Substituting Diodes?
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Mbira
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> Is it OK to substitute a higher voltage diode like say using a 1N4004 instead of a 1N4003?
The high-volt diodes cost a fraction-cent more.
In mass production, this eats your profit.
In DIY, you should just buy a few-dozen bag of 1N1007 and use them in all 1N100x applications. Even if they cost a penny more each than 1N1001, the price per dozen is so low you can afford 1N1007 everywhere.
The high-volt diodes cost a fraction-cent more.
In mass production, this eats your profit.
In DIY, you should just buy a few-dozen bag of 1N1007 and use them in all 1N100x applications. Even if they cost a penny more each than 1N1001, the price per dozen is so low you can afford 1N1007 everywhere.
> These look to come in the same DO-41 package as the 1N4004 diodes.
They ARE the same diodes. They mix a vat of silicon, stamp it into diodes, and test. On bad days they come out 110-190V and they have to be sold as 100V parts (1N1002?). On good days they come out 1,100V and can be sold as 1N1007 at a higher price.
I remember when there WAS a big difference in price. They seem to have got over that. I think they mix silicon so consistently now that nearly all 1N100x parts are 500-1000V actual breakdown. But there are a few bad days, and many designs that need a just-good-enough part at a very-cheapest price, so the old voltage-grades persist. But since there are plenty of '06 and '07-spec diodes being made, the price difference is small (and often vanishes in round-off when you buy just a few).
That's assuming you are making a plain ordinary rectifier, or just need a large forward-drop as in a bias scheme. These uses cover 99.99% of all 1N100x uses.
The only place a "too good" breakdown could be "bad" is if you wanted a specific breakdown. What you really need is a Zener, which is mostly a rectifier with a low and specified breakdown voltage. But I once needed some low-power 120V Zeners. I discovered that my baggie of 1N914, rated 60V 0.1A, mostly all broke-down at 110V-120V at 1mA. So I used them "wrong" and it worked great for years. Of course if I'd got another bag another day or another factory, they could have broke-down at 160V or 90V or even 60.1V. So it is very unusual to find a rectifier application where a "too good" part is "bad". If it is, the designer should very carefully note this fact.
They ARE the same diodes. They mix a vat of silicon, stamp it into diodes, and test. On bad days they come out 110-190V and they have to be sold as 100V parts (1N1002?). On good days they come out 1,100V and can be sold as 1N1007 at a higher price.
I remember when there WAS a big difference in price. They seem to have got over that. I think they mix silicon so consistently now that nearly all 1N100x parts are 500-1000V actual breakdown. But there are a few bad days, and many designs that need a just-good-enough part at a very-cheapest price, so the old voltage-grades persist. But since there are plenty of '06 and '07-spec diodes being made, the price difference is small (and often vanishes in round-off when you buy just a few).
That's assuming you are making a plain ordinary rectifier, or just need a large forward-drop as in a bias scheme. These uses cover 99.99% of all 1N100x uses.
The only place a "too good" breakdown could be "bad" is if you wanted a specific breakdown. What you really need is a Zener, which is mostly a rectifier with a low and specified breakdown voltage. But I once needed some low-power 120V Zeners. I discovered that my baggie of 1N914, rated 60V 0.1A, mostly all broke-down at 110V-120V at 1mA. So I used them "wrong" and it worked great for years. Of course if I'd got another bag another day or another factory, they could have broke-down at 160V or 90V or even 60.1V. So it is very unusual to find a rectifier application where a "too good" part is "bad". If it is, the designer should very carefully note this fact.
