Skip to content

SMD code search: identify a part by its marking

2 parts in SOT-89 are printed 123N.

2 parts in SOT-89 are printed 123N

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.

LDO regulator, all SOT-89, 3 pins. What differs:

  • HE6201-23PRSOT-89Heermicr SemicconductorHeermicr Semicconductor
    What it is
    LDO regulator
    Maker
    Heermicr Semicconductor
    Package
    SOT-89
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Linear voltage regulator IC: LDO, 2.3V±2%, 350mA
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.

    Working, it reads

    Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.

    Dead, it reads

    • Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
    • Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
    • Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
    On the board:
    An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
    Compare:
    The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
    Watch for:
    Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.

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

  • HM620123PRSOT-89Huamei SemiconductorHuamei Semiconductor
    What it is
    LDO regulator
    Maker
    Huamei Semiconductor
    Package
    SOT-89
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Linear voltage regulator IC: LDO, 2.3V±2%, 350mA
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.

    Working, it reads

    Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.

    Dead, it reads

    • Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
    • Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
    • Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
    On the board:
    An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
    Compare:
    The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
    Watch for:
    Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.

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

4 more parts have codes that begin with 123N: none in SOT-89, 4 with no package on record

Codes that begin with 123N

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

4 parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.

all Infineon. What differs:

  • BSC123N08NS3printed 123N08NSNot recorded

    Printed 123N08NS. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    Not recorded
    Maker
    Infineon
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Details
    MOSFET N-канальный
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    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.

  • BSC123N08NS3 Gprinted 123N08NSN-channel MOSFETN-channel MOSFET

    Printed 123N08NS. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    N-channel MOSFET
    Maker
    Infineon
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

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

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the source, black on the drain: about 0.4 to 0.9 V, the body diode. Open the other way. The gate reads open to both other pins, both ways.

    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. Often all three pins end up shorted together.
    • No body diode at all: failed open.
    On the board
    the gate usually has a resistor to the source, so gate to source reads that resistor, which is not a fault. A drain short can be the load. 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.

  • BSC123N10LSprinted 123N10LSNot recorded

    Printed 123N10LS. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    Not recorded
    Maker
    Infineon
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Details
    MOSFET N-канальный
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    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.

  • BSC123N10LS Gprinted 123N10LSN-channel MOSFETN-channel MOSFET

    Printed 123N10LS. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    N-channel MOSFET
    Maker
    Infineon
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

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

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the source, black on the drain: about 0.4 to 0.9 V, the body diode. Open the other way. The gate reads open to both other pins, both ways.

    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. Often all three pins end up shorted together.
    • No body diode at all: failed open.
    On the board
    the gate usually has a resistor to the source, so gate to source reads that resistor, which is not a fault. A drain short can be the load. 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.

Did you find your part?

Try Tech free for 30 days. You need a card to start. Unless you cancel during the trial, Tech then costs €12.00 a month plus VAT. See the plans

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 on WhatSMD (What SMD) 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.

Get the app

The same search on your phone, and a camera with a light, zoom and tap to focus for a marking you cannot read. Sign in with your email address to use the same account.

  • Get WhatSMD on Google Play
  • Coming soon to the App Store