Hi Guys,
I like to tinker with fixing computers, which seems to often be ripping out a psu and putting a new one in or swapping ram etc. Replacing caps etc I want to be able to test more at the component level and MOSFETs seem to come up a lot.
So far the best description of a MOSFET is what I have seen at
I have read the sci.electronicsrepair faq on MOSFET testing but that has me confused as : (a) the tests are all different (b) some of them tell you to put a lead here and a lead there, but not which lead on your DMM (c) I brought a new MOSFET to experiment with - yet I still dont get the same results as some of the tests????
So I have some questions that I hope the experts here can clear up. They all relate to MOSFETs as used in computer PSUs and motherboards
1) Can you test them in circuit 2) I see some are though hole mounted and some are, "surface mounted".Is there a special word to describe teh surface mounted ones? Why are they surface mounted (like lieing flat on PCB) 3) I have been thinking of MOSFETs as a current gate that is turned off/on by voltage - so with respect to all the MOSFETS you see on a computer motherboard near the VRM circuitry - that are they actually doing? how does a bunch of gates help?Any help apreciated in trying to get my head around these things
Cheers
-Al