what can we do with this??

[arawn]

I just found one in my stash and I'm really not sure what to do with it
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/nationalsemiconductor/DS005706.PDF

[brett]

Hi
The potential applications are vast  - you've inadvertantly done the equivalent of asking a bunch of engineers "what could I do with a bolt?".

I suggest you have a look at wikipedia to learn what compators are.
After that, have a look at the datasheet again.
You can see there's a transducer amplifier circuit, where the transducer looks much like a guitar pickup (clue).
Other than that, you could go alternative and try to think of where you might use bi-stable oscillators or phase-shifted comparitors.
Try not to be swayed by what's been done in the past.
cheers

[Projectile]

Unless you want to get creative, there is probably not much you would do with a comparator in the analog pedal world. It's a part mainly used for digital or switching applications. Though, as brett pointed out, you can use it to make an oscillator.

EDIT: Actually, I just thought of a way it could be used to build a clipper. Not sure if it has been done before, but you could use the comparator to sense when the signal goes over a certain level and use this to turn off a current source of an amplifier stage. Might also be able to build a compressor in a similar manner. Hmmmm....

[iq01221]

Posted by: Projectile

Unless you want to get creative, there is probably not much you would do with a comparator in the analog pedal world. It's a part mainly used for digital or switching applications. Though, as brett pointed out, you can use it to make an oscillator.

EDIT: Actually, I just thought of a way it could be used to build a clipper. Not sure if it has been done before, but you could use the comparator to sense when the signal goes over a certain level and use this to turn off a current source of an amplifier stage. Might also be able to build a compressor in a similar manner. Hmmmm...

Noise gate?

[iccaros]

or a nice AND gate for making quite switches ( or just make a single shot multi-vibrator, to get ride of switch bounce, but I like simple inverter like a 7404 for that )

There are many users for controls, like compare the output voltage on two amps and turn on something.. Say compare the voltage from tube heaters and and when stable turn on the rest of the amp..

[FiveseveN]

AFAIK there's nothing keeping you from using it as a plain-old opamp (or four of them, to be precise).

[Projectile]

AFAIK there's nothing keeping you from using it as a plain-old opamp (or four of them, to be precise).

True, but it's probably going to do a piss poor job for audio compared to a nice, modern, low-noise opamp.

[phector2004]

Check Taylor's "Uncanny Valley" thread... you might be able to use them there instead of opamps