Where to look for datasheets?

[Wes]

I was looking at a pcb I removed from a dead microwave. I noticed a TI chip SN102977AN. I
wondered what it is. Googling gets lots of hits that are useless. Generally sites
showing someone else googled for it or someone wants to sell me some w/o a datasheet.

So what are the best sites to search? If you know what it is, that would be nice to know
too.

Wes

 

[David L. Jones]

I was looking at a pcb I removed from a dead microwave. I noticed a TI
chip SN102977AN. I
wondered what it is. Googling gets lots of hits that are useless.
Generally sites
showing someone else googled for it or someone wants to sell me some w/o a
datasheet.

So what are the best sites to search? If you know what it is, that would
be nice to know
too.

Google is the best first step of course, then I usually add "pdf" to the end
of the search which often helps, or even ".pdf".
In this case no luck though.

Next step for me would be to drop the trailing letters, so SN102977 in this
case, but again, no luck.

Metacrawler.com and live.com didn't help either.

I use this site occasionally too http://www.alldatasheet.com/, but again, no
luck on your part.

Good luck.

Dave.

 

[Ecnerwal]

I was looking at a pcb I removed from a dead microwave. I noticed a TI chip
SN102977AN.

For non-obsolete parts, newark, mouser, or digi-key all have links to
data sheets.

If you can identify a manufacturer (and sometimes even if you cannot)
going to (in this case) the texas instruments (TI) website might be a
good place to start. However, they return no results for that number,
parts of that number (remove suffix - remove prefix - remove both), or
that number (or parts of it) from other manufacturers in their
cross-reference search. See below.

For parts in consumer goods, it's not unusual for the part to have a
"customer number" rather than a real number, precisely to keep you from
being able to look it up. When you order 100,000 chips to put in your
microwave ovens, it's pretty simple to specify that they will be part
number "whatever you want printed on them" and it will happen. On the
other hand, sometimes it's hard to tell a date code from a part number.

Google (and other search engines) is too polluted by the "data sheet
spam sites" to be any good at all.

 

[Rich Grise]

I was looking at a pcb I removed from a dead microwave. I noticed a TI chip SN102977AN. I
wondered what it is. Googling gets lots of hits that are useless. Generally sites
showing someone else googled for it or someone wants to sell me some w/o a datasheet.

So what are the best sites to search? If you know what it is, that would be nice to know
too.

With a number like that, it's most likely the custom mask-programmed
microcontroller.

What are you trying to accomplish?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Rich Webb]

Google is the best first step of course, then I usually add "pdf" to the end
of the search which often helps, or even ".pdf".
In this case no luck though.

Next step for me would be to drop the trailing letters, so SN102977 in this
case, but again, no luck.

Metacrawler.com and live.com didn't help either.

I use this site occasionally too http://www.alldatasheet.com/, but again, no
luck on your part.

http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/ and http://www.datasheetarchive.com are
two others (neither of which has a part close to that number listed).

 

[Tom Del Rosso]

I was looking at a pcb I removed from a dead microwave. I noticed a
TI chip SN102977AN. I wondered what it is. Googling gets lots of
hits that are useless. Generally sites showing someone else googled
for it or someone wants to sell me some w/o a datasheet.

So what are the best sites to search? If you know what it is, that
would be nice to know too.

I second what Rich said. It's a custom programmed microcontroller. You can
only get data for the basic CPU type if you can guess what it is by looking
at various TI CPU's and the location of their power and I/O pins.

But you can't get an exact replacement anyway, or use it anywhere else. If
it's in an old ceramic case you can crack it in half to expose the die and
make a desk decoration out of it. If you have a microscope, use it to show
kids what chips looked like with only 3-layer metal.

 

[Wes]

What are you trying to accomplish?

Actually I thought it was a support chip. Looks like another chip is the custom uP.

I'm just mining a few parts out of wrecked boards. I'm trying to get back into playing
with electronics and was wondering what that chip was.

Might as well start another post.

Wes

 

[Rich Grise]

But you can't get an exact replacement anyway, or use it anywhere else. If
it's in an old ceramic case you can crack it in half to expose the die and
make a desk decoration out of it. If you have a microscope, use it to show
kids what chips looked like with only 3-layer metal.

I once made a tie-tac out of a dead 8751 chip. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich