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.