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What is a Relay Used For, and Why Do You Need One?

A relay is an electrically operated switch. It comes to life when an external electrical signal is received, which activates a coil within the relay. This coil then either opens or closes the circuit, enabling or disabling the flow of electricity, much like a runner in a relay race would either continue the race or… Read more »

Inductor vs. Capacitor: What Is the Difference?

Inductors and capacitors are two of circuit design’s most important electronic components. While they often appear alongside each other in the same circuits, they are very different components with distinct functions. In this blog post, we’ll explain the basics of an inductor vs. capacitor so you can understand each component’s role and why they are… Read more »

How to Source Hard-to-Find Electronic Parts

The sourcing of certain components at times presents difficulties. Some electronic parts are obsolete and no longer produced, making them hard to find. Electronic parts procurement has also had unprecedented challenges in recent years, with the coronavirus pandemic being one of the more recent hurdles, especially for those components that are hard to find. Electronic… Read more »

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Transistors?

One of the greatest inventions in the history of electrical engineering occurred in 1947 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. The transistor was invented, and its inventors – William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen – were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956. The transistor created a revolution in electronics… Read more »

Finding a Reliable Electronic Component Distributor

After the disruptions in supply chains, high inflation, and labor shortages in 2022 as the United States recovered unevenly from the COVID pandemic, electronic component distributors were looking to 2023 with hope. Though there’s still a bit of a semiconductor shortage globally, the sector has essentially returned to normal, with price pressures easing, particularly for… Read more »

What is the Difference Between Forward Bias and Reverse Bias?

With the evolution of technology, electronics manufacturers continue to make choices between devices and methods to enable certain processing functions in their products. The need for these specific functionalities also drives development within other electronics industry areas. To better understand these effects on how a diode functions and its bias, one must first ask: what… Read more »

What Are the Most Common Capacitors Your Business Needs to Stock?

Capacitors are passive components used in electrical circuits, fundamental to their operations as inductors and resistors. A two-terminal component, capacitors exist in almost every electronic device, acting similarly to a battery by storing energy. They serve critical applications within electrical circuits, such as complex signal filtering, localized energy storage, and voltage spike suppression. For businesses… Read more »

How Complicated Is Your Electronic Component Search? Let Solid State Make It Easier

Sourcing electronic components has been complicated over the last few years. However, some who follow the industry are now predicting there will soon be a surplus of semiconductors and related electronic components. Other forecasts by distributors and customers claim instead that shortages will last into 2023 and maybe even longer. These opposed opinions can be… Read more »

Featured Manufacturer: Vishay Intertechnology

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol VSH, Vishay Intertechnology Inc. is a Fortune 1000 Company. The company is a leading manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components. As a global leader in the electronic parts industry, its revolutionary technology is essential to modern technology.

What Are the Advantages of an Integrated Circuit?

Integrated circuits are the brain and heart of most modern electronic devices and appliances. They populate every circuit board and are integral to much of the technology in the world today, with numerous advantages of integrated circuits. As a microelectronic component or device, integrated circuits undergo stringent processes in fabricating capacitors, diodes, resistors, semiconductors, and… Read more »

Featured Manufacturer: Lite-On

Solid State Inc. carries high-quality electronic products from various manufacturers, including Lite-On. The company’s products include optoelectronics for green energy and industrial automation, becoming a leader in sustainable electronic and electrical solutions. As Lite-On distributors, Solid State is proud to introduce the company as one of our featured manufacturers.

Retail vs Wholesale Electronic Components

In comparison to retailers of electronic parts, electronic component wholesalers tend to have more choice and control over what they sell. This allows their customers to buy whatever electronic parts they need from one place. For an electronic equipment manufacturer, this offers advantages when procuring large quantities of diverse components for their products. Understanding the… Read more »

What Are Gray Market Electronic Components?

The gray market for electronic components is currently around $60 billion annually, making up from 6 to 8 percent of the electronic components market. Though electronic counterfeiting in the electronics industry has been problematic, it’s also important to understand how it supports the electronics industry’s gray market. Electronic components sold in this way will include… Read more »

Featured Manufacturer: Isocom Components

Isocom Components 2004 Limited manufactures infrared optoelectronic devices, focusing on optocouplers, optoswitches, and solid-state relays. The company is a leader and respected brand in the global optoelectronic industry. Used to emit or detect radiation in the visible to a near-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, they utilize a premise established by Albert Einstein that light… Read more »

7 Essential Quality Assurance Certifications in the Electronics Supply Chain Industry

Quality control is necessary for every industry but is particularly important in electronics. Supply chains offer a range of electronic components made with varying degrees of quality, so end users need to know which distributors and manufacturers provide the best products. Additionally, should there be an issue with an electronic part, companies should have established… Read more »

Featured Manufacturer: American Power Devices Inc.

Solid State Inc. carries a wide range of high-quality electronic products made by several reliable manufacturers, including items manufactured by American Power Devices Inc., which fabricate manufacturing and industrial supplies, specifically dealing with semiconductor components and other related electronic parts.  About American Power Devices Inc. With a sales volume between $5-$10 million annually, American Power… Read more »

Sourcing Electronics Components Online: What You Should Know

Though many electronics distributors moved online before the COVID pandemic, since 2020 Internet-based sales have become the future for all suppliers of electronics. Components’ online sellers have made buying via their own and ecommerce websites easier, and there are many other reasons why digital sales have largely replaced those from brick-and-mortar outlets. Though previously there… Read more »

Passive Electronic Components 101: How They Work and Their Role in Circuits

Passive electronic components are essential in electrical circuitry. They are not only an integral part of a circuit’s physical structure, but they also help illuminate how electricity works in complex electrical systems. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) and integrated circuits often contain these components that operate on their own – or discretely – within these devices…. Read more »