What is the difference between a crystal oscillator and an oscillator?

 1. The crystal is used as a vibration source to form an oscillating circuit, and the symbols in the circuit are represented by X or Y.

The outer casing of crystal is encapsulated in metal, making the outer casing strong and protecting the inner wafer. The mark on the surface of the crystal has two contents: a trademark (manufacturer name) and the oscillation frequency.

For crystals, the oscillation frequency is a major parameter for marking the physical properties of the crystal. As long as the crystal oscillation frequency is known in the application, the trademark and the manufacturer's name is not matter so can be ignored. The crystal is non-polar, but the plug-in should be neatly shaped to have the marked side up. The shape of the crystal is shown below.

Crystal ：ABLS-25.000MHZ-B4-F-T

Oscillator

Compared with the crystal, the oscillator has resistors and capacitors in addition to the chip to form an oscillating circuit. So the four feet of the oscillator are polar and are represented by the symbol Y in the circuit.

The shape of the oscillator is brick-shaped and has four pin. The mark on the surface has an oscillation frequency (marked directly by numbers), the first foot position (indicated by black dots), the trademark or manufacturer name or brand, number. In use, just look for the oscillation frequency and the first foot position. The shape of the crystal oscillator is shown below.

Oscillator：ASFL1-25.000MHZ-EC-T

If you want to know more, our website has product specifications for the crystals and Oscillators, you can go to ALLICDATA ELECTRONICS LIMITED to get more information.