Crystals for Beginners in Electronics

Created on: 30 July 2012

Crystals for beginners in electronics – basic information on quartz crystals used in electronics with crystal schematic symbol.

The schematic symbol for a crystal is shown below.

Crystals used in electronics are housed in metal cases as shown in the photo below. They usually have values that are in the megahertz range (MHz) except for crystals that are used with time/date circuits that are usually 32.768kHz crystals (32.768 kilohertz).

The photo shows a 11.0592MHz crystal in a metal can package on the left. Low profile crystals are shown in the centre. Two different sized 32.768kHz watch crystals are shown on the right.