john curl said:
Well that sure answered the question...😉 Actually if these things are going by way of the dinosaurs it's a reasonable question to ask. Just think of how much money people spend on this hobby buying the very designs you create... In my poorer past I've purchased Siemens polystyrenes and stacked film caps, metal film resistors in large quantities (all of which I still use today). Buying a few thousand ea. of something that won't be around forever might be cheap. I can give them out as Christmas presents for years (or until I have no more friends).
So actually it was a reasonable question considering I'm a (not grossly) overpaid engineer in the semiconductor manufacturing business with a hobby to feed. Or if I'm laid off tomorrow (another aspect of the semiconductor business) I might go back into business rebuilding ancient audio gear. FETs will sound so cool on the website...
So, after all of this frivolity I'm still curious as to what there minimum order might be. I could make a phone call, I suppose, but then I'm also stretched for time (lazy) and always looking for the easy way out.
Just having a bit of fun after a typical (illogical) day.
Mike.
john curl said:
This I don't believe, but what do I know.
It's all in fun anyway, isn't it? By the way, 100,000 what? Dollars, pieces?Bob.
Hi John,
The factory would give the best peicing I imagine, but how about their US disty?
-Chris
The factory would give the best peicing I imagine, but how about their US disty?
-Chris
Don't you think that we haven't tried? We need thousands of these devices every year. We have searched the world!
Hi John,
I was thinking for the hobbyist.
-Chris
I was thinking for the hobbyist.
And they won't do a production run for you? They don't need any more business it seems.
-Chris
A couple of years ago I got rather frustrated trying to find the Toshiba JFETs. As is my wont after enduring a certain amount of run-around, I decided to use a brute force solution. So I called Toshiba USA.
Wasted phone call.
They'd never even heard of the parts!
Toshiba does not--for whatever reason--feel that the North American market is worth their time. My assumption, offered for whatever it's worth, is that since we are not home to, say, Yamaha, Sony, et. al. (i.e. high volume parts buyers, to the tune of millions of units), that they don't want to bother.
Of course, it's a moot point now that the parts are being discontinued.
Grey
Wasted phone call.
They'd never even heard of the parts!
Toshiba does not--for whatever reason--feel that the North American market is worth their time. My assumption, offered for whatever it's worth, is that since we are not home to, say, Yamaha, Sony, et. al. (i.e. high volume parts buyers, to the tune of millions of units), that they don't want to bother.
Of course, it's a moot point now that the parts are being discontinued.
Grey
I had good luck picking up ~100 pieces each of 2SJ74 and 2SK170 from MCM, which is enough for me to match some pairs, but others have had a less than optimal experience with them. It's really sad to see that discrete JFETs are getting the brush-off from manufacturers that make them well. I've heard on this froum that Siliconix/Vishay is offloading their JFET portfolio. I've asked a guy that used to work there and still has some connections about this, but haven't heard yea or nay as of yet.
You guys need to search more:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86778&perpage=25&pagenumber=5
2SJ74-BL - Sing $1.00
2SJ74-V - Sing $0.70
2SK170-BL - Sing $0.50
2SK246-BL - Sing $0.80 (very limited stock <50)
2SK246-GR - Sing $0.50
2SK246-Y - Sing $0.40 (limited stock <300)
2SA970-BL - Sing $0.35
2SC2240-GR - Sing $0.30
2SK140-BL - Sing $2.00 (only eight pieces)
Jan Didden
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86778&perpage=25&pagenumber=5
2SJ74-BL - Sing $1.00
2SJ74-V - Sing $0.70
2SK170-BL - Sing $0.50
2SK246-BL - Sing $0.80 (very limited stock <50)
2SK246-GR - Sing $0.50
2SK246-Y - Sing $0.40 (limited stock <300)
2SA970-BL - Sing $0.35
2SC2240-GR - Sing $0.30
2SK140-BL - Sing $2.00 (only eight pieces)
Jan Didden
3000 pieces the last time I talked to Arrow (the Toshiba distributor here in Sweden).
FYI:
I got a note from Arrow that the 2Sj74V has a last time buy date. I can't remember the exact date but it was somewhere around now.
Regards,
SIgurd
FYI:
I got a note from Arrow that the 2Sj74V has a last time buy date. I can't remember the exact date but it was somewhere around now.
Regards,
SIgurd
MikeBettinger said:
wrenchone said:
This was the thought behind my original question. Although I hadn't expected Toshiba to be non-responsive. To many years away from all of this I guess, and it's a different world.
Regards, Mike.
BL or GR
Hi,
Which of the letters are useful example 2sk389BL or GR and same to the SJ and SK versions BL or GR?
Kamskoma
Hi,
Which of the letters are useful example 2sk389BL or GR and same to the SJ and SK versions BL or GR?
Kamskoma
I--rather foolishly, it turns out--thought I could prime the pump at Mouser by ordering a large quantity of the Vishay/Siliconix J271. They carried the J310, but not the J271. I figured that if I hit it hard enough they would, perhaps, consider stocking the part. I got mine (after a lot of fiddle-factor), but now they have vanished from the face of the Earth. Mouser no longer carries the Vishay/Siliconix J310, either.
What will happen to Siliconix, I do not know, but it's getting so that parts disappear just as I turn my attention to them.
I am not looking forward to hypothetical surface mount replacement parts. The idea of trying to match those things gives me a headache just to think about it.
Grey
P.S.: Before the inevitable five posts and ten e-mails pointing out that Mouser carries the Fairchild J310/J271, I suggest comparing the Fairchild datasheets to the Siliconix ones. Notice anything different?
While it's possible that the Fairchild parts are usable, I'm unwilling to drop money on a large quantity of parts (for matching purposes) without knowing for sure before I go in. I'm weary of loading up on parts that I can't use. I don't have that sort of discretionary income. Nor do I have sufficient storage.
What will happen to Siliconix, I do not know, but it's getting so that parts disappear just as I turn my attention to them.
I am not looking forward to hypothetical surface mount replacement parts. The idea of trying to match those things gives me a headache just to think about it.
Grey
P.S.: Before the inevitable five posts and ten e-mails pointing out that Mouser carries the Fairchild J310/J271, I suggest comparing the Fairchild datasheets to the Siliconix ones. Notice anything different?
While it's possible that the Fairchild parts are usable, I'm unwilling to drop money on a large quantity of parts (for matching purposes) without knowing for sure before I go in. I'm weary of loading up on parts that I can't use. I don't have that sort of discretionary income. Nor do I have sufficient storage.
Mr Rollins, if you want to do 'state of the art' you have to invest into its cost.
It is true that even a few years ago, we could buy Toshiba Fets for less than $1.00 ea. That is NOT the situation today, anywhere in the world.
Fets are becoming rare, and discontinued.
Some people have stocks that they invested in in the past, and are most probably ready to sell small quantitites to serious audiphiles, but they will not be at cost. Why should anything sell 'at cost' when it is irreplacable? This is what jacks up the price of older fine cars, Indian rugs, etc., and even tubes. Do you remember when we could go to the corner variety store and buy tubes, and also test our tubes there? I do. Then, about 1970, everything changed. For awhile, tubes were more and more difficult to get, especially 'good' tubes. Then, third world countries took up the slack and we have a fair amount of tubes again, BUT they probably won't cost what they did in 1965, even with inflation markup.
Jfets are in this place today. All that you can easily buy is some bipolar transistors, mosfets, and IC's. I hate it too.
What amateurs here should do is to work with each other to share parts for a reasonable profit.
Unfortunately, Erno Borbely had it right. He was just a few years early, so many people thought that his prices were outrageous, because they could go to MCM or some other distributor, and get them significantly cheaper with just a little more quantity order. That is not true at this time. Today, his prices are very fair.
If you want SOTA, then realize that it will cost a bit more for the individual parts, however, what is your time worth? $1 per hour? If you are actually going to make anything, why not use the best approach available? If not, then get a mid fi product and modify it, yourself. That is what I would do.
It is true that even a few years ago, we could buy Toshiba Fets for less than $1.00 ea. That is NOT the situation today, anywhere in the world.
Fets are becoming rare, and discontinued.
Some people have stocks that they invested in in the past, and are most probably ready to sell small quantitites to serious audiphiles, but they will not be at cost. Why should anything sell 'at cost' when it is irreplacable? This is what jacks up the price of older fine cars, Indian rugs, etc., and even tubes. Do you remember when we could go to the corner variety store and buy tubes, and also test our tubes there? I do. Then, about 1970, everything changed. For awhile, tubes were more and more difficult to get, especially 'good' tubes. Then, third world countries took up the slack and we have a fair amount of tubes again, BUT they probably won't cost what they did in 1965, even with inflation markup.
Jfets are in this place today. All that you can easily buy is some bipolar transistors, mosfets, and IC's. I hate it too.
What amateurs here should do is to work with each other to share parts for a reasonable profit.
Unfortunately, Erno Borbely had it right. He was just a few years early, so many people thought that his prices were outrageous, because they could go to MCM or some other distributor, and get them significantly cheaper with just a little more quantity order. That is not true at this time. Today, his prices are very fair.
If you want SOTA, then realize that it will cost a bit more for the individual parts, however, what is your time worth? $1 per hour? If you are actually going to make anything, why not use the best approach available? If not, then get a mid fi product and modify it, yourself. That is what I would do.
John,
The cost of the Siliconix J271s was really quite reasonable on a per unit basis--it's the fact that I had to buy hundreds of them to meet the minimum order. Note that I, unlike you, cannot write this off as a business expense and it's unlikely that I'll ever sell the things as no one else is interested in the part--particularly without the J310s to go with them.
What I had hoped to accomplish--aside from convincing Mouser to stock the part--was to match J271s to J310s for Idss so as to have matched pairs of N-ch and P-ch. I'd ordered in 100 J310s and tested for Idss. They ranged from mid-20s to about 50mA--in other words spanning nearly the entire Idss spec for the part, which runs from 24mA to 60mA. Cool, thought I...I'll be able to find matches for at least some of the J271s, which spec from 6mA to 50mA. Well, the J271s came in. I graded them by Idss. They sorted to within something like 2mA. Every bloody one of them. Normally, I'd be delirious to find a part that squeaky tight in Idss. But the J271's ran in at something like 10 to 12mA, or less than half of the Idss of the lowest J310. Ooops!
Okay, so I can parallel two, maybe four J271s against each J310, which gets messy, or I can rein in the J310s' current, which kinda wrecks my plans as I specifically wanted a high current JFET, given that the V Toshibas are unobtainable.
I'm thinking about paralleling a handful of the silly things and using them as a headphone amp, but once I get past that I'm at a loss as to what to do with the rest.
Don't get me wrong. I don't mind spending money--even lots of it--on parts I'll use. A little pocket change as an experiment--five dollars? ten dollars? No problem. But putting hundreds of dollars into parts I can't match with their complements is another matter. That's beyond beer money. Especially since I just had a moderately expensive plumbing disaster, not to mention a few other things.
I daresay I've put more money into this hobby than 99% of the folks here, but I do have limits, particularly since this isn't a business for me.
Grey
The cost of the Siliconix J271s was really quite reasonable on a per unit basis--it's the fact that I had to buy hundreds of them to meet the minimum order. Note that I, unlike you, cannot write this off as a business expense and it's unlikely that I'll ever sell the things as no one else is interested in the part--particularly without the J310s to go with them.
What I had hoped to accomplish--aside from convincing Mouser to stock the part--was to match J271s to J310s for Idss so as to have matched pairs of N-ch and P-ch. I'd ordered in 100 J310s and tested for Idss. They ranged from mid-20s to about 50mA--in other words spanning nearly the entire Idss spec for the part, which runs from 24mA to 60mA. Cool, thought I...I'll be able to find matches for at least some of the J271s, which spec from 6mA to 50mA. Well, the J271s came in. I graded them by Idss. They sorted to within something like 2mA. Every bloody one of them. Normally, I'd be delirious to find a part that squeaky tight in Idss. But the J271's ran in at something like 10 to 12mA, or less than half of the Idss of the lowest J310. Ooops!
Okay, so I can parallel two, maybe four J271s against each J310, which gets messy, or I can rein in the J310s' current, which kinda wrecks my plans as I specifically wanted a high current JFET, given that the V Toshibas are unobtainable.
I'm thinking about paralleling a handful of the silly things and using them as a headphone amp, but once I get past that I'm at a loss as to what to do with the rest.
Don't get me wrong. I don't mind spending money--even lots of it--on parts I'll use. A little pocket change as an experiment--five dollars? ten dollars? No problem. But putting hundreds of dollars into parts I can't match with their complements is another matter. That's beyond beer money. Especially since I just had a moderately expensive plumbing disaster, not to mention a few other things.
I daresay I've put more money into this hobby than 99% of the folks here, but I do have limits, particularly since this isn't a business for me.
Grey
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