PARTS SOURCES

The chips and related components (resistors, capacitors, etc.) used in this book are available from a variety of sources, including electronics stores (such as Dick Smith Electronics in Australia and David Reid stores in New Zealand), advertisers in electronics magazines, and industrial electronics suppliers. Some chips—such as the SN76477N, SN76488N, and SAD-1024A—are a bit “rarer” and you may have to look for them at companies specializing in surplus and discontinued devices.

Manufacturers of integrated circuits publish “data sheets” giving the bare-bones specifications for a chip and “applications notes” that give additional information, including circuit schematics using the chip. These can be obtained by contacting the national headquarters of the chip manufacturer or their nearest sales office.

The manufacturer of an integrated circuit is identified by a prefix in front of the actual part number. For example, “LM741” and “MC741” would both indicate the device was the common 741 operational amplifier found on pages 93 to 96 of this book. However, the “LM” would indicate the device was manufactured by National Semiconductor while the “MC” would denote a device manufactured by Motorola. Here are some common prefixes and manufacturers: