lectronic Construction

Component Identification

Transistors Transistors have three legs. One leg (the base) is used to control the transistor, when a voltage is present on the base the transistor switched on and current can flow between the other two pins the emitter and the collector. With the standard type of transistor the emitter is normally connected to ground and the collector connected to the thing that is being switched. Transistors are normally packaged in a D shaped package or in a circular can with a small tag. It is this package shape that allows the function of the pins to be determined.