It can often be difficult to find reliable datasheets for various electronic components. It’s one thing to use a resistor or capacitor without a datasheet — most of the relevant specs can be measured or at least estimated. When working with more complex devices such as microcontrollers or digital sensors, though, a datasheet is usually essential.
I recently came across a very useful datasheet search engine site — datasheets360.com. They claim to have over 100 million parts with datasheets indexed, and are planning to eventually have over 350 million total.
I tried several random parts and was able to find the correct data sheets for each of them…
- A PIC16F887 microcontroller;
- A DS18B20 temperature sensor; and even
- An old M5L2764K EPROM I had laying around.
For some parts, they list prices from many of the usual suspects: Mouser, Digikey, etc. (For some reason, no vendors were listed for the EPROM. Perhaps their time portal to the early 1980s is still under construction.)
I’ve added their search widget to the right-hand menu. Check it out.
