i f'n HATE jfets

[pinkjimiphoton]

there.... i feel BETTER now!!

building a gristleizer. of course that means i CAN'T POSSIBLY have a 2n3819 lol. no big deal. got 5457's and j113's. but i hate twisting pins on stuff. arrrrrrgh....   

[BetterOffShred]

Yeah I've been trying to figure out what guitar pedal usage jfets are still being made in quality and amass a stockpile. 

Gristleizers are always fun

[thermionix]

Twisted pins CAN add mojo, but it depends on what color insulator you use, and on which leg.

yellow, middle

[pinkjimiphoton]

yeah, mojo schmojo,, grumble grumble

[MrStab]

i don't do this a lot, but i find it easier if you have the strip/perfboard space to turn the FET 90 degrees from what it should be and bend the legs in the same direction towards different rows, instead of awkwardly bending them around each other. you guys are probably thinking "check out Captain Obvious". lol

[pinkjimiphoton]

if i do vero, i just lay it out so the pinout is right. i tend to stuff 10lbs of poo in 8lb socks, which leads to some curious building... i try to get most things in a 1590b or bb max, so if i have legs twisted, its harder to fit stuff.. i tend to use rather short legs on q's and then bend them over horizontally so they're not poking up out of the board too much <i tend to use machined 6 pin dip sockets that i cut in half, seems to work better than the sip strips i've used>

so if i bend it over, its just not as aesthetically pleasing to me, and i hate sockets anyways cuz they fail so often when stuff gets moved around a lot.

[MrStab]

as the resident Fuzzmaster, i should've known better that you'd be doing your own layouts and not just using internet stuff. if only the legs were long enough so one could be twisted over the casing itself to avoid potential shorts. that would look really awful, though. wormhole?

does anyone know why JFETs seem to be the only standard with the Gate (usually) on an outer leg in the first place? i always wondered this, when BJTs and MOSFETs usually have the Base/Gate in the middle. maybe designers only realised people preferred the BJT system when MOSFETs became popular. i've probably shown some real ignorance of semiconductor manufacturing history there, or i've only ever come across BS170s and 2n7000s.

[pinkjimiphoton]

one can't get much more ignorant than me, sooooo 

[Ben N]

But how do you REALLY feel?

[pinkjimiphoton]

tired!! lol... got my build on all nite long

[antonis]

but i hate twisting pins on stuff. arrrrrrgh....   

Twisting pins should be the scant criterion for JETs hate.. 

[GibsonGM]

Stop the Hate! Feel the Loooove!   

What's the solution?  I know there is one, it just hasn't been found yet. Like "Yellow Jackets", to plug EL84's in where you'd use 6L6 power tubes...for JFETs....

[EBK]

Just make every JFET layout as if you have an imaginary 4-lead JFET with pinout D-S-G-D.  Then you can put any JFET in once you know its actual pinout, without bending any leads in awkward directions.

I would normally only do this with vero  builds, but here is an example of a PCB:

I also asked the designer to add SMT pads for ultimate versatility (because why not  ). 
Excessive? Yes. But, I like it.

[Digital Larry]

I know it doesn't help, but I'm designing some SPDT analog switches into my next project.  38 cents each. 

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/nexperia-usa-inc/74LVC1G3157GW,125/1727-6073-1-ND/2753909

Drawback? Well, they have 6 pins in a package that's about 1mm high and 1.5mm wide.  I've barely been able to hand solder SOT-23-5s, these are clearly not in the realm of DIY assembly.

[MrStab]

I sacrificed this NPN in the name of science. stupid idea? please go lightly, i'm pretty sure it had a wife & kids.

[Paul Marossy]

I love the horrid variability of the specs of FETs... makes it a crapshoot if something is going to work properly or not.

Are you a gambler, son? 

[duck_arse]

I like jfets. my personal favourite is the J210. go figure.

betteroffshred - what size stockpiles are you amassing? I'd say "get the fets you can" and then find which circuits they don't work in (cause they'll nearly always work).

mr stab - frequency. middle gate for higher. something about capacitance.

[MrStab]

ahh right, so there is a technical reason. i thought it was more of an "okay, no-one likes New Coke" situation.

[pinkjimiphoton]

but i hate twisting pins on stuff. arrrrrrgh....   

Twisting pins should be the scant criterion for JETs hate.. 

mostly i hate them cuz trying to find a decent one ya gotta go thru 100 of 'em... and if ya need 4? better buy a thousand ffs!!!

and i really don't care for their tone in distortion as much as normal old transistors. too brittle for my taste

[pinkjimiphoton]

Stop the Hate! Feel the Loooove!   

What's the solution?  I know there is one, it just hasn't been found yet. Like "Yellow Jackets", to plug EL84's in where you'd use 6L6 power tubes...for JFETs....

hahaha... yeah. not gonna happen i think