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A new way to use diodes? — Parallax Forums

A new way to use diodes?

wmosscropwmosscrop Posts: 409
edited 2011-05-18 03:11 in General Discussion
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062576

Check out the product picture. Maybe the photographer was bored that day?

Walter

Comments

  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2011-05-16 19:25
    Yup!, I've gotten them that way on numerous occasions. It's really a pain to 'untwist' them.
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-05-16 19:28
    I've seen them that way at RS, too.

    I figure it's so that you can have a big bin full of them (before putting them in the packaging) and they won't get tangled up with each other.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-05-17 06:55
    Very mental. Nobody likes to buy components with bent leads.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2011-05-17 07:31
    As someone who likes to make sure my final projects look nice seeing the new parts twisted up like that bugs me. I guess they figure people don't care and are only going to use them on a breadboard. When I install parts like that I usually use a lead forming tool so that all of the parts are uniform and look good when installed.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2011-05-17 08:31
    Come on guys, there's always an upside. By twisting & mangling the leads together, he's making a solid electrical connection.

    1) If all the diode polarities go the same way, then the voltage drop across all those parallel diodes is practically nothing.
    2) If the diode polarities are mixed, there's a good chance that there's a free bridge rectifier somewhere in there.

    And yes, I'm kidding on both counts. :)
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,568
    edited 2011-05-17 08:33
    erco, along the same lines, in a combined effort, all 10 diodes in that pack might work as a single 3Amp diode .... :-)
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2011-05-17 08:44
    Beau Schwabe (Parallax) wrote: »
    erco, along the same lines, in a combined effort, all 10 diodes in that pack might work as a single 3Amp diode .... :-)

    dont laugh but when I was 10 I thought I could parallal Diodes easy . so to make a better Batt charger used a array of 5x5 ( 25 ) 1n4004's ....... it worked ! but I never knew til later in ,life why the thing did not heat up evinly .


    Peter
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2011-05-17 11:55
    ...actually, twisting the leads does provide a positive alignment of the micro-magnet domains in the wire allowing easier transition of electrons from one valence level to another thus improving phase directionality. ??:surprise:??
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2011-05-17 12:19
    It will also minimise any damage from static discharge.
  • davidsaundersdavidsaunders Posts: 1,559
    edited 2011-05-17 13:10
    Interesting topic :innocent: . I do not know where the Radio Shack you go to is, but remind me not to go there (the diodes I buy at Radio Shack are always straight).
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2011-05-17 16:26
    That's just a picture from their online catalog, not a representation of any individual store. Their photographers tend to get a little too "artsy", It often seems as if they are trying to provide as little information as possible in the item's illustration.

    edit: Check out this LED:

    http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062573
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2011-05-17 16:36
    I like mine with a twist...
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-05-17 16:43
    RDL2004 wrote: »
    That's just a picture from their online catalog, not a representation of any individual store. Their photographers tend to get a little too "artsy", It often seems as if they are trying to provide as little information as possible in the item's illustration.

    As I mentioned before, I've seen them that way in their packaging in the store.

    By the way, my favorite comment so far is regarding the free bridge rectifier. :)
  • LevLev Posts: 182
    edited 2011-05-17 17:50
    RDL2004 wrote: »
    That's just a picture from their online catalog, not a representation of any individual store. Their photographers tend to get a little too "artsy", It often seems as if they are trying to provide as little information as possible in the item's illustration.

    edit: Check out this LED:

    http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062573

    Looks like HAL's watchful "eye" in 2001 A Space Odyssey, when Dave and Frank were having the secret conversation in the pod.

    Lev
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-05-18 03:11
    What I have often observed and suspected.... the world is divided in to those of us that prefer twisted and those of us that prefer straight.

    Ever since Tandy Leather Company took over Radio Shack in the 1960s, it hasn't quite been normal as far as an electronics supplier goes. There is something odd that goes on in Fort Worth, TX.
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