Mystery PCB

Whilst walking over to the TV cabinet, I nearly trod on this small circuit board. Before I throw it away, Perhaps it would be wise to see where it came from. However I couldn't find anything or anywhere it could have come from.

The 4 contacts are spaced at 1.25mm, and there is a small LED (D1) besides an encapsulated something.

The contacts aren't USB pitch, or similar to the microchip on credit cards.

There is a reference number 3R2232

Bob

tv controller?

Don't throw it away! It's either the Infra Red transmitter or receiver module from an appliance or controller; TV, Hifi, Camera, automotive, whatever. Had any visitors or moved anything electronic recently?

Sooner or later, perhaps much later, it will be noticed something isn't communicating. Producing the missing part might make someone very happy by avoiding a big bill.

Dave

It looks like a plug-in memory device to me. Maybe from inside a larger USB stick. Tthe one long contact is the giveaway for it being plug in but it appears to have had little use. Cold also be part of a security tag or similar.
What new electronics have come into the house recently.

Robert G8RPI

Russian spy bug

Looks like an IR transmitter/receiver kind of thing

Maybe dropped out of the telly or the controller

Disposed of any ink cartridges lately?

Martin C

Hi, I think Martin Connelly has the answer. Here's one from a Canon printer cartridge.

Regards Nick.

Thanks for the ideas. I don't think it is IR as there isn't a 'lens' for the transmitter. The black bulge is typical potting compound. But could the device marked D1 be an IR transmitter ?

All IR twitchers seem to be working OK.

Ink cartridges - I do keep them in that sort of area of the lounge as the printer is housed in the TV cabinet.

No visitors (that we know about) for a month or so as we were not at home.

Just looked at an old Canon 560/561 ink cartridge that does indeed have a similar contact pad .

Martin wins the prize - I can't find the cartridge with the missing bit, but here is a photo of another used (non original) cartridge.

Thanks for solving the mystery.

Bob

Potting compound - of course it is.

Does look a little like the filter on an IR LED though. Shame, being off an inkjet cartridge means it's evil!

No idea what the board is for, but the black blob looks a bit like COB - aka chip on board. The basic silicon chip is placed on the board and wire bonded to pads on the board. The whole thing is then covered by a blob of epoxy. It's a cheaper assembly option because the silicon chip does not need to be packaged before use.

Andrew

Hi Andrew, I don't know what the board is for either, my one has no physical electrical connections to the cartridge, so all I can assume is that is a counter for determining the level of ink left after each use which is shown in the ink management display. The contact pads connect onto the printhead.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 25/07/2022 23:37:46

They are counters and whenever the cartridge is asked to squirt some ink it increments and when sufficient squirts have been made indicate the cartridge should be empty.

The ones in the Canon printers I use now appear to be quite accurate but I have had experience (admittedly long ago) where a Texas laser printer over estimated and I had to change drums, toner cartridges and excess ink catch bottles which were far from exhausted making it an expensive hobby to keep replacing them.