common IC's and Transistors and other questions

[Kipper4]

Are there any commonly used IC's in pedal building?
Something that you always have in stock.
Where's a good place to get those dip holders for IC's?

How best do i mount transistors in a circuit so that i could try out differant ones
What's a common transistor for use in pedal building?
Which ones do you have in stock most of the time and what kind of pedals are you building with them?

Also as a side issue wheres the best place to buy enclosures at reasonable prices?

What wire do you mostly use and where to get it?

[Kesh]

ICs: op-amps, common ones are TL072 and 4558s (various letters prior to 4558).

Any electronic supplier will provide DIP IC holders.

To mount transistors buy a row of SIP sockets (pictured) and cut off a row of three.



Common BJT transistors are 2n5088/2n5089/MPSA18 and about a hundred very similar ones. High gain, NPN silicon small signal transistors are often much the same. The ones I listed are reputed to be low noise, which matters in pedal like a distortion that may amplify a signal 100 fold. Common jfets are the 2n545X series and the J201. Common mosfet is the 2n700x and equivalents. Most circuits are designed to not care too much about the transistor, so long as it is, say, a BJT NPN with hfe over 180.

Some pedals require specialized types of transistors, often obsolete germanium ones which cost a premium. Examples are Fuzz Face, Tone bender, Harmonic Percolator. You can emulate these with current rarer low gain silicon transistors though.

I buy enclosures from Tayda, and a lot of other stuff too. Tayda is very very good, if you can wait the 10 days it takes to come from Thailand. In general, for any components, Spiratronics is good for UK hobbyists as no minimum order and reasonable prices and very fast delivery. If you don't mind paying £20 minimum, Farnell is good in UK. Vast range, price varies from highly competitive with far east to inexplicably expensive.

Wire I mostly use 7/0.2 mm for very low current pedal type circuits, but would rather be using prebonded, I just don't know where to get it in UK at reasonable prices.

[Kipper4]

Thats most helpfull sir
I have copied and pasted to a word document so  can get me some stock later
thanks again and for the explanation too
Rich

[Kesh]

By the way, This isn't OT, and you'd have probably got much more response in the main forum. Maybe a mod could move it there.

[Kipper4]

OT?
main forum Which one is that then pls?

[Kipper4]

prebonded ? what does that mean pls

[Kesh]

This section is called Lounge OT (off topic) and is for talking about things not related to pedal building.

The section you want is called "Building your own stompbox" http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?board=2.0

Prebonded is multi-strand wire, so won't snap, that has been bonded together somehow, so won't fray.

[duck_arse]

well, staying on this topic, but in the wrong place .....

in the uk, the bc series should be quite prevalent - bc548/ bc549 and bc558/ bc559.

seeing as the old style printer cables are mostly getting chucked these days, I grab them and chop them up. you can't go wrong with 37 or so different colours, and the insulation is usually thinner than hobby-grade wire.

[Kipper4]

thanks for the tip duck arse i'll look in my loft i got loads of old pc cables/ printer cables etc
and i guess the others are transistors. ty

[reveal]

Beavis audio has a list that's for his projects but the parts are pretty universal.   http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/BuyingParts/index.htm   

[Kipper4]

nice one thanks i'll wade through it later when i sober up a little. Happy new year guys