Datasheet archive collection

https://experimentalistsanonymous.com/diy/index.php?dir=Datasheets

Thought id post this for yall, Hope these help some of you guys :slight_smile:

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This link has already been posted in this thread

but not the direct link to the datasheets, which can be useful :wink:

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For devices in production I find it best to go to the manufacturerā€™s website; for one thing, when thereā€™s more than one manufacturer some have better datasheets than others (I generally prefer TIā€™s because they provide more information). For another, theyā€™re the latest version.

For instance, here under ā€œTL07ā€ they have TIā€™s datasheet for TL07xā€¦ dating from 1996, 17 pages long. Under ā€œTL074ā€ is STā€™s 2001 datasheet for the quad op amp only, 11 pages. At https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tl071.pdf?ts=1656338971676 is the December 2021 revision of TIā€™s TL07x datasheet. 94 pages.

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heh, funny. I just started my own archive of datasheets. Iā€™ve begun including them in all my repos (e.g. Arduino-Euclidean-Rhythm-Generator/arduino_euclidean_rhythm_generator_datasheets at main Ā· TimMJN/Arduino-Euclidean-Rhythm-Generator Ā· GitHub), hope the habit will spread.

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That, is an excellent idea. I wonder if I could write a script that pulls the datasheet link from the KiCad symbol and downloads all relevant data sheets into a folder.

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Eh, I already have the most common datasheets in a folder on my computer and I know how to find others (like by looking in the KiCad symbol). I donā€™t really need to download and store more copies whenever I clone a repo. Maybe links to datasheets in the README would be better (though subject to link rot, but then again, the datasheets themselves will get out of date too).

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So do I. But in all fairness, I didnā€™t add them with experienced builders and designers like yourself in mind :wink:

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But I think you could serve them better, and the inexperienced builders just as well, with information on where to find the datasheets.

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This ^^ 100%. Current datasheets should always come from the manufacturer of the part being used. These are updated when required and vary between component sources.

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I think youā€™re both slightly missing the point hereā€¦ Iā€™m including the datasheets of the parts I used when designing the circuit. So Iā€™m documenting my design choices. Whenever anyone wants to substitute a part, they can compare the datasheets. Yeah okay I could use links to the manufacturers websites instead, but Iā€™m not gonna hunt around for dead links. Persistence is key. Also, ā€˜specs used at the time of designā€™ do not out date, even if a newer datasheet is availableā€¦

That all being said, I think I should add a note to the readme explaining all this. :v:t3:

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But 94 pages of TL07x datasheet is both too much information and not enough information to document why you picked a TL07x. If you want to document your design choices, you need to say ā€œI chose this part because of <these requirements> and <these specs which meet those requirements>.ā€

To choose a part, you need to read the datasheet. To understand why a part was chosen, you need to read the designerā€™s explanation. The datasheet wonā€™t tell you that.

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Fair point, but I think mine stands as well. I consider it quite useful to give some more specs than just a part number. And after, Iā€™m not forcing anyone to look at them, so it wonā€™t hurt, will it?

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As I said, itā€™s downloading and storage I donā€™t need. So it hurts a little.

If someone wants to substitute a part, telling them ā€œhereā€™s the datasheet for what I usedā€ isnā€™t very useful. If you specify a BC557 and I want to know if a 2N3904 will work, all the BC557 datasheet will tell me is how it differs from a 2N3904 ā€” not which differences matter in your circuit. If you tell me ā€œit needs to be an NPN transistor with such and such characteristicsā€ then I donā€™t even need to look at the BC557 datasheet; I need to look at the 2N3904 datasheet and see if it meets the requirements you specified.

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Yes, this is how we keep track of our designs and the exact parts that went into them. Second sourcing is when you specify a primary part and then add more parts that will also work in the same location. Usually these are parts with the same specs from different manufacturers. Each source has the manufacturerā€™s datasheet file attached and not just a link. If the manufacturer decides to correct something in the datasheet, we can see what was changed. Manufacturerā€™s also merge and then the documentation gets wonky.