Lovoltech LU1014D power JFET

[GRollins]

Update as of 3/2/06
I opened some tubes and spent half of last night matching devices. Then hit it again this afternoon after I got the kid down for her nap. I've got...I think...enough devices matched to square away the European order. I'll have to sit down and look at the totals to see where things stand. If I don't have enough, I'll pull a few more tubes and match them.
--which brings me to another point--
There still seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the matching process. For reasons known only to the electronics gods, I'm getting another wave of e-mail requesting devices that haven't been ravaged by heathen hands.
Sigh...
For some reason, people seem to grok the idea of reading a single device, but their minds cloud when they try to conceive of matching a group. Let me try this hypothetical example:
--You have ten devices
--You test all ten devices, not three, not one, not eight, but all ten. At the end of the testing, you have how many? Ten matched devices! With how many left over? None!
--The devices rank as follows:
Voltage A--1 device
Voltage B--2 devices
Voltage C--5 devices
Voltage D--2 devices
--You receive orders as follows:
Ethel--1 device
Mabel--3 devices
Florence--2 devices
Evelyn--1 device
--So where do you go from here? Well, Mabel wants 3 matched devices and the only group that will support her order is C. So you pull Mabel's devices from C, leaving the following inventory:
A--1
B--2
C--2
D--2
--Florence wanted 2 devices. You can pull her devices from B, C, or D. You decide on D. Your inventory now looks like this:
A--1
B--2
C--2
---Ethel and Evelyn both wanted 1 device each. Again, you have options, but you decide to send them each a device from the C group, leaving your inventory thus:
A--1
B--2
Okay, so what's the point of this little exercise? To demonstrate that there are no, repeat NO ravaged tubes of parts left behind. All the parts were matched. All the parts were assigned bins. All the parts will sit there until they are matched with happy owners.
In my case, which--granted--is a little more complicated than the above, I match five or ten entire tubes at a time, leaving the rest of the stock untouched.
For reasons that are unclear to me, people persist in believing that there are tubes of parts that have been raped and pillaged. They don't want those tubes. They want tubes that are "untouched" or "that haven't had all the good ones taken out" or "virgin."
(Brief digression: I never understood what all the hullabaloo about virgins was about. They're never any good because they're scared and inexperienced. Give me a girl who is relaxed, confident, and knows what she's doing and I'm a happy boy. End of digression.)
Please, please, please...try very hard to grasp this...there aren't any 'picked-over' tubes!
Jeez, you ought to see some of these e-mails I get. Semi-hysterical, accusing, suspicious, worried...before they even get around to ordering. They want to know if there are untouched tubes left before they'll even place an order.
Grumble, grumble, grumble...
Okay, on to the next thing. I've got a guy who's unhappy because I didn't get his order packaged and sent the way he wanted. No matter how you slice it, this one was my fault--not the "locked box" lady, not the bank...mine. The parts went out, just not the way he requested. The thing you guys have to understand is that I've got well over three hundred e-mails in my mailbox right now. Everybody and his brother wants parts, which is good. But...then I get an e-mail saying that he wants to change this or that or the other. Then another e-mail reverting to the original plan, or worse yet, something entirely different. Given the sheer quantity of changing--and frequently contradictory--information coming at me, it's a bloomin' miracle that I'm able to keep track of anything.
As far as I know, there's only the one guy who didn't get things sent the way he wanted, but if you wanted your parts sent by carrier pigeon and I sent them by Wells Fargo, please accept my apologies. Just try to understand, okay?
Next time...if there is a next time, which I currently doubt...I'm going to allow for one and only one shipping option. Take it or leave it. This is driving me crazy.
Grey, you sound a little cranky, fella.
Do I? Yeah, I guess so.
In addition to the usual things, I now have two, count 'em, two separate plumbing problems, which aren't the kind of problems you can put on a shelf and ignore.
Lemme get some sleep. Maybe I'll be less ornery tomorrow.

Grey

[GRollins]

Guys,
I've been thinking about this and in an attempt to rein in some of the insanity, I'm going to go to one domestic shipping method. Effective immediately, all parts will go out as standard mail. I will attempt to honor any prior requests for special this-and-that, but it's getting way too hard to keep up with all the nonsense.
This specifically means:
no insurance
no Registered
no static bags (despite the nervous qualms of a few, not one of these things has died that I've heard of)
no padded bags
no boxes
no Priority Mail
no Overnight
no nuthin'
What you get is a standard envelope with a light cardboard insert, sent First Class. Literally thousands of devices have been sucessfully delivered this way. It's cheap enough that the guys ordering two devices aren't paying twenty times the device cost in shipping. And it reduces the absurd number of permutations I've had to deal with when shipping these things out.
Foreign orders go out in cardboard boxes, but then we're dealing with hundreds of devices and need more room anyway.
Sorry, I tried to accomodate on the shipping thing, but when one guy wants a padded bag, insurance, but not registered, another guy wants an envelope, registered, but no insurance, and a third wants Priority and Registered, it gets difficult trying to keep it all straight.

Grey

[Alain Dupont]

Grey,

I received the 25 Matched JFet's on a cardboard, and all is fine!!
{If I get some time, my GF uses a lot ; I'll do some tests with them...}

Thanks so much for doing the Matching and the GroupBy ; you are our Santa
on March 06 !!

If you get some time ; could you please tell us if there are some JFet's left,
I would probably send an other letter to Santa {Grey} for a second delivery...
We wouldn't want you to store a lot of unsold parts...

So how many unsold JFet's ?

PS: You always tell us good stories ; please keep going!
I loved the "been raped " passage... {speaking of JFet's tubes, of course!}

Best regards.

Alain.

[GRollins]

I've still got parts, both matched and unmatched.
I even have parts that are unmolested, unraped, untouched, and virginal, for those who need that to fuel their fantasies.

Grey

[steenoe]

Just in case it wasnt clear in my previous post: I can not handle more orders at this point. The extras I ordered have been swallowed by orders, so I will have to ask Grey for a little raise in the quantity, and I hate to do that right now Figure out why, yourself. Obviously I am too much of a nice guy, I cant turn anyone down.
I am absolutely certain that these devices has not been misused for obscure purposes, except for people eating them for breakfast I will do whatever I can to fill all orders received so far. There is a few people I didnt get back to yet, reason being that I dont know if I can fill their order. You will get your answer though.

Steen (in pretty good mood )

[GRollins]

I warned you guys ages ago that I'd be a monster to put up with at times. Now is one of those times.
What...you didn't believe me?
Steen's a nice guy. I'm obviously in my Mr. Hyde phase at the moment.
Steen,
I've got parts. If you want more, all you have to do is ask. I may growl, but I don't bite.
At least not very often.
(And I've had my rabies vaccination, so all you have to worry about is blood loss, scarring, and the possible loss of a limb or two.)
I've got the baby down for a nap, which means that she's tearing up the house instead of sleeping. Being both fearless and foolish, I'm heading down to the Dungeon to freeze my (mumble) off and match more parts. The Australian order needs a few more to make good on a last minute addition or two (I am told that the Australian order is now Absolutely, Positively, Without Doubt CLOSED), not to mention the European stuff.
If anyone wants to start another Australian buy, let me know. Stones said that he was only going to go one round. Given the number of DIY members from down there, I'm really surprised that they're letting the Europeans kick their rumps.

Grey

[steenoe]

I've got parts. If you want more, all you have to do is ask.

I did Hope you had my email. I am not the only nice guy around here, all the guys sending me emails on this matter are all very nice and patient guys, too No problems so far. Take your time to handle this matter. I myself, am just glad to have the oppertunity to build one of NP's J-fet poweramps, and I am sure the guys ordering the devices feels the same way. I can tell you that the J-fet poweramp sounds really great I was lucky enough to finish one of those at this point, and I am really happy with the sound of it

Steen

[GRollins]

You know, it's a funny thing. For all the fact that I'm hip-deep in these things--and even had a pair to begin work with back late last summer--I've yet to hear a single note through them. Everything has been test signals on the bench. All work and no play.
It's a case of the cobbler who had no shoes, I'm afraid.
One day I hope to hear music through a power JFET amp.

Grey

[steenoe]

I understand your point very well indeed. Well, all I can say is that you have something to look forward to Thats not a bad thing, I guess. Since I put the ZenV8/9 I made, in the main system, I never wanted to replace it Well Grey, if I know you half as good, as I think I do from this forum, you will have your shot at these amps?? Good luck and happy building, when you find the time for it

Steen

[wrenchone]

Just wanted to say that I got my 50 parts from Mr. Rollins, no muss, no fuss, no bother. They take up a surprisingly small amount of space - I'll have to use a few before I misplace them.... I was thinking of soldering the devices to copper heat spreaders - I'll let folks know eventually how that effort works out.