Glossary

Here you can find an explanation of some terms that may be used on this site

Cap(s)
Short for "Capacitor"

Condenser
Condenser (or condensator) is the original term used to describe what is now referred to as a "Capacitor" but became obsolete as it is easily confused with condensers (heat exchangers). This term is used most in older documentation but still remains for certain applications like "condenser microphone" or in documentation that has been translated to English from a language that still uses the original term.

PCB
Stands for "Printed Circuit Board' which is the board that parts are typically mounted to in devices, sometimes called a PWB (Printed Wiring Board) in older devices.

RefDes
Short for "Reference Designation" which is an identification used to mark the location of each part on a PCB. These are also used for schematics and BOMs to reference which parts should be put at a location on the PCB.

RefDes' are usually denoted with a letter and a number. The letters describe the kind of part that goes there. Some common examples:


 * C - Capacitor
 * R - Resistor
 * D - Diode
 * L - Inductor
 * Q - A transistor or MOSFET
 * U - ICs like processors, RAM, or ROMs
 * T - Transformer
 * F - Fuse

CRT
Stands for "Cathode Ray Tube", a glass display tube used in older electronics

BOM
Stands for "Bill of Materials" which is a list of parts for a device or PCB

IC or Chip
Stands for "Integrated Circuit" which is a semiconductor device that combines the functionality of multiple other parts into one to perform more complicated tasks.

SMD or SMT
Stands for "Surface Mount Device" or "Surface Mount Technology" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

THT
Stands for "Through Hole Technology" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

SIP
Stands for "Single Inline Package" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

DIP
Stands for "Dual Inline Package" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

BGA
Stands for "Ball Grid Array" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

QFP
Stands for "Quad Flat Package" which is a mounting technology for Part Footprints

Hz or Cycles
Hertz is a measurement of frequency and is stated as the amount of times something happens within one second. Older devices and documents may also use the term "cycles" in the same way.