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| Datasheets becoming more useless and restricted over time |
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| coppercone2:
Well keep in mind its not always that the information is being hidden, its that its not gathered in the first place, in order to reduce development cost. Fly by night engineering. Since the best option the design engineer has is to leave the company after a few years to get better pay elsewhere, and no one knows how to test that stuff and assure test quality, its better not to write the document in the first place so the new guy does not get overwhelmed. I bet every one of the upper management types in your company will say that he does not plan on staying for more then a 'little while longer' because of raises (they have to remain threatening for people in accounting). |
| Lance:
--- Quote from: rsjsouza on April 15, 2022, 09:18:04 am ---This is very unusual for TI parts but, since this is an automotivw qualified part (suffix Q1) that is probably in very high demand right now, there may be a chance they are actively trying to screen customers interested in it. --- End quote --- For work stuff TI has generally been prompt, but I recall past experiences as a student where I just never got a reply. You do make a good point with the current unusual circumstances. Maybe this is just a temporary thing. |
| chickenHeadKnob:
Linear Technology has been guilty of this even before the analog devices takeover. The LTZ1000 datasheet much beloved by volt-nuts has shrunk and simplified over time. Another minor thing I found irritating, they called a whole passle of new vregs the LT308x series LDO's and sneakily hid the actual drop-out voltage. By not including the actual drop-out in the first page spec list. Eventually they introduced a selector table https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/product-selector-card/ldo.pdf But back then they made you dig for it. LT3085 = 275mv a true LDO versus LT3082 at 1.3V quite a range! |
| tooki:
--- Quote from: coppercone2 on April 15, 2022, 06:24:03 pm ---Well keep in mind its not always that the information is being hidden, its that its not gathered in the first place, in order to reduce development cost. Fly by night engineering. --- End quote --- That is an extraordinary claim which, absent extraordinary evidence, should be paid no heed. --- Quote from: coppercone2 on April 15, 2022, 06:24:03 pm ---Since the best option the design engineer has is to leave the company after a few years to get better pay elsewhere, and no one knows how to test that stuff and assure test quality, its better not to write the document in the first place so the new guy does not get overwhelmed. --- End quote --- I’m sorry, but if you think the companies don’t create and thoroughly document exhaustive test procedures for a chip, then you are either insanely naive or willfully ignorant. The cost to bring an IC to market is significant, and the damage to the company reputation enormous if quality is not consistent. Those internal specs, of course, have little bearing on what information is made public. If a data sheet actually removes binding specs over time, a less-conspiratorially-minded explanation is that process changes have made it impossible to consistently meet that spec. Process changes aren’t done because of malice or stupidity, but because it isn’t economical to run that process any more (e.g. sales of products made with that process have fallen enough that it isn’t economical to keep a fab open for that process, so they close or sell the fab), or because some process input (raw material, parts, equipment) is no longer available. So you switch to a different process, and that process produces different characteristics. |
| SiliconWizard:
Mostly agree with tooki here. One of the main reasons for "poor" documentation is just that technical documentation is very hard to write. One thing that is often true though, is that companies tend to cut on those dedicated positions - specialized technical writers - and use random engineers to do that. Your basic engineer is known to be relatively poor at writing tech docs. The reason is not necessarily just cost reduction, it's also the way management is supposed to be done these days: flexibility. Avoid too specialized positions. Make employees replaceable. |
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