Author Topic: Components you wish existed.  (Read 60459 times)

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Offline GalenboTopic starter

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Components you wish existed.
« on: May 11, 2017, 05:51:46 pm »
I'm sure everybody looked for a component, but turns out it doesn't exist.

My latest one: 8-bit Optocoupler Isolator in DIP package.

what's yours?
If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a nonworking cat.
 

Offline babysitter

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2017, 06:00:28 pm »
programmable emc filter. just aquire a emission peak list and upload into its nvm...
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Offline Siwastaja

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2017, 06:08:34 pm »
Affordable and simple current-mode synchronous buck DC/DC controller IC with current limit, doesn't need to be exact or even adjustable, but it should work as a CC-CV battery charging circuit. In other words, something that exists as hundreds of sub $1 products from every manufacturer, but with one unwanted feature (fault or hickup mode) removed.

(LM25117 was finally found and does the job, but I wish the possibility to disable fault/hickup mode was more commonplace in controller topologies where running at the limit poses no issue whatsoever.)

 
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Offline w2aew

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2017, 06:11:01 pm »
Here's a list I wrote up about 30 years ago, over a couple of beers with colleagues.  Almost on topic - though this list is really for the "Ultimate Analog EE Toolkit".  Still true today...

TUB OF MARGIN: Just add a scoop to your latest design wherever you need some additional margin. Available in four popular flavors: Gain Margin, Phase Margin, and the Neapolitan varieties of Design and Specification Margin.

MILLER KILLER SPRAY: Has that nasty Miller Effect killed the performance of your latest high-speed common emitter/source amplifier design? Give it a shot of this spray and watch your bandwidth return. It's cheaper than a cascode!

ANTI-NOISE FOAM: Quiet down your next design with the special blend of flicker antigens and shot dampeners in a light, foamy anti-Johnson base. It'll do wonders for your noise figure!

PARASITIC PESTICIDE: Scare away those annoying puffs of capacitance, nanohenries of lead inductance, stray leakage paths, etc. After all, you didn't design your circuit with them in mind, so why should you have to deal with them?

IDEAL CREAM: A favorite amongst most designers. Want an ideal diode? Rub a little cream over that 1N4004 or 1N914! Works on most any type of component. But, remember to use it sparingly, you still have to interface to the "real world".

BOX OF dBs: What design couldn't use a couple of extra dBs of supply rejection? Grab a handful whenever you need some more CMRR, gain, dynamic range, etc. For a limited time, your box will also include some -dBs to instantly give you better gain flatness, ideal filter responses, and harmonic suppression.

GAD SYSTEM: That's right, a real complete GAD system (graphite aided design). This system, known as the No. 2, is a slender yellow instrument. The "insert/add" mode is accomplished with the re-sharpenable end, and the "delete" mode is handled by the flexible orange end of the tool. Completely portable and very lightweight - uses no batteries!

TABLE OF UNIVERSAL FUDGE FACTORS: Can't seem to make your numbers match or your equations mesh? Fuss no more! Our universal fudge factors will make any data correlate and any relationship believable.

TOLERANCE TRIMMING TOOLS: Use these special tools to trim out the tolerance of any component in your design. Don't pay for expensive 0.1% components ever again!

MANAGEMENT REPELLENT: Do you find it hard to concentrate with your boss breathing down your neck? This formula is guaranteed to keep away the brass so you can get some real work done! Available as a hanging strip or a lab fogger.

DEADLINE SOLVENT: Don't let unrealistic project schedules stress you out. A drop or two of this powerful solvent will relieve you of the worries of late deliveries, fab shutdowns, vendor delays, and unexpected design problems.
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Offline BrianHG

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2017, 06:11:41 pm »
Matched power N-Channel and P-Channel J-Fets.  Like, at least 10 amps.  These stop being made back in the 1970's.
 

Online Ian.M

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2017, 06:18:19 pm »
TO-92 and/or SOT-23 100V Vds J-FETs, binned by Idss, also available as matched complimentary part numbers.
 

Offline alexanderbrevig

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2017, 06:49:32 pm »
This is mine, a 3-way net selector 0R jumper. Would make some of my variants easier. In a perfect world I'd want 0805, 0603 and 0402 sizes.
Sorry for my crude drawing:
 

Offline Conrad Hoffman

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2017, 06:59:06 pm »
Vacuum thermistors for oscillator stabilization. They used to exist and weren't too expensive, but now unobtainium. Last I saw were the Bowthorpe or NTC RA series. Lots of data sheets out there, but nobody seems to have actual parts.
 

Online Ian.M

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2017, 07:01:28 pm »
This is mine, a 3-way net selector 0R jumper. Would make some of my variants easier. In a perfect world I'd want 0805, 0603 and 0402 sizes.
If you fudge the pad in the footprint slightly by extending them outwards to accommodate the fact that SOT-23 and similar package leg centers don't quite make an equilateral triangle, you can do that: http://www.topline.tv/SOT_jumper.html
 
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Offline GeorgeOfTheJungle

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2017, 07:08:39 pm »
Electrolytics that don't dry up. Or a syringe to wet them again when they do.
And a decent gas soldering iron.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2017, 05:07:28 am by GeorgeOfTheJungle »
The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.
 

Offline NivagSwerdna

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2017, 07:12:54 pm »
5mm LEDs with built in resistors.
 

Offline Codebird

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2017, 07:18:47 pm »
A four pin device.
One pin is ground.
One is +3.3 or +5V.
One pin is an analog input.
One pin is the PWM output, duty proportional to the input voltage over the supply voltage.

For all your variable speed and brightness needs. With variations from 100Hz to 600KHz.

---

Also a thing with a 30Ms/s ADC on one side, and a USB2.0 interface on the other, that doesn't cost a fortune. Because if you want to do video capture, all the rest is software. 12 bits minimum.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2017, 07:25:02 pm »
RGB laser diode, a single can with all 3 emitters, aligned such that a whitelight beam is possible via a single set of optics.
 

Offline AndyC_772

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2017, 07:27:18 pm »
5mm LEDs with built in resistors.
http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mcl053had-12/led-5mm-2v-36-orange/dp/1581228

A four pin device.
One pin is ground.
One is +3.3 or +5V.
One pin is an analog input.
One pin is the PWM output, duty proportional to the input voltage over the supply voltage.

For all your variable speed and brightness needs. With variations from 100Hz to 600KHz.

Sounds exactly what the smallest PICs and similar micros are designed for.
 
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Online Ian.M

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2017, 07:35:52 pm »
A four pin device.
.....
For all your variable speed and brightness needs. With variations from 100Hz to 600KHz.
Sounds exactly what the smallest PICs and similar micros are designed for.
Yep.  Apart from the fact its SOT23-6 you've just described a PIC10F320 or 322. + some code.  Up to 62.5KHz use a PWM module, above that use the NCO in pulse frequency mode + diddle with the pulse width.
 

Offline FlyingHacker

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2017, 07:37:35 pm »
An Ideal OpAmp with +/- infinite output voltage, and no need for decoupling.
--73
 
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Offline mariush

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2017, 07:46:15 pm »
Two Y class capacitors in a single package, DIP or something similar, instead of the classic blue "teardrop" style. Make them use less space by having them one on top of the other. I image they would take slightly less space on a circuit board and they would be easier to pick and place.

Same for X class capacitors.  I would like to see a manufacturer making a package containing 2 X class capacitors stacked vertically. Maybe even 2 x capacitors and 2-4 y capacitors in a package.
Basically,  most ATX power supplies have these components taking a lot of room and I feel there could be some better use of vertical space.
 
I'd like to see more switching regulators available with built in inductors and diodes and ceramic capacitors.. in DIP or soic or something like that. Basically just add input and output capacitors and you're done.  Linear has a bunch of them but they're mostly BGA or similar packages and cost a lot (15$+). Don't see why it would be so hard to make cheap ones with just vin , vout and maybe adjusting output voltage using a resistor.
 
Switching regulators that can have a default output voltage but can be reconfigured through some 1-wire or spi  / i2c to output another voltage and/or enabled/disabled and maybe optionally report back the current used if there's a current sense resistor added.
 
CHEAP e-ink or grayscale LCD (transflexive or with backlight) with maybe 2/4/8/16 gray levels and 16:9 16:10   (like 320 x 160-240 , 480x360, 640x360) , ideally with some memory built in and the possibility of uploading a bunch of 8x8 sprites/bitmap fonts to reduce the communication between a microcontroller and the display.. BUT still keeping communication simple using SPI or i2c  or at most 8bit parallel

Basically something in-between the ancient 2x16-20 or 4x16-20 character parallel connections and downright 16-24bit color lcds that require sending 3 bytes at a time for each pixel or require flat flex connectors.

I'm too lazy to research .. is there a particular reason why the common mode chokes in computer power supplies have to be round? Could they maybe make them use less space but have the same technical capabilities by making hexagon shape or some other shape instead of round ferrite ring. 

I was thinking..  lots of power supplies have 2 y caps. common mode choke, x2 caps , sometimes another common mode choke, another pair of y caps. Why not have one or two round chokes stacked vertically, put two y caps in the center of (each) choke and arrange the wires in a nice format at the bottom and then put everything in some potting compound or some plastic case.

With hundreds of thousands of power supplies manufactured I would think the investment in some innovation in this area would be worth it.
 

Offline rdl

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #17 on: May 11, 2017, 07:49:04 pm »
5mm LEDs with built in resistors.

Mouser stocks several types of these here in the US. The trick to finding them is to search for forward voltages of 5 and 12 volts. I keep a bunch of these because they're very useful for breadboarding. The only problem is telling them apart from regular LEDs, and which voltage they are for, when they get separated from the original packaging.

edit: http://www.mouser.com/Optoelectronics/LED-Indication/Standard-LEDs-Through-Hole/_/N-b1jdvZscv7?P=1yox9hxZ1yox9d6
 

Offline CJay

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Offline Roeland_R

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Components you wish existed.
« Reply #19 on: May 11, 2017, 08:04:06 pm »
Fluxcapacitor
 

Offline BrianHG

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #20 on: May 11, 2017, 08:12:04 pm »
Solder paste with the consistency of bubble-gum.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #21 on: May 11, 2017, 08:14:20 pm »
Fluxcapacitor

But where are you gonna get the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity?!
 

Offline mariush

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #22 on: May 11, 2017, 08:21:47 pm »
Oh..  would be nice to have a CHEAP (<10$)  all-in-one video card IC , let's say with only only LVDS or displayport (so you don't pay royalties for hdmi), with 2D only so it won't use a lot of power and 1366x768 60hz or 1080p 30/60hz (make it with a 8 MB / 16 MB / 32 MB sram/sdram/ddram buffer integrated in the chip, shoudn't be that hard since there's already ssd controllers with so much ram built in).

Shouldn't be hard to make a chip powered from a single 5v (only saying it because displayport connectors already have 5v in it) and/or maybe 3.3v-3.6v power supply and some simple input (spi/i2c/parallel 8bit/16bit etc).

Make it simple .. just initialize and configure the resolution and bpp (let's say 8bit / 16 bit / 24 bit / 32bit which defines the frame buffer size and number of frames in buffer) and then the chip could do it all without communication from processor, microcontroller, no hand-holding. Make it possible to write directly to the onboard memory in one of the frames in the buffer (and/or have some commands to be able overlay text, print text etc over what's there already), some basic commands to flip between frame buffers (for vsync and so you won't have screen tears, purposes etc) and then the graphics card converts the memory buffer to displayport/lvds output.

Would be awesome if it had maybe some very basic overlay support and hardware decoder support for some h264 or something like that. Doesn't have to be any h264 profile possible, could be just basic / lightweight h264 profile (let's say max 720p 2-3 mbps), to save transistors and memory and power. Basically, so you could tell the card to overlay a 640x360 h264 stream somewhere and then the microcontroller can push data into the chip through a 8bit to 32bit connection.. let's say videos with maximum 1 mbps bitrate and have the video card do the hard part.
 
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 08:29:01 pm by mariush »
 

Offline BrianHG

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #23 on: May 11, 2017, 08:32:05 pm »
Fluxcapacitor

But where are you gonna get the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity?!
Actually, if you only need to hold that wattage for a second, then it's not that bad.  If you need to dish out that total power in one second, then you got some real problems.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #24 on: May 11, 2017, 08:36:04 pm »
Fluxcapacitor

But where are you gonna get the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity?!
Actually, if you only need to hold that wattage for a second, then it's not that bad.  If you need to dish out that total power in one second, then you got some real problems.

Unfortunately they sort of glossed over those details in the movie.

One thing I've always wanted to know is how did he fit a nuclear power plant into a car? It would have been more believable if the flux capacitor was based on nuclear fission directly rather than electricity.
 


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