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Help ID this 8 lead TSSOP chip? — Parallax Forums

Help ID this 8 lead TSSOP chip?

xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
edited 2012-12-31 08:42 in General Discussion
I am the proud owner of 10,000+ (literally) of these chips. I believe they are in an 8 lead TSSOP package (smaller than SOIC - same lead spacing and thickness as the EEPROM Parallax sells here.) and are marked:

ABE
330

So... it would be nice to know what they are. Despite all my iPhone apps from Elektor and others, and teh internet... I can't find an ABE330 listing. Anybody have a clue on these?

Thanks,

Dave

Comments

  • Duane C. JohnsonDuane C. Johnson Posts: 955
    edited 2012-12-29 12:40
    xanatos wrote: »
    I am the proud owner of 10,000+ (literally) of these chips. I believe they are in an 8 lead TSSOP package (smaller than SOIC - same lead spacing and thickness as the EEPROM Parallax sells here.) and are marked:

    ABE
    330

    So... it would be nice to know what they are. Despite all my iPhone apps from Elektor and others, and teh internet... I can't find an ABE330 listing. Anybody have a clue on these?

    Thanks,

    Dave
    My guess is, (well not really my guess), it's a:
    ABE MAX803ZXR Max ZB SC70 microproc -ve reset gen 2.5V
    SMD Cookbook
    I'd think the 330 is a date code.

    Duane J
  • xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
    edited 2012-12-29 13:19
    Thanks... but no. Checked that one out, only available in 3-pin packages (SC70 and SOT23). Got excited when I thought it might be a tiny little uController!

    The search continues... :-)

    Dave
  • Duane C. JohnsonDuane C. Johnson Posts: 955
    edited 2012-12-29 19:04
    Sorry, I thought I had it on that SMD marking site %^(

    Duane J
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-12-29 19:26
    @xanatos: Which begs the question: howdja get these 10K+ mystery units?
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,183
    edited 2012-12-29 20:34
    xanatos wrote: »
    The search continues... :-)

    You could do some curve tracer style checks.
    First find the Vcc and GND pins, start at 3.3V in case it is not 5V rated.
    check the clamp diodes, or drive ability/voltages, on all the other pins when powered.
    Also check Icc when pins are in a minimum current setting, then check how Icc varies with Vcc.

    A pure IP pin, will have the least-aggressive clamps, which may allow a IO pin floating to be detected
    Check also for Vcc clamps, as they may reveal open drain pins (like SDA).
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-12-29 20:54
    I'm no help, but just asking out of curiosity: is it theoretically possible to build a (Prop-based?) microprocessor-controlled unit that could "tease" the pins in rapid succession, climbing a ladder of exploratory voltages, etc. and taking readings from various pins vs. various applied inputs, etc. and run through a myriad of permutations and combinations that might help reveal the chip's true identity? It seems to me you might even be able to afford to fry a few hundred of the chips in the process and still come out ahead. Is such a thing possible? or practical?
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2012-12-29 21:50
    My guess a 3.3v regulator (as to the 330 model name)?
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2012-12-29 23:31
    Did some searching... came up with these links:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?113864-MIT-Electronics-Flea-Market-finds! <-- this is you back in 2009 talking about the same chips that you got from the MIT flea market. Says they are digital pots.

    datasheet from that thread: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/21978c.pdf
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-12-30 00:09
    Consider reverse engineering by the amount of pins available. You have an 8 pin device and two are for power. So that leaves only 6 pins for functionality. If these were uPs, two more pins would be used for xtal.

    You might makes some assumptions about the position of power and ground and they try investigating to see if there is a generical logic behavior. Also, consider at least trying to verify if they are EEPROMs. And another 8 pin wonder is the op amp.

    The fact that you have 10,000+ of these indicates that they are no likely to be anything too special.

    Try searchs of 'ABE 330 op amp', 'ABE 330 eeprom', 'ABE 330 prom', and so on.

    TI has a low voltage op amp, the OPA330. That might be it.
  • Duane C. JohnsonDuane C. Johnson Posts: 955
    edited 2012-12-30 05:21
    Roy's got it!!

    And I see the chip code:
    MCP4011T-202E/MC ABE
    on page 49 for the DFN package.
    So the MCP4011T-202 is a 2.1KΩ Digital Pot with 64 taps and simple up/dn control.

    Duane J
  • agfaagfa Posts: 295
    edited 2012-12-30 07:47
    The IC in question is not a DFN package. I Googled "32 tap 50k abe" and found this.

    http://www.intersil.com/content/dam/Intersil/documents/fn81/fn8157.pdf

    Take a look at page 2
  • xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
    edited 2012-12-30 07:51
    Roy you're AWESOME! I completely forgot that I had gotten a bunch of these back in 2009, I went into my cave of technological wonders (aka my cellar) and lo & behold, there they were. So now it turns out I have about 12,000+. Fortunately I only paid $5.00 total for these new reels, but really (sorry, that pun really wasn't intended...) - the original 2500 was a lot more than I'll ever need! Now I have 12,000. And 3000 Zero-ohm jumpers (1206 size) which I may in fact use all of over time.

    What sort of amazing circuit might need 12,000 50k digital pots?

    (EDIT: I just verified the 50k resistance between pins 3 and 6 which further solidifies the liklihood of it being the MCP4011 in an MSOP package)

    Thanks Roy, mystery solved. And I can even consolidate my storage of these items now! :-)

    Dave

    PS., ElectricAye: Not that I'm going to take the time to develop something like that, but what a cool idea - a uController-based chip sniffer that will develop a profile of any chip you put into it, and make a best guess as to what it is. You could even develop a database of known chip pin profiles to compare it to over time.... I really like this idea... cool.
  • xanatosxanatos Posts: 1,120
    edited 2012-12-30 08:22
    agfa wrote: »
    The IC in question is not a DFN package. I Googled "32 tap 50k abe" and found this.

    http://www.intersil.com/content/dam/Intersil/documents/fn81/fn8157.pdf

    Take a look at page 2

    Could also be this - both ends of the resistor ladder are on the same pins (3 & 6) - so I won't know until I try putting Vcc/Vdd/Vss one a few and seeing if I get a resistance on the wiper terminal, or smoke... :-)

    Looks like a great way for me to test my new SMT soldering oven... with 12,000 of these, I can afford to make a LOT of mistakes and corrections in my process! :-)

    Dave
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-12-31 08:33
    What sort of circuit could use a 50K digital pot in quantify.

    How about a platform gain controller with digital control of volume level? This little gadget was in the January 2012 issue of Nuts and Volts and would be delightful as an addition to any computer's audio output. What it does is to keep the volume level the same regardless of the supposed level of whatever you click on. The patents have lapsed on this technology and it was used to provide automatic volume control in broadcast TV.

    You don't really need 50K, but op amp applications are likely to be your main area of application. Pre-amps, mixers, treble and bass control. This site uses 100K pots, but I think 50k would do nicely.

    http://sound.westhost.com/project02.htm

    You can also do some modification of the 50K linear to make it a pseudo log pot, aka 'audio taper'
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-12-31 08:38
    What? Patents for automatic gain control, as used on radio receivers since the beginning of time.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-12-31 08:42
    @Heater
    A platform gain control is not your average automatic gain control. Read the January 2012 Nuts and Volts, page 28. The example provided is for stereo.

    See US Patent #3,260.957, July 12, 1966 and #3,398,381, august 20, 1968.

    Just imagine having your computer not wake the dead when you click on an Adobe Flash. This is a much needed feature that nobody is providing.
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