Mystery Part  What is it?

probably a 16Mhz Xtal as part of an oscillator

Crystals / resonators are typically marked with a Y, in this case Y1, the 16.0M is probably the frequency

It is unusual to be clear but kind cool

Hi Peter,

I actually didn't see the decimal point in the 16 . 0 until I had posted it. You are probably correct as it is wired with caps to ground on each leg just like traditional crystals. Can you think of any reason why they would have exposed the crystal? Does light affect the crystal?

John

Hi John!

I have not seen one like that in a while, but it does look familiar. It's something to do with the manufacture/quality of the product, I'm guessing some factories were better at making reliable crystals with a glass enclosure,

whereas cheaper ones had metal cans and the crystal just hanging in mid-air - I remember taking some apart!). So you've probably got a crystal which is old but was a high quality part for its time.

Nowadays I'm sure things have changed due to process improvements, and many crystals have metal or ceramic enclosure and looks alone would not indicate as much.

Hi John!

I have not seen one like that in a while, but it does look familiar. It's something to do with the manufacture/quality of the product, I'm guessing some factories were better at making reliable crystals with a glass enclosure,

whereas cheaper ones had metal cans and the crystal just hanging in mid-air - I remember taking some apart!). So you've probably got a crystal which is old but was a high quality part for its time.

Nowadays I'm sure things have changed due to process improvements, and many crystals have metal or ceramic enclosure and looks alone would not indicate as much.

Hi Shabaz,

Thanks for the insight into this part. You are right it is a little bit older, I would guess 10 years at least and from the construction of the board and the other components used perhaps a little better quality too. When I get the chance I am going to hook it up in a simple oscillator circuit like we discussed a couple weeks ago and hit the crystal with a laser to see if the oscillation is affected. As you said it is probably just a neat way to package but the window peaks my curiosity about a light connection.

John