Chip Attenuator Cross Reference: Only 1 of 8 Fields Carries Its Real Name

A chip attenuator cross reference needs 8 fields, and we opened Walsin’s only chip attenuator file — Chip_Attenuator_Convex_type__1of1.xlsx, all 23 rows — to count how many of them it actually names correctly. One. Attenuation and impedance exist, hidden under a resistor’s column headers. Frequency range, VSWR, true input power and operating temperature have no column at all.

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Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, holds all 137 of Walsin Technology (Walsin)’s chip resistor export files, including the single attenuator file this post measures row by row, and all 7 of Walsin’s RF export files, which we use below for comparison. Every part number is real and came out of one of those files.

How many fields does a chip attenuator cross reference actually need?

Eight: attenuation, accuracy, port impedance, frequency range, VSWR or return loss, maximum RF input power, case size and operating temperature range. A design engineer swapping one 0402 pad for another checks every one of those before trusting the footprint. We counted how many of the 8 Walsin’s own export actually carries, and the answer is 3 confirmed, 1 ambiguous and 4 entirely absent.

Field a cross needs	In the export?	Where
Attenuation	Yes	Resistance column, in dB, not ohms
Port impedance	Yes	Tolerance column, 50Ω or Jumper
Case size	Yes	Size, 0402 (1005) on all 23
Accuracy	Yes	TCR column, in dB, not ppm/°C
Maximum RF input power	Ambiguous	Rated Power, 1/10 W on all 23 — a dissipation figure, not a stated RF input limit
Frequency range	No column	—
VSWR / return loss	No column	—
Operating temperature range	No column	—

That is a table of absence as much as presence, and it sits before the attenuation table below because it is the finding the rest of the post explains.

How many of those fields does Walsin’s export carry under their real name?

One: Size. Attenuation and accuracy are real values, but they sit inside the Resistance and TCR columns of the standard 10-column chip-resistor template — Part Number, Series Group, Series, Size, Resistance, Tolerance, TCR, Rated Power, Packaging, Termination. We have not seen this file’s schema measured against a “fields a cross needs” checklist anywhere else. A companion post already banked the column-by-column mislabelling itself; what we add here is the count against what a cross actually requires: 1 of 8 named correctly, 3 more present but mislabelled, and 4 missing outright.

What do the Resistance, Tolerance and TCR columns hold on all 23 rows?

Attenuation, port impedance and accuracy, in that order, and the pattern breaks on exactly one row. We opened the file and read every cell: Resistance holds a decibel figure from 0dB to 20dB on all 23 rows; Tolerance holds 50Ω on 22 rows and the literal word Jumper on the 23rd (WA04P000XPTL, the 0 dB through-link); TCR holds a decibel accuracy figure on 22 rows and a dash on that same 23rd row. The one part that breaks the pattern is the 0 dB part — it is coded as a jumper first and an attenuator second.

Part number	Resistance (= attenuation)	Tolerance (= impedance)	TCR (= accuracy)
WA04P000XPTL	0dB	Jumper	-
WA04PR05XATL	0.5dB	50Ω	±0.1dB
WA04P010XCTL	10dB	50Ω	±0.4dB
WA04P020XHTL	20dB	50Ω	±2.5dB

A numeric filter on Resistance for an ohm value, on Tolerance for a percentage, or on TCR for a ppm/°C figure returns zero of these 23 rows, every time, because none of the 23 ever carries the quantity those column names promise.

How does the attenuator file compare with Walsin’s seven other RF export files?

Badly, and the comparison is the finding. We checked the column headers of all 7 of Walsin’s RF export files — filter, balun, coupler, BAW filter, SAW filter, multiplexer and antenna switch — against the chip attenuator file. Every one of the 7 RF files carries a dedicated Frequency column (or Frequency 1 / Frequency 2 / Frequency 3 on the dual- and triple-band parts). The chip attenuator file has none. Six of the 7 RF files carry a named Impedance column; the attenuator stores its impedance inside Tolerance instead. Five of the 7 carry a named Insertion Loss or Attenuation column; the attenuator’s attenuation sits inside Resistance.

Walsin export	Has a Frequency column?	Has a named Impedance column?	Has a named Attenuation/Insertion Loss column?
Walsin_Filter.xlsx	Yes	Yes	Yes
Walsin_Balun.xlsx	Yes	Yes (Unbalanced/Balanced)	No (uses Insertion Loss)
Walsin_Coupler.xlsx	Yes	Yes	No (uses Insertion Loss)
Walsin_BAW_Filter.xlsx	Yes (x2)	Yes (x2)	Yes (x2)
Walsin_SAW_Filter.xlsx	Yes (x2)	Yes (x2)	Yes (x2)
Walsin_Multiplexer.xlsx	Yes (x3)	Yes (x3)	Yes (x3)
Walsin_Antenna_Switch.xlsx	Yes	No	No (Isolation and Insertion Loss instead)
Chip_Attenuator_Convex_type__1of1.xlsx	No	No — reuses Tolerance	No — reuses Resistance

The attenuator is, functionally, a frequency-dependent RF part sitting in the chip resistor folder on the plain resistor template, one folder away from seven files that each carry the field it lacks. We have not seen this comparison made anywhere else, and it is a stronger statement than “the columns are mislabelled” — the attenuator export was never given the columns the rest of Walsin’s own RF data treats as standard.

What attenuation steps and accuracy bands exist across the 23 parts?

23 values from 0 dB to 20 dB, all at one case size, and the accuracy band widens as the attenuation rises. We read every one of the 23 rows: the steps run 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, then whole decibels to 20 — half-decibel resolution only below 2 dB, 1 dB resolution above it. Accuracy ranges from ±0.1 dB at 0.5 dB of loss to ±2.5 dB at 20 dB of loss, in nine bands.

Attenuation	Accuracy	Count
0 dB	not specified (jumper)	1
0.5 dB	±0.1 dB	1
1.0–5.0 dB	±0.3 dB	6
6.0–10 dB	±0.4 dB	5
11–13 dB	±0.8 dB	3
14 dB	±1.0 dB	1
15–16 dB	±1.5 dB	2
17–19 dB	±2.0 dB	3
20 dB	±2.5 dB	1

A single WA04P020XHTL at 20 dB carries ±2.5 dB, so its real loss sits anywhere from 17.5 to 22.5 dB. Two cascaded WA04P010XCTL pads give the same 20 dB nominal with the two ±0.4 dB tolerances stacking to ±0.8 dB worst case — tighter than the single part, at the cost of a second component and a 50 Ω node that has to stay matched.

Is the 1/10 W rating a usable RF power limit?

Not as published. Rated Power reads 1/10 W on all 23 rows, and that is the thick-film dissipation rating inherited from the resistor template, not a stated maximum RF input power, a 1 dB compression point or a VSWR-dependent derating curve — none of which exist in this file or in any datasheet Venatech holds for this series. 1/10 W is 20 dBm; a 10 dB pad at that dissipation limit can accept roughly 111 mW in, about 20.5 dBm, before the pad itself becomes the constraint — a back-of-envelope figure from the published rating, not a Walsin-stated input limit.

What should you do with a cross that is missing four of eight fields?

Treat the four missing fields as a question for Walsin, not a gap to guess at, and still cross what the export does give you. The attenuation, accuracy, impedance and case size are real and checkable today.

Requirement: 10 dB pad, 0402, 50 Ω	Candidate	Match / mismatch
	WA04P010XCTL	Match on attenuation (10 dB), impedance (50 Ω) and case (0402); accuracy ±0.4 dB; mismatch — no frequency range, VSWR or true RF power limit published
	Two × WA04P005XBTL cascaded	Match on nominal 10 dB (2 × 5 dB) and case; tighter worst-case accuracy (±0.6 dB) than the single part; mismatch — same missing frequency/VSWR data, plus an extra component and node
	WA04P020XHTL (for a 20 dB job)	Match on attenuation and case; mismatch — widest accuracy band in the range (±2.5 dB) and the same four missing fields

1. Ask us for the frequency range and VSWR before you design in. We hold no datasheet for this series; your request is what puts it on the list to Walsin.
2. Cross the attenuation, impedance and case size now on the free cross-reference tool, which decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers and matches against 800,000+ crossable Walsin part numbers field by field.
3. Check ready stock for what is physically in Hong Kong today — a dated snapshot as at 23 September 2026, not a live feed.

Check us while you are here: an authorised Walsin Technology distributor in Hong Kong, confirmable with Walsin directly, holding 28 Walsin datasheets, 451 pages, sent on request — though not, today, one for this series.

For the full part-number decode, see Chip attenuators: reading a Pi-type part number. For how Walsin’s genuinely frequency-aware RF lines are structured, see Walsin RF: balun, filter, coupler, multiplexer. The attenuator data sits inside the Walsin chip resistor range page.

The short version

A chip attenuator cross reference needs 8 fields. Walsin’s only attenuator export, all 23 rows of Chip_Attenuator_Convex_type__1of1.xlsx, names exactly 1 correctly, carries 3 more under the wrong column header, and has zero columns — not blank cells, no column — for frequency range, VSWR, true RF input power and operating temperature. Every one of Walsin’s seven other RF export files carries a Frequency column; this one does not.

Send us the attenuation, impedance and case size you need and we will quote the real Walsin part number today. Ask us the frequency and VSWR question in the same message, because that is the one we cannot yet answer from what we hold, and your question is what gets it put to Walsin.

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Frequently asked questions

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