23 Sep
2010
23 Sep
'10
11:49 a.m.
On 2010 Sep 23, at 10:23 AM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 9/23/10 12:26 AM, Brent Hilpert wrote:
Cases 626 & 629 are not present in the 1969 Motorola Databook, however.
From what I see the devices you mention are 70's products. In my
(limited) search the earliest mention or ref for use of the 8-pin I
have found is 1971 (the 555).
While looking around for a little about the 8-pin
DIP package, I
checked into the 555, as it was introduced about the same time as
the 8-pin DIP appeared. This site (albeit a 2nd-source, not direct
ref) says the 555 in 8-pin DIP was introduced in 1971 (page 2):
http://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/LectureHall/Camenzind/Cam
enzind_Index.htm
But what I was surprised about was the statement about the 555 still
selling a billion units in 2003. I thought it had faded from
popularity since the '70/'80's as I can't recall seeing one in a new
product in many years. Apparently I'm not looking hard enough. Where
are all these 555's going?
8 pin DIPs were around in the 60s for linear products. Motorola
referred to them as their "Case 626" and used them for a lot of
consumer products such as the MC1350 IF amplifier. There was even a
4-pin DIP (Case 629) for the MFC4000 series of transistor arrays. The NE555 for analog-minded folks is a hugely useful
IC. Every
couple of months it seems that there's a circuit in EDN or Electronic
Design using one.
I've lately seen one used as a switching boost regulator. I've often
wondered if the NE555 (and 556) isn't the single most popular IC in
history.
The web site mentioned suggests that is so. I've been repairing some
modern stuff lately for friends (ipod, cell phone, laptop, digital
cameras) so I'm not completely stuck in dealing with hardware from the
past, but recent uses of the 555 have escaped me.