5 ms·

741s are still going strong! In fact, as far as I can tell (electrical engineering student) they are the most prominent op-amp in use by far.

sagacity 16y ago
Never would have believed this - Great!
HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago
No. Not even remotely true. 741s are around in books and in EE labs because they're what people used back in the 70s' (and perhaps cause the lab bought thousands back then). Since there was such a huge volume of designs produced using them, you can still buy them today. No engineer in his right mind* (no disrespect intended: I know you're a student) would use a 741 for a new design today. They are slow, imprecise power hogs, and require bipolar supplies to get them to do anything. Even a jellybean LM324 outshines them. (*) if anyone can counter this statement with a useful application of the 741 where a more modern and cheaper opamp wouldn't do better, I'd be really interested in seeing it. [edit] It looks like the 741 has been improved quite a bit since I last looked at it. So I don't need to be so harsh, but I still can't see any good reason to use it for new designs in 2011.
- sagacity 16y ago
  Well, live and learn, if possible, every single day of your life :-) God bless.
- fooandbarify 16y ago
  Wow, well I feel a bit dumb for answering with such certainty then! Apparently I have been misled. Thanks for setting me straight!
ChuckMcM 16y ago
I agree that this is an artifact of the amount of teaching material that is available using them, rather than their suitability as a current part. You still used TTL 7400N NAND gates in EE classes but would be hard pressed to find one in use (notably the TTL version). There are better opamps out there, and even some nice uni-polar rail to rail ones which would make for a better classroom experience but the concept of an opamp hasn't changed enough to make what you learn about opamps with a 741 invalid. The 555 on the other hand, well it could be replaced by an 8 bit internally clocked micro (ATTiny, PIC 12F*) but I've heard that in quantity they cost less than 5 cents so in that regard they are competitive.
- nzmsv 16y ago
  The only issue with the 555 in volume is the cost of the external parts (caps and resistors) to make it work. Some micros with built-in oscillators will actually result in a lower total part count, making the board cheaper.
  - sagacity 16y ago
    Just so that we all know, are you saying this from a (strictly) commercial perspective, or from that of a hecker's? What 'board' are you talking about?
    - nzmsv 16y ago
      Commercial - by cost/board I mean the cost to assemble a PCB. Placing each component has a cost, even when done automatically, especially since that (probably unique) cap is another type of component in the set-up stage. But I'm just a student and haven't actually ever produced a PCB in volume. But even for a hacker fewer components mean easier layout and assembly. Not to mention that the timings generated by a micro are much easier to tweak.
- HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago
  Are you by any chance Chuck McManis? I learned quite a bit from him back when I used to follow comp.robotics.misc!
  - ChuckMcM 16y ago
    guilty as charged.

sagacity 16y ago

Never would have believed this - Great!

HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago

No. Not even remotely true. 741s are around in books and in EE labs because they're what people used back in the 70s' (and perhaps cause the lab bought thousands back then). Since there was such a huge volume of designs produced using them, you can still buy them today. No engineer in his right mind* (no disrespect intended: I know you're a student) would use a 741 for a new design today. They are slow, imprecise power hogs, and require bipolar supplies to get them to do anything. Even a jellybean LM324 outshines them. (*) if anyone can counter this statement with a useful application of the 741 where a more modern and cheaper opamp wouldn't do better, I'd be really interested in seeing it. [edit] It looks like the 741 has been improved quite a bit since I last looked at it. So I don't need to be so harsh, but I still can't see any good reason to use it for new designs in 2011.

sagacity 16y ago
Well, live and learn, if possible, every single day of your life :-) God bless.
fooandbarify 16y ago
Wow, well I feel a bit dumb for answering with such certainty then! Apparently I have been misled. Thanks for setting me straight!

ChuckMcM 16y ago

I agree that this is an artifact of the amount of teaching material that is available using them, rather than their suitability as a current part. You still used TTL 7400N NAND gates in EE classes but would be hard pressed to find one in use (notably the TTL version). There are better opamps out there, and even some nice uni-polar rail to rail ones which would make for a better classroom experience but the concept of an opamp hasn't changed enough to make what you learn about opamps with a 741 invalid. The 555 on the other hand, well it could be replaced by an 8 bit internally clocked micro (ATTiny, PIC 12F*) but I've heard that in quantity they cost less than 5 cents so in that regard they are competitive.

nzmsv 16y ago
The only issue with the 555 in volume is the cost of the external parts (caps and resistors) to make it work. Some micros with built-in oscillators will actually result in a lower total part count, making the board cheaper.
- sagacity 16y ago
  Just so that we all know, are you saying this from a (strictly) commercial perspective, or from that of a hecker's? What 'board' are you talking about?
  - nzmsv 16y ago
    Commercial - by cost/board I mean the cost to assemble a PCB. Placing each component has a cost, even when done automatically, especially since that (probably unique) cap is another type of component in the set-up stage. But I'm just a student and haven't actually ever produced a PCB in volume. But even for a hacker fewer components mean easier layout and assembly. Not to mention that the timings generated by a micro are much easier to tweak.
HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago
Are you by any chance Chuck McManis? I learned quite a bit from him back when I used to follow comp.robotics.misc!
- ChuckMcM 16y ago
  guilty as charged.