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1 part is printed M8. 1 printed with a similar-looking code.

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 2 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

The only part printed M8 in this package in our tables

BZT52C8V2K

What it is
Zener diode
Maker
Taiwan Semiconductor
Package
Not recorded
Pins
Not recorded
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 BZT52C8V2K, opens in a new tab

Printed with a code easy to misread

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

  • BGB420printed MBRF amplifier (MMIC), Infineon

    Printed MB on the part. Easy to misread as M8. 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 BGB420, opens in a new tab
1 more part has a code that begins with M8

Codes that begin with M8

For a marking with its end worn or burnt off. Each one shows its full printed code.

  • TPSMF4L20Aprinted MB1SOD-123FTVS diode, 2 pins, Diotec

    Printed MB1. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    TVS diode
    Maker
    Diotec
    Package
    SOD-123F
    Pins
    2
    Details
    SMD Transient Voltage Suppressor Diodes
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    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:
    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.

    Datasheetfor TPSMF4L20A, opens in a new tab

One code, several parts

Marking codes are not unique. In the standard code book, 6H on a SOT-23 is an NPN transistor, a varicap, an N-channel JFET, two digital transistors, a 3.6 V voltage detector: six parts from five makers. So a search shows the parts we hold under that code and under codes easily misread as it, with only the columns that tell them apart.

6Hon a SOT-23, in the code book
  • NPN transistor
  • Varicap
  • N-channel JFET
  • Digital transistor ×2
  • 3.6 V voltage detector

When more than one is left

Tap Help me choose. Up to 4 quick answers: whether the part has failed, then what separates the parts left. Those get ranked with the reasoning and a test that settles it. That uses one identification: 2 a month are free without an account, and 3 with a free account.

When you cannot read it

Tap the camera in the field. We read the characters, keep the ones we are unsure of, and search every reading. A photo too soft to read is turned back on your phone first; if it is the only one you can get, you can still send it.