2 parts are printed SDC. 8 printed with a similar-looking code.
2 parts are printed SDC
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 Texas Instruments. What differs:
TPS70925DBVSOT-23-55 pinsSOT-23-55 pins
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- SOT-23-5
- Pins
- 5
- Details
- 150-mA, 30-V, 1-µA IQ Voltage Regulators With Enable
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
TPS70925DRVWSON6 pinsWSON6 pins
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- WSON
- Pins
- 6
- Details
- 150-mA, 30-V, 1-µA IQ Voltage Regulators With Enable
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
8 more parts are printed with a code easy to misread as SDC
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.
BC850Cprinted 50CSOT-23Transistor, 3 pins, PanjitTransistorSOT-233 pinsPanjit
Printed 50C on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Transistor
- Maker
- Panjit
- Package
- SOT-23
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- SMD General Purpose NPN Transistors
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.
Working, it reads
From the base, one probe colour reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.
Dead, it reads
- Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
- The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
- Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
- A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: 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 pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
BC850C-AUprinted 50CSOT-23Transistor, 3 pins, PanjitTransistorSOT-233 pinsPanjit
Printed 50C on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Transistor
- Maker
- Panjit
- Package
- SOT-23
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- Bipolar transistor
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.
Working, it reads
From the base, one probe colour reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.
Dead, it reads
- Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
- The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
- Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
- A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: 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 pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
BC850CWprinted 50CSOT-323Transistor, 3 pins, PanjitTransistorSOT-3233 pinsPanjit
Printed 50C on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Transistor
- Maker
- Panjit
- Package
- SOT-323
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- Bipolar transistor
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.
Working, it reads
From the base, one probe colour reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.
Dead, it reads
- Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
- The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
- Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
- A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: 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 pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
BC850CW-AUprinted 50CSOT-323Transistor, 3 pins, PanjitTransistorSOT-3233 pinsPanjit
Printed 50C on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Transistor
- Maker
- Panjit
- Package
- SOT-323
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- Bipolar transistor
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.
Working, it reads
From the base, one probe colour reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.
Dead, it reads
- Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
- The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
- Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
- A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: 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 pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
MMBD914printed 5DGSOT-23Switching diode, 3 pins, VishaySwitching diodeSOT-233 pinsVishay
Printed 5DG on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Switching diode
- Maker
- Vishay
- Package
- SOT-23
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- Surface-mount fast switching diode
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.
Working, it reads
About 0.5 to 0.8 V anode to cathode, and open the other way. Small switching diodes read about 0.6 to 0.7 V; large rectifiers can read a little lower.
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: failed open.
- A reading the wrong way round as well: 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 three-pin body can hold two diodes. With a common pin they read two junctions from that pin, just like a transistor; in series they read two drops end to end. Test each pair the datasheet names.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
MMBD914-Gprinted 5DGSOT-23Switching diode, 3 pins, VishaySwitching diodeSOT-233 pinsVishay
Printed 5DG on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Switching diode
- Maker
- Vishay
- Package
- SOT-23
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- Small Signal Switching Diode
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.
Working, it reads
About 0.5 to 0.8 V anode to cathode, and open the other way. Small switching diodes read about 0.6 to 0.7 V; large rectifiers can read a little lower.
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: failed open.
- A reading the wrong way round as well: 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 three-pin body can hold two diodes. With a common pin they read two junctions from that pin, just like a transistor; in series they read two drops end to end. Test each pair the datasheet names.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
TPS70933DBVprinted SDGSOT-23-5LDO regulator, 5 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulatorSOT-23-55 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed SDG on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- SOT-23-5
- Pins
- 5
- Details
- 150-mA, 30-V, 1-µA IQ Voltage Regulators With Enable
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
TPS70933DRVprinted SDGWSONLDO regulator, 6 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulatorWSON6 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed SDG on the part. Easy to misread as SDC. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- WSON
- Pins
- 6
- Details
- 150-mA, 30-V, 1-µA IQ Voltage Regulators With Enable
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
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.
- 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.