Hey all,

I am going to mass order a bunch of logic IC's for general hobby use and was wondering what type would work best.

The CMOS seems like the best because of the low power consumption, but I would rather not have to worry about static electricity.

I am hoping to easily be able to integrate the gates with analog circuits and possibly sink/source a decent amount of current without damaging the logic gates.

Thanks all,

John

 

What do you consider a decent amount of current?

 

I guess around 20-40 mA? Nothing too crazy but enough to drive an LED without using a transistor would be nice.

 

I guess around 20-40 mA? Nothing too crazy but enough to drive an LED without using a transistor would be nice.

I don't think you need 40mA, any old LED will be happy with 10..20mA. And if you use low current LEDs, around 2mA should be sufficient.

I would use the 74HC family. OK, you have to worry a bit about damage by static electricity. But I guess as long as you don't try any stunts like walking over a carpet and then touching a "naked" device (i.e. one that is neither in its protective package nor built into a circuit) you should have no problems.

Anyway, before ordering them in real large quantities, it's probably a good idea to buy a few and play with them a little bit to see if you have any problems with them.

 

I would agree that a good variety of the 74HC family would be a good buy.

There are many available circuits using the 74HC family all around, and they are well known.

I wouldn't go purchasing all "willy-nilly" as some of the chips are just multiple gates in one package.

A few of each will get you on your way, especially through hole being used on a bread board, gives for lots or re-use.

 

I like the 4000 & 74C family , can not operate with out 4017, 4022, 4066 or 555 in 12 V range; then also use some 74HC's because of availability. Never had problem with static damage. Also used lots of plain 7400's because 4000 had not been invented yet.

 

7400? Too much current makes them not very appealing. Still have a bunch (a real BUNCH) of them from when I started to learn the basics of digital techniques.

 

Bad news about static electricity, there is no solid state electronics completely immune. I used to have BJTs blown at an old job due to poor ESD protocols.

CMOS is a bit more sensitive, but it is a lot more flexible, it uses a wide range of voltages and almost no current.

Generally it is the build you have to worry about, once it is in a circuit they are a lot tougher.