Smallest Part Ever!
March 30, 2024
Surface mounted parts are by nature very small, and require some specialized solder techniques to replace without damaging the circuit board. Over the years I’ve replaced more than a few, some of them quite small. But the one I did today wins the prize for Smallest Part Ever! It’s a voltage regulator, and it goes in a Yamaha home theater receiver. Here’s a photo of the part sitting on a dime to give you an idea of its size: a tad larger than a grain of salt.
Here’s a photo of the circuit board it goes on.
Can’t find it? I’m not surprised! Let’s zoom in some.
You can make it out pretty plainly now, just above the center of the photo. It’s designated as IC10. Here’s what the completed work looks like.
The bad news is that replacing the defective voltage regulator did not restore proper operation of the stereo. It’s not unusual for a power supply part to go out due to the failure of a processor, and that was probably the case here. But my customer was willing to pay me to take the risk, even if it didn’t prove successful.
