Who can tell me what these bits are ?

chazpope · 18th May 2012, 12:38 PM

Hi I bought these bits from Oxfam thinking they were LEDs. I found they are not, they just measure as resistors of 5-50K.

Any idea what they really are ?

KatieandDad · 01:39 PM

What happens if you put them in series with a supply and a variable resistor ? Try it and measure the voltage across each one as you adjust the resistor.

I've never seen them before and the photo doesn't show enough detail to be able to make an educated guess.

My guess is that they may be resistors to adjust a certain parameter for different voltages but I am only guessing.
They might be zener diodes, Test A above will verify that.

In the ones that you can see the internals there is definitely an SMD component of some kind across the pins.

Minisemi · 18th May 2012, 01:48 PM

I think,that It's just SMT resistors in epoxy resin cube with two external leads for some tests on a proto board for a student?

djQUAN · 18th May 2012, 02:19 PM

They are probably for a power supply or sensor that you plug those in to change the output voltage or threshold etc.

chazpope · 18th May 2012, 03:33 PM

well definitely not diodes I would have detected that - there is about 15 of them and with a strong magnifying glass you don't see any more than the photo - just that there is something between the pins (+ an air bubble above that which made them look like LEDs). must be nicked off some school lab I guess.

Don Hills · 19th May 2012, 01:59 AM

djQUAN has it right. They are intended to plug into a "universal" power brick to set its output voltage to the desired value. Such power bricks are sold as replacements for failed laptop power bricks.

18th May 2012, 12:38 PM	#1
chazpope diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2012	Who can tell me what these bits are ? Hi I bought these bits from Oxfam thinking they were LEDs. I found they are not, they just measure as resistors of 5-50K. Any idea what they really are ?

18th May 2012, 01:35 PM	#2
KatieandDad diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK	What happens if you put them in series with a supply and a variable resistor ? Try it and measure the voltage across each one as you adjust the resistor. I've never seen them before and the photo doesn't show enough detail to be able to make an educated guess. My guess is that they may be resistors to adjust a certain parameter for different voltages but I am only guessing. They might be zener diodes, Test A above will verify that. In the ones that you can see the internals there is definitely an SMD component of some kind across the pins. Last edited by KatieandDad; 18th May 2012 at 01:39 PM.

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18th May 2012, 01:48 PM	#3
Minisemi diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2006	I think,that It's just SMT resistors in epoxy resin cube with two external leads for some tests on a proto board for a student?

18th May 2012, 02:19 PM	#4
djQUAN diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: manila	They are probably for a power supply or sensor that you plug those in to change the output voltage or threshold etc.

18th May 2012, 03:33 PM	#5
chazpope diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2012	well definitely not diodes I would have detected that - there is about 15 of them and with a strong magnifying glass you don't see any more than the photo - just that there is something between the pins (+ an air bubble above that which made them look like LEDs). must be nicked off some school lab I guess.

19th May 2012, 01:59 AM	#6
Don Hills diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Wellington	djQUAN has it right. They are intended to plug into a "universal" power brick to set its output voltage to the desired value. Such power bricks are sold as replacements for failed laptop power bricks.