Datasheet question tests

① Can a power chip deliver 2 A in a hot place?

The TPS563200 is a power chip that turns 12 V into 5 V. In hot surroundings it can deliver less current, and how much less is only in a graph on page 11 of the datasheet. We asked whether it can deliver 2 A continuously at 85 °C.

Both sides answered correctly all 3 times ("not at 85 °C") and cited that graph's page. Web search alone read the graph by eye and gave ranges ("about 1.8–1.9 A, up to 80–84 °C"); with PartsPlan all 3 runs gave the same values ("1.86 A, up to 82 °C").

→ For a well-known part with an easy-to-get public PDF, web search alone gets it right. The difference is how precise the numbers are, and whether you get the same value every time.

② Will a relay reliably switch on in a hot place?

Page 3 of the relay datasheet has a small footnote: coil values are at 23 °C. When it is hot, like 85 °C, the coil's resistance rises, so the same voltage may no longer switch the relay on reliably.

Both sides answered correctly all 3 times ("not guaranteed at 85 °C — the coil is about 0.2 V short") and cited the source page with that footnote.

→ Here both sides scored the same: if the AI opens the datasheet and checks that footnote, web search alone can get it right.

③ Can five parts share one communication line?

I²C lets several parts share two wires, and each part's "address" must be different. The PCA9685 also uses a shared address, 0x70, from the moment it powers up — this is only explained on page 8 of its datasheet.

Both sides found the 2 clashing address pairs and 0x70 all 3 times. Web search alone answered from memory all 3 times without opening the datasheets and gave no page; with PartsPlan the AI cited the document and page for all 5 parts.

→ AI can answer well-known parts from memory. But memory can be wrong with no way to check, so a design review needs the page.

④ After a short circuit, how fast must the power switch cut off before it burns?

The SOA is the range of voltage, current and time a part can survive without burning. We asked the AI to read the SOA graph on page 6 (a chart with logarithmic scales) and say how many milliseconds the protection circuit has to cut off a 30 A short.

Web search alone gave a different answer each of the 3 times: "0.5 ms or less" (safe, but far shorter than the real limit), "a theoretical limit of about 4 ms, 2 ms or less recommended" (at 85 °C the part cannot survive 30 A for 4 ms), and "1 ms or less recommended". With PartsPlan all 3 runs gave the same answer: "a limit of about 1.8 ms, 1 ms or less recommended".

→ If a misread graph number becomes the design value, the part can burn in a real fault. Graph numbers are where adding PartsPlan changes the answer most.

① Values read from graphs — the right page, but different numbers

We asked 6 values that exist only in graphs, such as current that changes with temperature or how long a part survives. In 5 of the 6 graphs, curves for other conditions sit right next to the right one.

Service C found the right graph and page for all 6. But only 1 number was right. Asked whether 2 A can be delivered continuously at 85 °C ambient, it said 'it can (2.2 A at 85 °C)', while the same graph shows 1.86 A.

→ When the cited page is right, the whole answer looks checked. A design that trusts that answer runs 2 A at 85 °C past the limit the graph shows.

② Tables · pinouts · missing values — correct

We asked a value from a table in a 114-page document, pin numbers, and 2 values that are not in the datasheet at all.

Service C got the table value and the pinout right, and honestly said the 2 missing values are not in the datasheet.

→ Values printed as text can be found and read as long as the right document is there.

③ Questions that need a judgement — the relay right, a different document for the shared address

We asked whether a relay reliably switches on when hot (judged from a footnote saying coil values are at 23 °C), and which shared address (0x70) a part answers right after power-up.

For the relay it stated the assumption that coil resistance rises with temperature, calculated, and correctly answered 'not guaranteed' (a day earlier, asked without the instructions, it gave no conclusion). For the shared address, that part page carried a product leaflet instead of the datasheet, so it could not answer.

→ Design questions need a yes or no. When a question needs an assumption from outside the datasheet, the answer reaches a conclusion only by stating it and calculating.