[time-nuts] HP5328A LEDS driver transistor
Charles P. Steinmetz
charles_steinmetz at lavabit.com
Tue Jan 24 06:55:10 UTC 2012
Chris wrote:
>HP does drive all the segments at once. They multiplex one digit at a
>time. So worst case is the transistor has to drive all 7 segments and
>a decimal point.
Six or seven of them (depending on the model variation) also drive an
annunciator LED, for a total of 9 "segments" on those digit drivers.
>I checked after running for a while and these transistors don't get
>even close to warm. I think they were selected for peak current, not
>average.
I think you may mean they were selected for current rating, not power
rating. In the 5328A digit driver circuit, the required current
rating is the more demanding spec because it is harder to meet with a
small transistor than the required power rating.
Some transistors are rated for greater peak current than average
current, some are not -- it depends on the particular current
breakdown mechanism of each transistor, and what kinds of
applications it was designed for. The MPSU51 is not rated for peak
current in excess of average current, the ZTX949 is. But this should
not be a factor in the 5328 digit driver circuit for either the
MPSU51 or the ZTX949, assuming a 3.5 V supply, because both are
rated >= 2 A continuous and the load is < 1 A maximum -- even if
this load were continuous, both transistors should survive (if your
5328 has a 5 V display power supply, the MPSU51's 2 A rating would be
cutting it close).
Best regards,
Charles
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