At this point, you might know an IC as an integrated circuit if not that is okay. Learning about ICs is part of the natural prorogation of expanding your knowledge and where you will not start to be able to build cool projects and not make a light turn on a breadboard.
Why Use an IC?
The question of why an IC is used is straightforward to answer. They take complex circuits and shrink them down so they are very simple and convenient to use. They have all sorts of functions and tasks they can perform from being a timer to an Op-amp or even just logic gates. There is no end to what we can put in them or how to use them.
Types of ICs
There are many types of ICs and different ways to distinguish them. To start they come in all different types of packages but the thing to focus on is how those packages mount. Some are Through holes and Others are surface-mounted. What you choose to buy depends on what you are doing and how you design your PCB or if you are using a breadboard. In general, if you are trying to make a more experimental circuit you would go with through whole but if it is permanent you would use surface mounted. You see how they look below in figure 1
figure 1
How to use an IC
Look at figure 2. You orient it by putting the notch on the top. Start counting starting from the top down the left side starting at 1 then from the bottom right going up to finish. Sometimes there will also be a dot for the top left as well. Be warned this method is primarily DIP ICs which is a common type of package for ICs.
Figure 2
How Should you start with them?
I recommend finding a project in which you need to use an IC. The concept may be simple but you will still need to practice using them and understanding how to read their diagrams to become proficient with them. There is nothing better than to practice and fail but when you fail figure out why and learn from it. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the computer.
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