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SMD code BTx

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables and published code lists.

The last letter, x, is lower case, which on NXP and Philips parts is a date or factory code, so it was set aside and BT was searched.

141 parts are printed BTx

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 50 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

Is it dead? One meter test per kind

Parts of the same kind are tested the same way, so each test is here once. Each part above points to its own.

TVS or ESD protection diode

Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.

Working, it reads

A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.

Dead, it reads

  • From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
  • A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
  • A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
On the board
, a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
Compare:
The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
Watch for:
A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.

A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

MOSFET

Diode range, part lifted. Test drain to source first, then short gate to source and test again.

Working, it reads

One way between drain and source reads about 0.4 to 0.9 V, the body diode, and the other way open. The gate reads open to both other pins.

Dead, it reads

  • Drain to source the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep, and still so after shorting gate to source: shorted. The classic failure.
  • The gate reads low to source or drain: gate shorted.
  • No body diode at all: failed open.
On the board
the gate usually has a resistor to the source, which reads as that resistor and is not a fault. Lift a leg to be sure.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
The diode range can charge the gate enough to turn the part on, and then drain to source reads near 0 both ways on a good part. Short gate to source and test again before you condemn it.

A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

RF amplifier

Voltage, board powered, on the output pin that the bias resistor or choke feeds.

Working, it reads

The output pin sits at the device voltage the datasheet gives, a few volts, below the supply.

Dead, it reads

  • Output pin at 0 V, or near 0 Ω to ground with the power off: shorted inside.
  • Output pin at the full supply voltage: open inside, no current flowing.
On the board:
Measured on the board with power on; the bias network is part of the reading.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
The figures depend on the part and its bias resistor. The datasheet gives both.

A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

Printed with a code easy to misread as BTx

One character differs, and it is one that is easy to confuse under a lamp. Each code has a page of its own.

Codes not listed here are printed on 14 more parts.

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