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2 parts are printed R6C. 6 printed with a similar-looking code.

2 parts are printed R6C

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.

Voltage reference, all SOT-23, 3 pins, all Texas Instruments.

  • LM4040QCIM3-2.5SOT-23
    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4040-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4040QCIM3X2.5SOT-23
    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4040-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

6 more parts are printed with a code easy to misread as R6C

Printed with a code easy to misread

One character differs, and it is one that is easy to confuse under a lamp. The odd one out is marked on each.

Voltage reference, all SOT-23, 3 pins, all Texas Instruments.

  • LM4050CEM3-2.5printed RCCSOT-23

    Printed RCC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4050CEM3-10printed RGCSOT-23

    Printed RGC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4050CEM3X-2.5printed RCCSOT-23

    Printed RCC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4050CIM3-2.5printed RCCSOT-23

    Printed RCC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4050CIM3-10printed RGCSOT-23

    Printed RGC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

  • LM4050CIM3X-2.5printed RCCSOT-23

    Printed RCC on the part. Easy to misread as R6C. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage reference
    Maker
    Texas Instruments
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    LM4050-N/-Q1 Precision Micropower Shunt Voltage Reference
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

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

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.