[fouric]

> Let’s say hypothetically that a Texas-based Instrument and parts maker has a part, let’s say that part is something like a TPS65892 (revision AB), and like all parts that Electronics Engineers (EEs) select, needs to be kitted exactly to part number (TPS65892) and package (NFBGA 96). Normally parts vary by part number (I am pretty sure it’s why they’re called part numbers), but in rare instances (I can think of only one) that part is a completely different part if it is appended by what you normally would read as a revision number: TPS65892BB. In this example these are pin-matching parts that do completely different things and where all things work fine with the exception of charging the battery and providing USB connectivity. After a number of hours tracing schematics to board read values, this hunting manifested itself into a data sheet comparison where we learned these are unrelated parts.

Holy moly. I'm glad that I don't have to deal with that.

What is going on with that instrument maker?

[9wzYQbTYsAIc]

I don’t know why they won’t just come out and say who the manufacturer was, to give the hypothetical some real-world context. I wouldn’t want to assume that they are referring to Texas Instruments.

Sarcasm aside, I appreciated the humor they put into that paragraph.