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SMD marking

ULin SOD-323

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.

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 3 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

The only part printed UL in this package in our tables

BZX84J-C5V1

What it is
Zener diode
Maker
Nexperia
Package
SOD-323
Pins
2
Details
5.1 V approx. ±5% voltage regulator (Zener) diode
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet

Is it dead?

Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

Working, it reads

About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

Dead, it reads

  • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
  • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
  • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
  • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
On the board:
On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

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

Datasheetfor BZX84J-C5V1, opens in a new tab

Printed with a code easy to misread

These parts are printed with a character that is easy to misread as what you typed. The odd one out is marked on each.

  • BZX84J-C24printed U1SOD-323Zener diode, Nexperia

    Printed U1 on the part. Easy to misread as UL. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Nexperia
    Package
    SOD-323
    Pins
    2
    Details
    24 V approx. ±5% voltage regulator (Zener) diode
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
    • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
    • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

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

    Datasheetfor BZX84J-C24, opens in a new tab
  • 1 more part has no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
    • BGX50Aprinted U1RF amplifier (MMIC), Infineon

      Printed U1 on the part. Easy to misread as UL. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

      What it is
      RF amplifier (MMIC)
      Maker
      Infineon
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Source
      From the manufacturer's datasheet

      Is it dead?

      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.

      Datasheetfor BGX50A, opens in a new tab

Open this in the search to correct a character or try another package.