33205CA-ND. Best regards.—RAP
All for now. / Comments invited!
RAP / Robert A. Pease / Engineer
rap@galaxy.nsc.com—or:
Mail Stop D2597A
National Semiconductor
P.O. Box 58090
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8090