SS amp design component starter kit

[cbdb]

Just starting to play with SS amp design and need to buy components I will need. I thought I would find an old thread on this but couldnt, if someone knows of one please diract me to it.

Last week I asked for a list of BJTs to start with and got this:

2N5551 npn small signal
2N5401 pnp small signal complement to above
MJE340 npn high voltage suitable for driver
MJE350 pnp complement to above
MJ21194 npn high power TO3 packages output
MJ21193 pnp high power TO3 packaged output complement to above
[these are available as flat pack packages as type MJL21194G and MJL21193G if prefered].

BC546 npn small signal
BC556 pnp small signal

That's 8 to be going on with and would let you build most designs on these forums.

TIP41C and TIP42C general purpose npn and pnp power types are useful for regulators etc.

The letters on the end of a device eg BC556C usually imply a gain group and C is the highest. That said any circuit should be designed not to be super critical.

2STC5200 + 2STA1943 cheaper high power

Perfect, a few good quality (but not overly expensive) easy to find BJT that run the spectrum and can be used to build most designs on this web site.

Now I move onto the rest of the components.

Semis (other than BJTs): diodes (LEDs, bridges, fast recovery, zeners )

Resistors: small wattage Metal film, power, pots.

Capacitors: Electrolytics: power, bypass, other large values
Ceramic: bypass
Other types: for more critical (less distortion) applications

Inductors: hope I dont need many so will deal with these when I need to.

Heat sinks:

More specific questions. What i need to come up with is a list of values for each. eg. power caps, should i buy 4 30,000uf 100v or 12 10,000uf 50v (same money, more flexibility) 0r 2 30,000uf 100v and 6 10,000uf 50v. Or should I buy the largest brdge rectifier wthin reason and be done with it?


Just starting and my heads starting to spin. The possibilities are endless so I ask for the advice of the experianced SS (not the Nazis) experimenter. Any advice is appreciated.

Dont want to break the bank so trying to get away with the minimum for starters.

[mickeymoose]

Why bother buying anything until you need it. That is how I ended up with $10k of useless parts. I live in Vancouver too, so, if you have a truck....
Design your circuit and buy the parts as needed. Lee's and Main on Main, Interior, Active and RMO on Boundary, RP in Burnaby and Pacific Semi in North Van and many other places! E

[cbdb]

Im talking about cheaper components like 1/4 watt resistors signal diodes and small caps. I don't want to have to run to the store every time I want to try a different value, or want to add a small current mirror etc. If I can get away with spending under a $100 for most of the small components I would be happy.

[AmpliFire]

Hi cbdb,

Well, I started out some 10 years ago with the same idea, and bought a lot of stock components, and they do serve me well from time to time. At the time I was really focussing on building audio projects (pre-amp, amps, tone control) as provided in the books of Douglas Self and Randy Slone, and I went through most schematics to list which default components are used.

I also partly agree with mickeymoose: in the end I still have make individual orders.

Nowadays I continuously scan ebay for surplus offers (in europe and usa only), and I did very good bargains !

Anyway, hereby a first overview what I have bought over the years in bulk:

Resistors: 1/4W, metal film, 1%, prime brand !

min. 50 pcs each:

4R7
10R
12R
16R
22R
47R
56R
68R
100R
120R
150R
180R
220R
270R
330R
390R
470R
510R
680R
820R
1k0 (2x 50pcs)
1k2
1k5
1k8
2k2
2k4
2k7
3k3
3k9
4k7
5k6
6k8
10k
12k
15k
18k
22k
33k
47k
56k
82k
100k
220k
330k
470k
680k
820k
1M

Resistors: 5W, non inductive, 5% (emittor resistors for output stages)
20 pcs each
0R22
0R47
2R2
4R7
8R2

Transistors, minimum 100 each for matching, all prime brands (TI, national, motorola, nec, toshiba, etc)

TIP31C
TiP32C
2SD669A (real audio classic)
2SB649A (real audio classic)
2SB649
2SA1220A
2SC2690A
2N5401 (lucky surplus score recently: 1000 pcs)
2N5551 (lucky surplus score recently: 500 pcs)
2N3904
2N3906
MPSA42
MPSA92
2SC2240 (real audio classic)
2SA970 (real audio classic)

Voltage regulators:
- min. 10 pcs of fixed voltages: 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 18V, negative and positive of course (78xx and 79xx)
- min. 10 pcs of variable voltages, negative and positive: LM317T/LM337T

Diodes:
100 pcs 1N4148 (the most used general purpose diode)
50 pcs 1N4001
50 pcs 1N5060
there are some more, got to look it up

Zener diodes.... too specific, perhaps some 3.2V and 3.9V at 500mW

2, 3 and 4 pin screw terminals (PCB soldered), around 10 each, should buy more !!

IC sockets:
5 single strips (tulip type, gold plated)
20 pcs 8 pin

Caps, oof, too specific, I like to select type, brand, model and voltage rating for each one individually. Nevertheless, a couple of caps are almost default, notably the power rail decouple caps, power supply bypass caps, transformer bypass caps, and finally the mains filter caps.

All Wima:
25 pcs MKP10 0.01uF /630V (should buy more)
25 pcs MKS4 0.047uF / 630V
100 pcs MKS4 0.1uF / 100V (very default cap!)
10 pcs MKS4 0.1uF / 630V
25 pcs MKS4 0.22uF / 250V (should buy more)
mains filter caps:
10 pcs MP3-X2 0.22uF / 250 VAC
10 pcs MP3-X2 0.1uF / 250 VAC

NP0/C0G multilayer ceramic (prime brand only !), 10 pcs each minimum, mostly rated 50V:
68pF
100pF
120pF
220pF
470pF
680pF
1nF
2.2nF (z5U)
4.7nF (z5u)
10nF (z5u)

Tantalum, for me limited use, notably for IC/OpAmp power supply decoupling (directly next to IC)
20 pcs each, rated 35V,
4.7 uF (the most frequent one used for IC/OpAmp power supply decoupling)
6.8 uF
10 uF
22 uF

Default, general purpose, electrolytics.... ? Oh well, Panasonic FC, 10~20 pcs each, take 35V or 50V minimum: 1/2.2/4.7/10/22/47/100/220/470/1000/2200/4700 uF

pots (the small PCB operated ones), Bourns and other prime brands, single turn, and multi turn, 10 pcs each.
470R
1k
2.2k
4.7k
10k

This is just a quick list, much more could be listed as standard stock to have....

Now, if you still have money left, then we can continue tomorrow, I gotta go to bed now.

cheers,
oscar

[benb]

If new suppliers such as Digikey and Mouser are too pricy for you, there are a lot of surplus dealers, you can often find plenty of jelly bean stuff like resistors, 1n4148, 1n400x and whatnot for really cheap. Here's a list of electronics surplus places:

Arrick Robotics* ---* Surplus Electronics Parts List

If you like going out on weekend buying excursions for possible really-cheap surplus parts, hamfests may interest you. Here's a finder for hamfests in the USA:
Hamfests and Conventions Calendar
Surely there are a few hamfests Up There.

I still prefer buying some things new-and-fresh from authorised distributors, such as electrolytic capacitors (which can deteriorate while sitting with no voltage in a surplus warehouse for years or decades).

[cbdb]

Thanks Oscar, thats what Im looking for.