Components & Parts
A practical reference for the parts you place on almost every board — what they do, the values you actually reach for, and the common use cases (e.g. "10 kΩ is usually a pull-up").
The catalogue
| Part | What it does | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Resistors | Limit current, set voltages, pull-ups/downs, terminate | Resistors |
| Capacitors | Decouple, filter, store, couple/block DC | Capacitors |
| Inductors & ferrites | Energy storage (regulators), filtering | Inductors & Ferrites |
| Diodes & protection | Rectify, clamp, protect (Schottky, Zener, TVS) | Diodes & Protection |
| Transistors & MOSFETs | Switch and amplify; load switches, gate drive | Transistors & MOSFETs |
Reading values
- Resistors/capacitors come in E-series (E12/E24/E96) — you can't buy "any" value, you pick the nearest standard. 10 k, 4.7 k, 1 k, 100 nF, 10 µF are everyday staples.
- Package size (0402, 0603, 0805…) trades hand-solderability for density. 0603/0805 are the friendly default for lab work; 0402 for dense boards.
- Always check voltage rating (caps), power rating (resistors) and tolerance.
Build a house style
Pick a small set of go-to values and packages (e.g. 0603, 100 nF/10 µF caps, 10 k/4.7 k/1 k/0 Ω, 33 Ω) and reuse them. Fewer unique parts = cheaper BOM and faster assembly.