A series Re: [sdiy] unbuffered CMOS

[anthony]

I missed the good explanations before posting.

Thanks guys. The info is most enlightening.

But I've remembered another dimension to the question that I wanted to ask.

Now I have some 4016AE's. I know that the 4016 is basically a digitally 
controlled analog switch but I was wondering if the 'A' meant that it was 
the version before the 'B' series came out or does it mean something else 
entirely? And if it was say a 7404A - an all digital chip?

I have assumed that all of the 74HCXXX series are buffered. Except I have a 
74HCU04. Does just a 'U' in the 74HC series mean unbuffered? It's a surface 
mount chip so I guess it's possible that it's a 'V' and I know that means 
it's a low voltage piece.