Is there anything special about this diode ??

[HOTTUBES]

LM313H ...

Rumoured to be a very good diode in overdrive circuits ?



Any info would be cool !!!

Thank You  !

[Mike Burgundy]

Reference diode with very accurate forward voltage (1.22V) so the clipping will be *very* symmetrical. The slightly higher threshold will make for a different sound compared to straight Si. Other than that - try it?

Edit: do keep in mind the concensus *over here* (as opposed to mojo-land) is that the method of clipping has much less impact than pre- and post- clipping filtering.

[amptramp]

As well as being accurate, it is as close to temperature-invariant as you can get.  This matters if you are on the road in a freezing van for hours then have to set up in an overheated bar or conversely, you come in from the desert to an air-conditioned gig where the air is kept frigid.  It is nice to have something that doesn't shift characteristics with temperature.  You set it once and forget it.  You do not have to fiddle with controls as the unit changes temperature.  The voltage is equal to the bandgap of silicon, 1.22 volts.   Specs here:

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm113.pdf

[PRR]

It has a Forward drop of 0.6V, probably just an ordinary Si junction.

If you run two back-to-back, you won't get the magic 1.21V, you get the ordinary 0.6V.

[midwayfair]

I think I saw people complaining that the blew up in their klones. Seems like an expensive mistake to make.

If you want accurate pairs, just measure them. Silicon diodes are pretty consistent anyway.

I'm betting the "good in distortion circuits" has to do entirely with them costing more, so they must sound better, amirite?

[italianguy63]

has to do entirely with them costing more, so they must sound better, amirite?

It's true for Germaniums!   

[amptramp]

The LM313 acts as a zener diode, so it does have the normal silicon diode forward voltage of 0.6 - 1.0 volts per the datasheet.  Using two back-to-back in series gives you this 0.6 volts in series with 1.23 volts which will be 1.83 volts minimum.  There is nothing accurate about the forward voltage.  Putting the LM313 either in series or parallel with another one does not give you a worthwhile clamp for a fuzz because at these voltages, an LED would give the same voltage a lot cheaper.  Use them in successive stages so you don't have two of them connected together in series or parallel and you will have the makings of a temperature-invariant clipping stage.  But there are cheaper ways to do the same thing.

[HOTTUBES]

This why i asked .... i read on another Forum where these were used in a Klon clone instead of 1n34a Germs , and the guy said it was " The shit "  !!!
So , i was wondering what was so special about these diodes ...

In my Klon cones , i have really enjoyed the BAT 41 as a clipper ....