Questions tagged [specifications]

Specifications for an electronic component provide the basis for parametric part selection for operation or optimum performance of a circuit or to prevent damage to integral or connected circuit components.

Specifications define requirements. For electronic components this may include typical, minimum, and maximum values for normal operation or limits for measures such as voltage, current, power, temperature, humidity, frequency, time, gain, resistance, capacitance, inductance, number of actuations, etc. Manufacturers' stated specifications depend upon the type of component and such factors as whether the component is active, passive, or mechanical.

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Electrical reason for the minimum altitude (-50 feet) in the computer specs?

Are if there any electrical reasons not to operate or store my Dell OptiPlex computers below the altitude of -50 feet, as written in the specifications? Screenshot of the original Dell OptiPlex specifications I saw:
eXtranium
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Why do digital scopes sample signals at a higher frequency than required by the sampling theorem?

In the quest for a not so expensive PC scope/logic analyzer, I have found a nice little device it looks very well done and I know it will do the job. However looking at the specifications, I encountered this: Bandwidth vs Sample Rate In order to…
LuisF
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Where is the official RS-232 specification?

Searching with Google returned only 3rd party documents (i.e. from chip vendors or university lectures). Is there a main document of such specification, similar to USB?
Amumu
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How to search for a component?

Whenever I start a new project, one of the first things I must do is search for suitable components to see if the project is feasible. Most of my projects are desperately space constrained, so I don't always have the luxury of just using parts I'm…
Rocketmagnet
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Why is power consumption sometimes given in mA and not in units of Watts?

Why is power consumption sometimes given in mA and not in units of Watts? For example, consider the following statement: "A USB device specifies its power consumption expressed in 2mA units in the configuration descriptor." I have seen this in some…
Anshul
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Why does this microswitch datasheet specify a minimum load current?

The Omron VX series datasheet mentions on page 6 that "Using a model for ordinary loads to open or close the contact of a micro load circuit may result in faulty contact.", and shows that their micro load models even still require a minimum of 1mA @…
bdonlan
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Why would I use 2N3904 instead of 2N4401?

2N3904 and 2N4401 appear to be very comparable parts in all specs. 2N4401 has a higher current rating, but otherwise they look to be about the same in price and everything else. Obviously it's difficult to give a 100% universal answer since both…
Stephen Collings
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What are the differences between optoisolator output styles?

Digikey lists optoisolators with several output types: Darlington Darlington with base Photo FET Photovoltaic Photovoltaic, linearized Transistor Transistor, with base What are the differences among these, and in what circumstances would I use one…
Stephen Collings
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10000 pF - so many zeros

Why are 10 nF capacitors sometimes (usually) specified as 10000 pF? Why are we trying so hard to avoid nF? Seems unnecessary and error prone. Note: Question also relates, of course, to 1 nF vs 1000 pF - of which there are four 1 nF ceramics on…
Blair Fonville
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What does A x B mean when referring to wire strand count?

Stranded wire is often specified using two numbers in the format A x B. For example, 16 AWG wire might come with a 19 x 29 strand count. What do the first and second numbers mean?
LotsOfParts
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Is it possible for an opamp to oscillate at a frequency greater than its GBP?

I was installing a tl3141 into a headphone amplifier circuit and it appears to break into ~250mVp-p oscillation at 8-10MHz on the lower half of the waveform when fed a 1kHz sine wave. Is that even possible given the specs of the opamp (GBP 1.1MHz,…
Frosty
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Aside from cost, is there any disadvantage to using thicker wire than required?

Say I've calculated the minimum wire gauge necessary to give me an acceptable voltage drop over my length of cable run at the voltage and current my application will use. Are there any disadvantages to using thicker cable, aside from cost? Is the…
Robert Atkins
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Is HSYNC required during VSYNC for VGA?

As a development to my previous question I am developing a protocol to drive VGA through lines originally designed for SPI communication. The problem is that I may be able to instruct the receiving decoder to have either VSYNC, HSYNC or color. This…
Anonymous
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What are the 9V battery terminal size specifications?

I'm trying to find the dimensions of a 9V (PP3?) battery (no specific chemistry). For some reason it's giving me a lot of trouble. I've been able to find most of the information (I checked a bunch of sources and they've all got these same…
Jason C
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Does a zero-recovery diode really have literally zero recovery time? If so, how?

Some diodes are advertised as "zero recovery". Is this true? Or is it marketing speak for "so fast you couldn't possibly care"? If it's true, what makes a zero-recovery diode fundamentally different than others?
Stephen Collings
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