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SMD code search: identify a part by its marking

7 parts are printed PKA.

7 parts are printed PKA

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 7 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

  • PSOT15KCASOT-23ESD protection diode, 3 pins, ProTek DevicesESD protection diodeSOT-233 pinsProTek Devices
    What it is
    ESD protection diode
    Maker
    ProTek Devices
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    300W TVS Array
    Source
    Manufacturer 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
    , 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.

  • TPSMBJ130ASMBTVS diode, 2 pins, DOWOTVS diodeSMB2 pinsDOWO
    What it is
    TVS diode
    Maker
    DOWO
    Package
    SMB
    Pins
    2
    Source
    Manufacturer 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
    , 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.

  • S-1000C15-M5T1SOT-23-55 pins, ABLICNot recordedSOT-23-55 pinsABLIC
    What it is
    Not recorded
    Maker
    ABLIC
    Package
    SOT-23-5
    Pins
    5
    Details
    CMOS-IC: Voltage Detector 1.5V, -Reset Push-pull output
    Source
    Published code list

    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.

  • S-1000C15-N4T1SOT-3434 pins, ABLICNot recordedSOT-3434 pinsABLIC
    What it is
    Not recorded
    Maker
    ABLIC
    Package
    SOT-343
    Pins
    4
    Details
    CMOS-IC: Voltage Detector 1.5V, -Reset Push-pull output
    Source
    Published code list

    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.

  • TPSMBJ130A-VRSMBTVS diode, 2 pins, LittelfuseTVS diodeSMB2 pinsLittelfuse
    What it is
    TVS diode
    Maker
    Littelfuse
    Package
    SMB
    Pins
    2
    Details
    Transient voltage supressor: Vrwm=130.0V, Vbr=144.0..159.0V, Ipp=2.9A, 600W(1ms)
    Source
    Published code list

    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
    , 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.

  • 2 more parts have no package on record
    • S-1000C15-I4T14 pins, ABLICNot recordedNot recorded4 pinsABLIC
      What it is
      Not recorded
      Maker
      ABLIC
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      4
      Source
      Published code list

      Is it dead?

      Diode range and ohms range, part lifted.

      Working, it reads

      Depends on what it is. The datasheet, or an identical part, says.

      Dead, it reads

      • Between two pins, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
      • Open between every pair of pins: failed open, or a part that reads open when working.
      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.

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

    • S-1000C15-I4T1GABLICNot recordedNot recordedNot recordedABLIC
      What it is
      Not recorded
      Maker
      ABLIC
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Details
      CMOS-IC: Voltage Detector 1.5V, -Reset Push-pull output
      Source
      Published code list

      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.

Did you find your 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.

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