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Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

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Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#131

Post by TylerE »

busterarm wrote: post #43
mdb333 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still resisting the AxeFx but being short on space and a growing stack of rack gear waiting to get fixed might push me over the edge soon :-] There's a pretty classic book called Electronic Projects for Musicians that might be of interest: https://msu.edu/~dougl126/Electronic%20Projects%20for%20Musi...

Sold all my heads, pedals, cabs. Have just the Axe and a FRFR wedge now. Best decision I ever made.

These days I'm mainly playing through my PC (Decent USB interface for input, my stereo via a good DAC for output).

I've got a decent tube combo amp, but it's just easier and more flexible to do it digitally. I mostly run S-Gear, which I find has by _far_ the best amp modeling, it's the only VST that really gets moderate overdrive right.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#132

Post by retrogradeorbit »

pmorici wrote: post #129
retrogradeorbit wrote: post #124

There's still plenty of reason to use discontinued components in DIY. And that reason is the form of the component's package. This is a problem for me when building high end audio circuits. A lot of the modern components are only available in surface mount forms. I find this with matched transistor packages. Like a matched quad. There are modern components, like AD's MAT14 [1], but if you are building your own circui…

I disagree. Using a stencil and paste with a cheap toaster oven is easier to make high quality boards than with PTH and an iron. It's fast and almost always comes out great.

"easier". Just pull apart a toaster oven. Reconfigure it. Rewire it. Get some paste. Make a stencil. You know. Easy peasy. Get the software. Learn how to use it. Get the stencils printing. Easy. Oh, you've got registration problems. Come on! Its easy! So much easier than spending one minute ordering a through hole component.

You see, its not actually "easier". Its "easier" to you because you already have the equipment and are already doing it. Hey! I already know this! This is easy!

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#133

Post by pmorici »

retrogradeorbit wrote: post #132
pmorici wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Using a stencil and paste with a cheap toaster oven is easier to make high quality boards than with PTH and an iron. It's fast and almost always comes out great.

"easier". Just pull apart a toaster oven. Reconfigure it. Rewire it. Get some paste. Make a stencil. You know. Easy peasy. Get the software. Learn how to use it. Get the stencils printing. Easy. Oh, you've got registration problems. Come on! Its easy! So much easier than spending one minute ordering a through hole component. You see, its not actually "easier". Its "easier" to you because you already have the equipmen…

Don't knock it till you try it. You don't need to modify your toaster oven or any of that non-sense. I got a cheap $25 of Amazon and just use a stop watch and the toaster dial to set the temp by hand. There is really nothing to learn. Also ordering a stencil is just as simple as ordering PCBs now with the OSHStencil service.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#134

Post by robzyb »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #83

I've recently gotten back into hobby electronics, trying to revive all that EE knowledge I haven't used in 15 years, and one thing I sorely lack is knowledge of common components to use. Online electronics stores are no help because of the overload of possible components. Is there some sort of Cookbook out there I could refer to for up-to-date examples of common circuits and electronic tasks? I mean, I otherwise tota…

Octopart (YC'something, now part of Altium) have an excellent Common Parts Library:

https://octopart.com/common-parts-library

I also often refer to Sparkfun's product list as a reasonable starting point.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#135

Post by retrogradeorbit »

pmorici wrote: post #133
retrogradeorbit wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"easier". Just pull apart a toaster oven. Reconfigure it. Rewire it. Get some paste. Make a stencil. You know. Easy peasy. Get the software. Learn how to use it. Get the stencils printing. Easy. Oh, you've got registration problems. Come on! Its easy! So much easier than spending one minute ordering a through hole component. You see, its not actually "easier". Its "easier" to you because you already have the equipmen…

Don't knock it till you try it. You don't need to modify your toaster oven or any of that non-sense. I got a cheap $25 of Amazon and just use a stop watch and the toaster dial to set the temp by hand. There is really nothing to learn. Also ordering a stencil is just as simple as ordering PCBs now with the OSHStencil service.

Don't get me wrong. At some point I'm definitely going to get into it. Get a SMD workstation proper. I'm just getting ranty with you saying its "easier". The word is so often abused today.

It's easier now to order the ideal component. My original point is the day is fast approaching where there will be no more precision transistors in through hole. Even second hand or NOS. That's the day that getting an SMD setup will become easier for me. And then I'll get into it.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#136

Post by tnecniv »

PeanutNore wrote: post #14

I build a lot of guitar effects, and that community is even worse when it comes to attachement to obsolete components. The discontinuation of J201 JFETs (in TO-92 through hole package at least) by Fairchild has caused a lot of upset. My perspective, not widely shared, is that JFETs in general have been made obsolete by depletion-mode MOSFETs, at least in audio circuits. Part of the reason, I think, is that a lot of "…

Yeah I've also seen a lot of voodoo talk in that community as well.

I'd buy some things, like germanium vs silicon transistors, but most of it I think is cargo cult behavior.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#137

Post by tnecniv »

failrate wrote: post #55
busterarm wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guitar d00ds having obscure, nonsensical reasons for things because "mah tones!"? Say it ain't so. I mean, nearly every tube head on the market has an essentially pointless standby/bypass switch because of the mistaken belief that you need to warm up your tubes for some arbitrary amount of time in a modern amp and keep them warm. I forget which manufacturer it was that dropped the switch on one model and saw sales pl…

If I ever made analog audio equipment professionally, I would add an entire series of switches and dials that weren't wired up to anything.

Eddie Van Halen did precisely that to his guitar.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#138

Post by mveety »

busterarm wrote: post #33
PeanutNore wrote: post #14

I build a lot of guitar effects, and that community is even worse when it comes to attachement to obsolete components. The discontinuation of J201 JFETs (in TO-92 through hole package at least) by Fairchild has caused a lot of upset. My perspective, not widely shared, is that JFETs in general have been made obsolete by depletion-mode MOSFETs, at least in audio circuits. Part of the reason, I think, is that a lot of "…

Guitar d00ds having obscure, nonsensical reasons for things because "mah tones!"? Say it ain't so. I mean, nearly every tube head on the market has an essentially pointless standby/bypass switch because of the mistaken belief that you need to warm up your tubes for some arbitrary amount of time in a modern amp and keep them warm. I forget which manufacturer it was that dropped the switch on one model and saw sales pl…

Well tube amps do actually need to warm up, but people think it takes minutes to hours for them to warm up when it really takes like 2 to 5 seconds. That, I think, comes from a lack of knowledge about how tubes work and the general cargo cult surrounding sound electronics.

Re: Circuit building: stop using antique parts (2014)

#140

Post by zerohp »

retrogradeorbit wrote: post #124

There's still plenty of reason to use discontinued components in DIY. And that reason is the form of the component's package. This is a problem for me when building high end audio circuits. A lot of the modern components are only available in surface mount forms. I find this with matched transistor packages. Like a matched quad. There are modern components, like AD's MAT14 [1], but if you are building your own circui…

It doesn't take much time to learn to hand solder SMD. We teach 200 students to do it every semester at UIUC in the EE senior design lab. Our rule of thumb is that if it has pins that are not flush to the bottom of the package you can solder it with an iron. All but the smallest parts can be done with a cheap Weller.

I soldered one project with paste, a toothpick to apply it, and an unmodified hot plate controlled by hand. No stencil needed.

We have a proper oven but everyone hates using it.

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