As someone that also designs hardware for a living, I spend a lot of time reading data sheets. Recently I have had to deal with a rash of data sheet errors. I’m not talking about minor errors. I’m talking about colossal, fundamental errors, whereby the device simply does not do what the data sheet describes. How can this be I ask myself? I think there are two possibilities:
1. I have to wonder whether this is one of the consequences of IC design being moved off-shore such that the designers of the IC are non English speakers, and consequently are in no position to proof-read the data sheet.
2. With new ICs being introduced at a phenomenal rate, is this simply the case that so much information is being generated that these sorts of errors are to be expected hence forth?
I’m inclined to think that option 2 is the more likely. If this is the case, why aren’t the engineers that are designing these parts insisting upon reading the data sheet before it’s published? The next thing you know, the software industry will expect its customers to find their bugs for them…
Have you ever tried letting a company know about their datasheet error? I’m curious if they have ever responded or ever actually fixed one. I’m betting they usually don’t because the person that takes in your complaint either doesn’t have easy access to the original app that created it or easy access to the person that needs to edit it. Or the person just doesn’t want to deal with it.- Brad
Yes I have. I have had some success with microprocessor data sheets and zero success with (analog) component data sheets. I’m not quite so charitable as you are, in that I suspect that manufacturers treat most ‘bug’ reports as being erroneous – and simply ignore them.