Post by thread:[EE] Maxim IC (was Temperature and Humidity sensor

On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Marc Nicholas <spam_OUTgeekythingTakeThisOuTgmail.com> wrote: > They're wonderful devices. Have been a huge fan for years. > > Agree with the earlier comment that getting the code right can be a > challenge, but once it's working you open up a whole world of devices > and the 1-wire protocol itself is quite something. > > Ahhhh, I'm starting to reminisce about the hay-day of DalSemi ;) > That reminds me. I do like these devices, as well as many others made by Maxim IC. I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a strong dislike for Maxim. Just out of curiosity, why is that

On Sat, 2011-06-25 at 22:01 -0400, V G wrote: > That reminds me. I do like these devices, as well as many others made by > Maxim IC. > > I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a strong > dislike for Maxim. > > Just out of curiosity, why is that? Maxim has a WIDE variety of great, interesting and different parts. They are awesome for samples. They are not awesome when you need anything more then samples and anything less then massive numbers. Massive lead times (that get bigger every day), tons of unresponded to messages. Because their parts are often quite unique it's almost impossible to second source many of their newer parts (their more popular older parts often get second sourced by other manus quite quickly), this is an automatic "no way" for many companies. As a student/hobbyist Maxim is great, I'd highly recommend them. Otherwise, I often think twice and end up going with another manu. Haven't used a Maxim part in a few years now. TTYL

On Sun, Jun 26, 2011 at 9:33 PM, Herbert Graf <hkgrafKILLspamgmail.com> wrote: > Maxim has a WIDE variety of great, interesting and different parts. They > are awesome for samples. > > They are not awesome when you need anything more then samples and > anything less then massive numbers. > > Massive lead times (that get bigger every day), tons of unresponded to > messages. > > Because their parts are often quite unique it's almost impossible to > second source many of their newer parts (their more popular older parts > often get second sourced by other manus quite quickly), this is an > automatic "no way" for many companies. All the lead analog companies (ADI, Maxim, TI, Linear Tech) are kind of like this -- they offer unique parts. ADI seems to be better in terms of lead time and they are our preferred analog provider. And high performance analog parts are kind of very difficult to have second source, similar to the MCU case. > As a student/hobbyist Maxim is great, I'd highly recommend them. > Otherwise, I often think twice and end up going with another manu. > > Haven't used a Maxim part in a few years now. My experiences with Maxim tell me that they are getting a bit better now with the strong competition from ADI, TI (getting stronger with its National Semi acquisition) and others. We still use tons of Maxim parts but I tend to try to use ADI more often, then try TI and Maxim. Linear Tech is strong in the power area but TI (+NS) is catching up. -- Xiaofa

On 6/25/2011 7:12 PM, Bob Blick wrote: > On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:01 -0400, "V G" wrote: > >> I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a >> strong >> dislike for Maxim. > Sampling and small orders, no problem. Try to buy a reel of their parts > sometime. You'll suddenly find a 26 week wait. > > Basically they are great for hobbyists and maybe for really big > customers, 50k pieces or more. Anybody else can go fly a kite. > > Bob > > > Another Maxim problem is that there are few (if any) second-sources for their chip designs. Without second-sources, you may get trapped without parts on time for production. --Bo

V G wrote: > That reminds me. I do like these devices, as well as many others made by > Maxim IC. > > I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a strong > dislike for Maxim. > > Just out of curiosity, why is that? > I think Maxim says it best. This is from the price and availability page: "Please note: Maxim is prioritizing manufacturer business ahead of non-franchised distribution. We are unable to dedicate any resources to support non-franchised distribution, and available inventory is reserved for manufacturer demand at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. " Free samples of any of their products are frequently followed by unavailability of any quantity for purchase.

At 04:36 PM 6/26/2011, you wrote: {Quote hidden}>On 6/25/2011 7:12 PM, Bob Blick wrote: > > On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:01 -0400, "V G" wrote: > > > >> I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a > >> strong > >> dislike for Maxim. > > Sampling and small orders, no problem. Try to buy a reel of their parts > > sometime. You'll suddenly find a 26 week wait. > > > > Basically they are great for hobbyists and maybe for really big > > customers, 50k pieces or more. Anybody else can go fly a kite. > > > > Bob > > > > > > >Another Maxim problem is that there are few (if any) second-sources for >their chip designs. > >Without second-sources, you may get trapped without parts on time for >production. > >--Bob In fact, M*x*m are so notorious with regard to this kind of issue that they have created a market opportunity for a fabless analog IC startup:- http://touchstonesemi.com Ironically, this may actually increase the market available to M*x*m. >Best regards. Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" .....speffKILLspam.....interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

On 6/26/2011 2:12 PM, Spehro Pefhany wrote: {Quote hidden}> At 04:36 PM 6/26/2011, you wrote: >> On 6/25/2011 7:12 PM, Bob Blick wrote: >>> On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:01 -0400, "V G" wrote: >>> >>>> I do remember, though, from a while ago that many on this list have a >>>> strong >>>> dislike for Maxim. >>> Sampling and small orders, no problem. Try to buy a reel of their parts >>> sometime. You'll suddenly find a 26 week wait. >>> >>> Basically they are great for hobbyists and maybe for really big >>> customers, 50k pieces or more. Anybody else can go fly a kite. >>> >>> Bob >>> >>> >>> >> Another Maxim problem is that there are few (if any) second-sources for >> their chip designs. >> >> Without second-sources, you may get trapped without parts on time for >> production. >> >> --Bob > In fact, M*x*m are so notorious with regard to this kind of issue > that they have created a market opportunity for a fabless analog IC startup:- > > http://touchstonesemi.com > > Ironically, this may actually increase the market available to M*x*m. > >> Best regards. > Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" > EraseMEspeffspam_OUTTakeThisOuTinterlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com > Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com > > > Good catch, Spehro!! --Bob

On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Veronica Merryfield <veronica.merryfieldspam_OUTgmail.com> wrote: > > On 2011-06-26, at 2:12 PM, Spehro Pefhany wrote: >> In fact, M*x*m are so notorious with regard to this kind of issue >> that they have created a market opportunity for a fabless analog IC startup:- >> >> http://touchstonesemi.com >> >> Ironically, this may actually increase the market available to M*x*m. > > Which begs the question, are linked in some way? > Yes some of the founders are from Maxim. http://new.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4217195/Analog-startup-goes-old-school--gets-funding -- Xiaofa

It is true often enough. Everything discussed on this thread I concur with and have experienced. The MAX1480BCPI fully-isolated 1-chip RS485 interface is great. And relatively expensive, and for 6 months totally unobtainable, as well as the related MAX1480ACPI. I redesigned the board to have a fully-iso rs485 of mostly my design that had no single-source parts, put that design within the footprint of the DIP-28 the MAX1480 comes in, and just before finalizing the proto they came back into stock. All this effort doing design and trying to source world-wide (I bought 50 at very high prices just to be able to make some of the product for waiting customers) - all this effort and worry and hassle due to Maxim. They just have to run their show better. Everyone else can do it (Atmel is a problem also but nothing like maxim.) So Maxim's been the worst supplier / biggest PITA for my business thus far, 5 years and counting. Oh, and they have some great parts. But seriously, I will /never/ use a maxim part again, I don't care how much more the TI/linear/ADI alternatives are in cost or boardspace. J V G wrote: {Quote hidden}> On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 10:12 PM, Bob Blick<@spam@bobblickKILLspamftml.net> wrote: > >> Sampling and small orders, no problem. Try to buy a reel of their parts >> sometime. You'll suddenly find a 26 week wait. >> > > Is this true ALL the time? Sometimes? Most of the time? > > Or is the inconsistency itself the problem? > > >> Basically they are great for hobbyists and maybe for really big >> customers, 50k pieces or more. Anybody else can go fly a kite. >> >> Bob >> > > > What about Linear Technology? Are they any good

On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Jesse Lackey <KILLspamjsl-mlKILLspamcelestialaudio.com>wrote: {Quote hidden}> It is true often enough. Everything discussed on this thread I concur > with and have experienced. The MAX1480BCPI fully-isolated 1-chip RS485 > interface is great. And relatively expensive, and for 6 months totally > unobtainable, as well as the related MAX1480ACPI. I redesigned the > board to have a fully-iso rs485 of mostly my design that had no > single-source parts, put that design within the footprint of the DIP-28 > the MAX1480 comes in, and just before finalizing the proto they came > back into stock. All this effort doing design and trying to source > world-wide (I bought 50 at very high prices just to be able to make some > of the product for waiting customers) - all this effort and worry and > hassle due to Maxim. They just have to run their show better. Everyone > else can do it (Atmel is a problem also but nothing like maxim.) > > So Maxim's been the worst supplier / biggest PITA for my business thus > far, 5 years and counting. > > Oh, and they have some great parts. But seriously, I will /never/ use a > maxim part again, I don't care how much more the TI/linear/ADI > alternatives are in cost or boardspace. I actually started buying components instead of sampling like a freeloader and found TI to be pretty cheap actually. I found Linear to be expensive but I really like their parts (like ideal diode controllers, linear regulators, etc). Now I just go to mouser and sort by price, then pick the part that is most in stock (principles...) as well has a nice datasheet. Ugly or nonexistent or hard to access datasheet = no buy

Of the few Linear parts I've tried, they work well. Problem is that they usually require a lot of support components which raises cost and footprint, and that's usually a show-stopper for my stuff. Linear's samples usually come with a bunch of red-tape (meeting with sales rep, etc), which they have a right to do, but which just adds complications. I'm not one to get free samples for the fun of it, and usually end up buying samples anyway if I already have orders going out to Digikey, Mouser, etc. Cheers, -Neil. Quoting V G <RemoveMEx.solarwind.xTakeThisOuTgmail.com>: {Quote hidden}> ... > I actually started buying components instead of sampling like a freeloader > and found TI to be pretty cheap actually. I found Linear to be expensive but > I really like their parts (like ideal diode controllers, linear regulators, > etc). > > Now I just go to mouser and sort by price, then pick the part that is most > in stock (principles...) as well has a nice datasheet. > > Ugly or nonexistent or hard to access datasheet = no buy.

Hi - TI is good with samples, there are limits but they don't say specifically how many free sample orders are too many. I did get 'cut off' once 2 years ago, but 4 months later it was no problem again. More lately they ask that I justify why I need a weird combination of chips yet again. (i.e. mic preamps, LED drivers, zigbee, and dc/dc converters are not commonly requested together several times over.) A year ago TI was a big problem for availability of a dc/dc, 4 month lead times etc. Unlike Maxim, I got someone @ TI to send 10-20 as samples several times which got me thru the crunch. And lots of apologies. So I was gripey but at least they tried pretty hard to make their mistakes not cause too much damage. And the datasheets are above average to excellent for the most part. And agreed about the cost problem of Linear. Wish they were cheaper, I'd use them more. But, it is their business to decide pricing... functionally I've only had one head-banging, punch the furniture issue with anything from Linear. (a multichannel A/D that really needed better documentation.) J V G wrote: {Quote hidden}> On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Jesse Lackey<spamBeGonejsl-mlspamBeGonecelestialaudio.com>wrote: > >> It is true often enough. Everything discussed on this thread I concur >> with and have experienced. The MAX1480BCPI fully-isolated 1-chip RS485 >> interface is great. And relatively expensive, and for 6 months totally >> unobtainable, as well as the related MAX1480ACPI. I redesigned the >> board to have a fully-iso rs485 of mostly my design that had no >> single-source parts, put that design within the footprint of the DIP-28 >> the MAX1480 comes in, and just before finalizing the proto they came >> back into stock. All this effort doing design and trying to source >> world-wide (I bought 50 at very high prices just to be able to make some >> of the product for waiting customers) - all this effort and worry and >> hassle due to Maxim. They just have to run their show better. Everyone >> else can do it (Atmel is a problem also but nothing like maxim.) >> >> So Maxim's been the worst supplier / biggest PITA for my business thus >> far, 5 years and counting. >> >> Oh, and they have some great parts. But seriously, I will /never/ use a >> maxim part again, I don't care how much more the TI/linear/ADI >> alternatives are in cost or boardspace. > > > I actually started buying components instead of sampling like a freeloader > and found TI to be pretty cheap actually. I found Linear to be expensive but > I really like their parts (like ideal diode controllers, linear regulators, > etc). > > Now I just go to mouser and sort by price, then pick the part that is most > in stock (principles...) as well has a nice datasheet. > > Ugly or nonexistent or hard to access datasheet = no buy