Mine is INA260, a voltage/current/power monitor with integrated shunt and digital I2C output. No external components required. It'd be hard to improve it any further, similarly to the WS2812 programmable LEDs which IMHO closed the chapter on RGB LED control. There are four color variants too, but conceptually it is still the same protocol. Any other ICs that hit the bullseye and you would like to recommend them to others?
Best regards, Piotr
I wonder what it might take to adapt this chip to function at 40 to 60 VDC? Or if another variant is available for that range?
Accuracy probably goes downhill quick...
You wouldn't like to hear the 2 I like best
NT
Nope !
But, What were they again ?
:)
LM324, LM358. They're extremely cheap, and I'm all about cheap. I only wish there were even cheaper ones!
NT
Crappy dead-band == crappy distortion. ...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at
Awwk, gag me with a spoon!
Doesn't even take a spoon >:-} ...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at
If you want cheap, try NJR. They're crap but still a mile better than LM324s!
They're good for stuff like temperature controllers, bias generators, and slowish current limiters. My fave jellybean op amp is the MC33078 dual, but it isn't single-supply friendly.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
NJM324 or some other?
Some other. ANY other. But NJM is crap, just less crap than *324.
The LM324A has pretty nice offset voltage specs for the price.
The class B/deadband/distortion thing can be resolved very neatly by not using them for AC. Though they generate/buffer complex waveforms like sawtooths etc. up to around 1kHz just fine.
I do fine with them upto 20kHz. Yes you can go wrong with them. They have lots of uses and are cheap as chips. They're very popular for good reason.
NT
There are plenty of uses where linearity and speed are not important. I use them all the time. I prefer the LM358 most of the time because a dual package is more versatile than a quad for compact single-layer pcb layout.
I never use duals because they're too big. I either use quads or singles (SOT-23). Some boards I've done have sixteen quads. Duals would have been nuts. ;-) I don't have problems wiring quads, though we do use 0402 passives whenever possible.
To each his own. Two 8-pin duals are only slightly bigger than a
14-pin quad. They give you more freedom in placement, orientation, routing tracks and passives placement. I do use quads too but I prefer duals.
Our micro bga op amp duals were not even a quarter inch square.
Two SO8s are significantly bigger than one SO14. Not only because of the additional two power pins but also the space between the two SO8s. Also a TSSOP14 is smaller than an SO14, so there is a gain there. My boards are almost always packed so every little bit of space helps. Sixteen times a little space gets to be a lot of space.
I would be hard pressed to argue against that. Of course there could be so me innovation on the horizon neither of us are able to imagine at this poin t, but the WS2812 has made digitally controlled lighting practical for the middle class where once it was only for the rich.
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