Basic electronics

Introduction

Electronics is the branch of science that deals with the study of flow and control of
electrons (electricity) and the study of their behaviour and effects in vacuums, gases, and
semiconductors, and with devices using such electrons.

Or

The word electronics is derived from electron mechanics, which means to study the
behaviour of an electron under different conditions of applied electric field.

Electronics can also be defined as the branch of engineering in which the electronic
devices and their utilization are studied.

The motion of electrons through a conductor gives us electric current. This electric
current can be produced with the help of batteries and generators. The device which
controls the flow of electrons is called electronic device. These devices are the main
building blocks of electronic circuits.

An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such

as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by
conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. To be referred to
as electronic, rather than electrical, generally at least one active component must be
present. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex
operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and
data can be moved from one place to another.

Circuits can be constructed of discrete components connected by individual pieces of wire,

but today it is much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic
techniques on a laminated substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the
components to these interconnections to create a finished circuit. In an integrated circuit or
IC, the components and interconnections are formed on the same substrate, typically a
semiconductor such as silicon or (less commonly) gallium arsenide.

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A circuit built on a printed circuit board (PCB).

An electronic circuit can usually be categorized as an analog circuit, a digital circuit, or

a mixed-signal circuit (a combination of analog circuits and digital circuits)

Analog electronic circuits are those in which current or voltage may vary continuously
with time to correspond to the information being represented. Analog circuitry is
constructed from two fundamental building blocks: series and parallel circuits

Fig. 1.1 A circuit diagram representing an analog circuit, in this case a simple amplifier

In digital electronic circuits, electric signals take on discrete values, to represent logical
and numeric values.[3] These values represent the information that is being processed. In
the vast majority of cases, binary encoding is used: one voltage (typically the more positive
value) represents a binary '1' and another voltage (usually a value near the ground
potential, 0 V) represents a binary '0'. Digital circuits make extensive use of transistors,
interconnected to create logic gates that provide the functions of Boolean logic: AND,
NAND, OR, NOR, XOR and all possible combinations thereof.

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Branches of electronics

Electronics has various branches including, analog electronics, digital electronics,

micro electronics, nanoelectronics, optoelectronics,

Advantages of electronics

Electronic devices are playing a major role in everyday life. The various electronic devices
we use in everyday life include

 Computers

Today, computers are used everywhere. At home, computers are used for playing games,
watching movies, doing research, paying bills and reservation of tickets for railways and
airlines. At school, students use computers to complete their assignments.

 Mobile phones

Mobile phones are used for variety of purposes such as for sending text messages,
making voice calls, surfing internet, playing games, and listening songs.

 ATM

ATM is an electronic telecommunication device particularly used for withdrawing money at

anytime from anywhere. ATM stands for automated teller machine. The customer can
withdraw money up to a certain limit during anytime of the day or night.

 Pen drive

Pen drive is particularly used for storing large amount of data and also used for
transferring data from one device to another. For example, the data stored in the computer
can be transferred to the pen drive. The data stored in this pen drive can be retrieved at
any time.

 Television

Television is an electronic device primarily used for entertainment and knowledge. It is

used for watching movies for entertainment, news for knowledge, cartoons for children‟s.

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 Digital camera

Digital camera is a camera used for taking pictures and videos. This images and videos
are stored for later reproduction.

Electronic components are the basic building blocks of an electronic circuit or electronic
system or electronic device. They control the flow of electrons in an electronic system or
electronic circuit.

Electronic components are very small. Hence, it is easy to carry them from one place to
another place. The cost of electronic components is also low. Electronic components
consist of two or more terminals.

When a group of electronic components is connected together in an electronic board such

as printed circuit board (PCB), a useful electronic circuit is formed. Each electronic
component in a circuit performs a particular task.

Types of electronic components

The electronic components are generally classified into two types:

 Passive components
 Active components

Passive component

The electronic component, which consumes energy in the form of voltage from the source,
but does not produce or supply energy is called passive electronic component. Or Those
devices or components which do not required external source to their operation are called
Passive Components.

Some properties of passive components

1. Passive components cannot control the flow of electrons or electric current through
a circuit, but they limit the flow of electrons or electric current.
2. Passive components cannot amplify or increase the power of an electrical signal.
3. Passive components temporarily store the electrical energy in the form of static
electric field or magnetic field.

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4. Passive components do not depend on the external source of energy or voltage to
perform a specific operation.

Different types of passive components

The different types of passive components include resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

Resistors :-

Resistor is an electrical element (or an electrical component or an electrical parameter)

which is made of resistive material which oppose the flow of current, i.e. the component
having the property of resistance is called „Resistor‟.

Classification of different types of Resistors :

Fundamentally, there are three types of resistors These are

 Fixed or Linear Resistors,

 Variable (Potentiometer type.) resistor and
 Special type resistor .

Fixed Resistor:-

Again fixed resistor can be divided in to eight different types .

These are:- (i )Carbon Resistance.(ii)Wire Wound resistance(iii) Film type resistance

(iv)Integrated resistor (v) Printed resistor (vi) Semi conductor resistor(vii) Chip resistor and
(viii)Filament resistor.

Variable Resistor:

Again variable resistor can be divided into two (2) types.

These are : i. Linear type variable resistors and ii. Non-linear type (Logarithmic
variation )

i. The Linear type variable resistors again sub divided into two forms. Such

as a. Wire wound variable type linear type variable resistors. b. Carbon film
linear type variable resistor.
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ii The non-linear type variable resistor is made by carbon film non-linear variable resistor.

Purpose of the resistor

Resistors can play any of numerous different roles in electrical and electronic equipment.
Here are a few of the more common ways resistors are used.

Voltage division

The resistors dissipate some power in doing this job, but the resulting voltages are needed
for the proper biasing of electronic transistors or vacuum tubes. This ensures that an
amplifier or oscillator will do its job in the most efficient, reliable possible way.

Biasing

In order to work efficiently, transistors or tubes need the right bias. This means that the
control electrode the base, gate, or grid must have a certain voltage or current. Networks
of resistors accomplish this. Different bias levels are needed for different types of circuits.
A radio transmitting amplifier would usually be biased differently than an oscillator or a low-
level receiving amplifier. Sometimes voltage division is required for biasing. Other times it
isn‟t necessary. Figure 2 shows a transistor whose base is biased using a pair of resistors
in a voltage-dividing configuration.

Fig.2 Voltage divider

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Current limiting

Resistors interfere with the flow of electrons in a circuit. Sometimes this is essential to
prevent damage to a component or circuit. A good example is in a receiving amplifier. A
resistor can keep the transistor from using up a lot of power just getting hot. Without
resistors to limit or control the current, the transistor might be overstressed carrying direct
current that doesn‟t contribute to the signal. An improperly designed amplifier might need
to have its transistor replaced often, because a resistor wasn‟t included I the design where
it was needed, or because the resistor isn‟t the right size. Figure 3 shows a current-limiting
resistor connected in series with a transistor. Usually it is in the emitter circuit as shown in
this diagram, but it can also be in the collector circuit.

Fig.3 Current-limiting resistor or a transistor.

Power dissipation

Dissipating power as heat is not always bad. Sometimes a resistor can be used as a
“dummy” component, so that a circuit “sees” the resistor as if it were something more
complicated. In radio, for example, a resistor can be used to take the place of an antenna.
A transmitter can then be tested in such a way that it doesn‟t interfere with signals on the
airwaves. The transmitter output heats the resistor, without radiating any signal. But as far
as the transmitter “knows,” it‟s hooked up to a real antenna (Fig. 6-3). Another case in
which power dissipation is useful is at the input of a power amplifier. Sometimes the circuit
driving the amplifier (supplying its input signal) has too much power for the amplifier input.
A resistor, or network of resistors, can dissipate this excess so that the power amplifier
doesn‟t get too much drive.

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Resistor Values

In theory, a resistor can have any value from the lowest possible (such as a shaft of solid
silver) to the highest (open air). In practice, it is unusual to find resistors with values less
than about 0.1 Ω, or more than about 100 MΩ. Resistors are manufactured in standard
values that might at first seem rather odd to you. The standard numbers are 1.0, 1.2,
1.5,1.8, 2.2, 2.7, 3.3, 3.9, 4.7, 5.6, 6.8, and 8.2.

Units are commonly made with values derived from these values, multiplied by some
power of 10. Thus, you will see units of 47 Ω, 180 Ω, 6.8 KΩ, or 18 MΩ, but not 380 Ω or
650 KΩ. In addition to the above values, there are others that are used for resistors made
with greater precision, or tighter tolerance. These are power-of-10 multiples of 1.1, 1.3, 1.
6, 2.0, 2.4, 3.0, 3.6, 4.3, 5.1, 6.2, 7.5, and 9.1.

You don‟t have to memorize these numbers. They‟ll become familiar enough over time, as
you work with electrical and electronic circuits.

Tolerance

The first set of numbers above represents standard resistance values available in
tolerances of plus or minus 10 percent. This means that the resistance might be as

much as 10 percent more or 10 percent less than the indicated amount. In the case

of a 470-Ohm resistor, for example, the value can be off by as much as 47 Ohms and

still be within tolerance. That‟s a range of 423 to 517 Ohms. The tolerance is calculated
according to the specified value of the resistor, not the actual value. You might measure
the value of a 470-ohm resistor and find it to be 427 Ohms, and it would be within 10
percent of the specified value; if it measures 420 Ohms, it‟s outside the10-percent range
and is a “reject.”

The second set, along with the first set, of numbers represents standard resistance values
available in tolerances of plus or minus 5 percent. A 470-Ohm, 5-percent resistor will have
an actual value of 470 Ohms plus or minus 24 ohms, or a range of 446 to 494Ohms.

Some resistors are available in tolerances tighter than 5 percent. These precision units are
employed in circuits where a little error can make a big difference. In most audio and radio-
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frequency oscillators and amplifiers, 10-percent or 5-percent tolerance is good enough. In
many cases, even a 20-percent error is all right.

Power rating

All resistors are given a specification that determines how much power they can safely
dissipate. Typical values are 1/4 W, 1/2 W, and 1 W. Units also exist with ratings of 1/8 W
or 2 W. These dissipation ratings are for continuous duty.

Temperature compensation

All resistors change value somewhat when the temperature changes dramatically. And
because resistors dissipate power, they can get hot just because of the current they carry.
Often, this current is so tiny that it doesn‟t appreciably heat the resistor. But in some cases
it does, and the resistance might change. Then the circuit will behave differently than it did
when the resistor was still cool.

There are various ways to approach problems of resistors changing value when they get
hot.

 One method is to use specially manufactured resistors that do not appreciably

change value when they get hot. Such units are called temperature compensated.
But one of these can cost several times as much as an ordinary resistor.
 Another approach is to use a power rating that is much higher than the actual
dissipated power in the resistor. This will keep the resistor from getting very hot.
Usually, it‟s a needless expense to do this, but if the small change in value cannot
be tolerated, it‟s sometimes the most cost effective.

Determining the resistance of a resistor

There several ways of determining the resistance of a resistor.

I. Using an Ohmmeter

Resistance is measured with an ohmmeter. The ohmmeter has its own voltage source so
that it is always used without any external power applied to the resistance being
measured. Separate the resistance from its circuit by disconnecting one lead of the
resistor. Then connect the ohmmeter leads across the resistance to be measured. An
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open resistor reads infinitely high ohms. For some reason, infinite ohms are often
confused with zero ohms. Remember, though, that infinite ohms mean an open circuit. The
current is zero, but the resistance is infinitely high. Furthermore, it is practically impossible
for a resistor to become short-circuited in itself. The resistor may be short-circuited by
some other part of the circuit. However, the construction of resistors is such that the
trouble they develop is an open circuit with infinitely high ohms.

The ohmmeter must have an ohms scale capable of reading the resistance value, or the
resistor cannot be checked. In checking a 10M resistor, for instance, if the highest R the
ohmmeter can read is 1M, it will indicate infinite resistance, even if the resistor has its
normal value of 10 M. An ohms scale of 100 M or more should be used for checking such
high resistances.

To check resistors of less than 10 , a low-ohms scale of about 100 or less is necessary.
Center scale should be 6 or less. Otherwise, the ohmmeter will read a normally low
resistance value as zero ohms. When checking resistance in a circuit, it is important to be
sure there are no parallel resistance paths. Otherwise, the measured resistance can be
much lower than the actual resistor value, as illustrated in Fig. 4a . Here, the ohmmeter
reads the resistance of R 2 in parallel with R 1. To check across R 2 alone, one end is
disconnected, as in Fig. 4b. For very high resistances, it is important not to touch the
ohmmeter leads. There is no danger of shock, but the body resistance of about 50,000 as
a parallel path will lower the ohmmeter reading.

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Figure 4 Parallel R1 can lower the ohmmeter reading for testing R2. (a) The two
resistances R1 and R2 are in parallel.(b) R2 is isolated by disconnecting one end of R1
1.

II. Using Colour Codes;

Resistor Color Coding Because carbon resistors are small, they are color coded to mark
their R value in ohms. The basis of this system is the use of colors for numerical values,
as listed in Table 1. In memorizing the colors, note that the darkest colors, black and
brown, are for the lowest numbers, zero and one, whereas white is for nine. The color
coding is standardized by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA).

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Resistance Color Stripes

The use of colored bands or stripes is the most common system for color-coding resistors,
as shown in Fig. 5. The colored bands or stripes completely encircle the body of the
resistor and are usually crowded toward one end. Reading from left to right, the first band
closest to the edge gives the first digit in the numerical value of R The next band indicates
the second digit. The third band is the decimal multiplier, which tells us how many zeros to
add after the first two digits.

In Fig. 5 , the first stripe is red for 2 and the next stripe is green for 5. The red multiplier in
the third stripe means add two zeros to 25, or “this multiplier is 10 2 ”.

The result can be illustrated as follows:

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Therefore, this R value is 2500 ohm

The example in Fig. 6a illustrates that black for the third stripe just means “do not add
any zeros to the i rst two digits.” Since this resistor has red, green, and black stripes, the
R value is 25 .

Figure 6a

Resistors under 10 Ohms

For these values, the third stripe is either gold or silver, indicating a fractional decimal
multiplier. When the third stripe is gold, multiply the first two digits by 0.1. In

Fig. 6 b, the R value is 25 x 0.1 = 2.5 .

Silver means a multiplier of 0.01. If the third band in Fig. 6 c were silver, the R value
would be 25 x 0.01 = 0.25 .

It is important to realize that the gold and silver colors represent fractional decimal
multipliers only when they appear in the third stripe. Gold and silver are used most often
however as a fourth stripe to indicate how accurate the R value is. The colors gold and
silver will never appear in the first two color stripes.

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Figure 6

Resistor Tolerance

The amount by which the actual R can differ from the color-coded value is the tolerance,
usually given in percent. For instance, a 2000Ω resistor with 10% tolerance can have
resistance 10% above or below the coded value. This R , therefore, is between 1800 and
2200 . The calculations are as follows:

For +10%, the value is 2000 + 200 = 2200Ω .

For -10%, the value is 2000 - 200 = 1800 Ω .

As illustrated in Fig. 1.7, silver in the fourth band indicates a tolerance of 10%, gold
indicates 5%. If there is no color band for tolerance, it is 20%. The inexact value of carbon-
composition resistors is a disadvantage of their economical construction. They usually cost
only a few cents each, or less in larger quantities. In most circuits, though, a small
difference in resistance can be tolerated.

Five-Band Color Code

Precision resistors (typically metal-film resistors) often use a i ve-band color code rather
than the four-band code. The purpose is to obtain more precise R values. With the five-
band code, the first three color stripes indicate the first three digits, followed by the decimal
multiplier in the fourth stripe and the in the fifth stripe. In the fifth stripe, the colors brown,
red, green, blue, and violet represent the following tolerances:

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Qn.What is the resistance indicated by the five-band color code in Figure below? Also,
what ohmic range is permissible for the specified tolerance?

Chip Resistor Coding System

The resistance value of a chip resistor is determined from the three-digit number
printed on the i lm or body side of the component. The three digits provide the same
information as the first three color stripes on a four-band resistor. This is shown in
Fig.7 .

Fig.7 chip resistor

The first two digits indicate the first two numbers in the numerical value of the
resistance; the third digit indicates the multiplier. If a four-digit number is used, the first
three digits indicate the first three numbers in the numerical value of the resistance,
and the fourth digit indicates the multiplier. The letter R is used to signify a decimal
point for values between 1 and 10 ohms as in 2R7 = 2.7Ω. Chip resistors are typically
available in tolerances of 1% and 5%. It is important to note, however, that the
tolerance of a chip resistor is not indicated by the three or four digit code.

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Opens and Shorts in Series Circuits

In many cases, electronic technicians are required to repair a piece of equipment that is no
longer operating properly. The technician is expected to troubleshoot the equipment and
restore it to its original operating condition. To troubleshoot means “to diagnose or
analyze.” For example, a technician may diagnose a failed electronic circuit by using a
digital multimeter (DMM) to make voltage, current, and resistance measurements. Once
the defective component has been located, it is removed and replaced with a good one.
But here is one very important point that needs to be made about troubleshooting: To
troubleshoot a defective circuit, you must under-stand how the circuit is supposed to work
in the first place. Without this knowledge, your troubleshooting efforts could be nothing
more than guesswork.

Figure 8 Effect of an open in a series circuit. ( a ) Normal circuit with 1-A series current.
( b ) Open path between points P 1 and P 2 results in zero current in all parts of the
circuit.

The Effect of an Open in a Series Circuit

An open circuit is a break in the current path. The resistance of an open circuit is
extremely high because the air between the open points is a very good insulator. Air can
have billions of ohms of resistance. For a series circuit, a break in the current path means
zero current in all components. Figure1.9a shows a series circuit that is operating
normally. With 40 V of applied voltage and 40Ωof total resistance, the series current is
40V/40Ω = 1 A. This produces the following IR voltage drops across R1 , R2 , and R3 :
V 1 = 1 A x 25Ω = 25 V, V 2 = 1 A x 10 Ω = 10 V, and V 3 = 1 A x 5 Ω = 5 V. Now
consider the effect of an open circuit between points P 1 and P 2 in Fig.1.9b . Because
there is practically infinite resistance between the open points, the current in the entire

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series circuit is zero. With zero current throughout the series circuit, each resistor‟s IR
voltage will be 0 V even though the applied voltage is still 40 V. To calculate V 1 , V 2 ,
and V3 in Fig.8 b , simply use 0 A for I . Then, V 1 = 0A x 25 Ω= 0 V, V 2 = 0 A x 10 Ω
= 0 V, and V 3 = 0 A x 5 Ω = 0 V. But how much voltage is across points P 1 and P2
? The answer is 40 V. This might surprise you, but here‟s the proof: Let‟s assume that the
resistance between P 1 and P 2 is 40 x 10 9 Ω, which is 40 GΩ (40 gigaohms). Since
the total resistance of a series circuit equals the sum of the series resistances, RT is the
sum of 25 Ω, 15 Ω, 10 Ω, and 40 GΩ. Since the 40GΩ of resistance between P1 and P2
is so much larger than the other resistances, it is essentially the total resistance of the
series circuit. Then the series current I is calculated as 40 V/40 GΩ = 1 x 109 A = 1nA.
For all practical purposes, the current I is zero. This is the value of current in the entire
series circuit. This small current produces about 0 V across R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 , but
across the open points P 1 and P 2 , where the resistance is high, the voltage is
calculated as Vopen = 1 x 10-9 A x 40 x 109 Ω = 40 V.

In summary, here is the effect of an open in a series circuit:

1. The current I is zero in all components.

2. The voltage drop across each good component is 0 V.

3. The voltage across the open points equals the applied voltage.

The Effect of a Short in a Series Circuit

A short circuit is an extremely low resistance path for current flow. The resistance of a
short is assumed to be 0 Ω. This is in contrast to an open, which is assumed to have a
resistance of infinite ohms. Let‟s reconsider the circuit in Fig. 8 with R2 shorted. The
circuit is redrawn for your convenience in Fig. 9. Recall from Fig. 9a that the normal
values of V1, V2 , and V3 are 25 V, 10 V, and 5 V, respectively. With the 10Ω R2
shorted, the total resistance RT will decrease from 40Ωto 30Ω. This will cause the series
current to increase from 1A to 1.33 A. This is calculated as 40 V/ 30Ω = 1.33 A. The
increase in current will cause the voltage drop across resistors R1 and R3 to increase
from their normal values. The new volt-age drops across R1 and R3 with R2 shorted
are calculated as follows:

V1 = 1 xR1 = 1.33 A x 25Ω, V3 = 1 x R3 = 1.33A x 5Ω

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V1 = 33.3 V, V3 = 6.67 V

The voltage drop across the shorted R2 is 0 V because the short across R2 effectively
makes its resistance value 0Ω. Then,V2 = 1 x R2 = 1.33 A x 0 Ω, V2 = 0 V

Figure 9 Series circuit of Fig. 8 with R 2 shorted.

In summary, here is the effect of a short in a series circuit:

1. The current I increases above its normal value.

2. The voltage drop across each good component increases.

3. The voltage drop across the shorted component drops to 0 V.

The Effect of an Open in a Parallel Circuit

An open in any circuit is an infinite resistance that results in no current. However, in

parallel circuits there is a difference between an open circuit in the main line and an open
circuit in a parallel branch. These two cases are illustrated in Fig. 10. In Fig. 10a the open
circuit in the main line prevents any electron flow in the line to all the branches. The
current is zero in every branch, therefore, and none of the bulbs can light. However, in
Fig.10b the open is in the branch circuit for bulb 1. The open branch circuit has no
current, then, and this bulb cannot light. The current in all the other parallel branches is
normal, though, because each is connected to the voltage source. Therefore, the other
bulbs light. These circuits show the advantage of wiring components in parallel. An open in
one component opens only one branch, whereas the other parallel branches have their
normal voltage and current.

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Figure 10 Effect of an open in a parallel circuit. (a) Open path in the main line—no current
and no light for all bulbs. (b) Open path in any branch—bulb for that branch does not light,
but the other two bulbs operate normally.

The Effect of a Short in a Parallel Circuit

A short circuit has practically zero resistance. Its effect, therefore, is to allow exces-sive
current in the shorted circuit. Consider the example in Fig. 11. In Fig. 11a , the circuit is
normal, with 1 A in each branch and 2 A for the total line current. How-ever, suppose that
the conducting wire at point G accidentally makes contact with the wire at point H, as
shown in Fig. 11b . Since the wire is an excellent conductor, the short circuit results in
practically zero resistance between points G and H. These two points are connected
directly across the voltage source. Since the short circuit provides practically no opposition
to current, the applied voltage could produce an infinitely high value of current through this
current path.

Figure 11 Effect of a short circuit across parallel branches. (a) Normal circuit. (b) Short
circuit across points G and H shorts out allbranches.

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