LED DIODE ANODE CATHODE HOW TO

You can test a diode even if its bar has been completely removed with time or for whatever reason. The benefit of this method is you can check the pins of any diode.

The results will be in the form of a circuit diagram with the right pin configuration.

Place the diode in the component tester.Take your diode that you want to test for the right pins.So how we can use M328 for the diode anode cathode identification? Well, it is very easy.įollow the following steps, and you are good to go. It also gives us the circuit diagram of the testing components and all the related parameter values in a matter of seconds.It helps us to identify the pin configuration of various electronics components including diodes and transistors of any type.It helps to test if the component is good or bad.Identify various electronics components.M328 Component tester is a device that helps us: And you can also add the M328 to your lab equipment collection. So, that is why I am including this method. In my opinion, you will be using the above methods throughout the rest of your electronics work life.īecause they are easy and straight forward.īut I also think that life is about learning new things, life is about having new experiences. Then you should be looking at other related methods. The only limitation of this method is if your bar has been removed with time – then you can’t follow this method. SMD diodes are tiny devices but if you look carefully at them, you should definitely see a bar. The above general method of looking for a bar is also applicable to SMD diodes as well. This is your cathode and the other terminal will be by default your positive anode. The color of the bar can be any just identify it. Now it is practically known that to know the cathode of any type of diode – look for a bar. The other terminal is your positive anode.That black line bar terminal is the negative cathode.Identify the black thin bar line on its body.There are of course other types of diodes as well for example the Zenor diode.įollow the following steps for Zenor diode terminals: It doesn’t matter which size or shape the LED has – these steps should be followed to exactly identify the right pin terminals. The above methods are used for every LED. The other terminal is automatically your negative cathode.

Look for a cut side (you will definitely see a small cut side in any LED).In such cases follow the following steps. Or it is hard to tell which terminal is shorter than the other. Now this method fails if you have an old used LED, whose legs length are the same. The shorter one is the negative cathode – it is just that easy to identify.Identify the long terminal between the two given legs.To properly work with them, you have to connect them in forward bias mode, else they will not glow and in some worst cases you may end up blowing your LEDs.įollow the following steps to identify the terminals of any LED. It is basically a type of diode that we use for indication purposes in almost every electronics product and device. Let’s see the steps for the LED diode anode cathode identification. This method fails if you have a diode with no bar on it, i.e. The other one is the positive anode – It is that simple.Mark the terminal on which you identify the bar.Look for a gray line bar on the body of the diode.In this method we just simply take the diode which we want to know the right terminal and follow the following steps:

LED DIODE ANODE CATHODE HOW TO

its cathode terminal should be connected to the negative of the voltage source and the anode should be attached to the positive terminal of the voltage source.īut the question is, how to know which terminal is an anode and which terminal is the cathode, so we can properly bias it for our circuits. It allows current flow in only one direction.įor proper flow of current, the diode has to be in forward bias mode, i.e. A diode is a two terminals semiconductor component.

Led diode anode cathode