Allied Electronics is a major wholesale parts vendor. For semiconductors to passive parts such as resistors and
capacitors, Allied covers the territory. The company publishes a catalog that's several times the size of Allied
"wish books" that I remember from the days of Allied retail stores. Allied carries the superb, Fairchild MFP102
JFET. You'll like the Allied price.
Antique Electronic Supply carries tubes and parts for amplifiers, guitars and antique radios. This vendor also
sells technical books about designing, building and refurbishing tube amplifiers. If you need a knob, a fingerboard, a
set of Fender reverb springs, or an antenna coil, this is the place to shop. AES also stocks factory replacement and
generic semiconductors and passive components for classic equipment. Among these parts are a complete line of Hammond
power and output transformers. The parts descriptions are excellent.
Digi-Key is the parts place. The Digi-Key catalog is practically an encyclopedia. While Digi-Key seems to emphasize
surface-mount parts, it carries the popular semiconductors in leaded form. Hurray! The Digi-Key optoelectronics section
is second to none. If you need an unusual optocoupler, try Digi-Key. You'll also find esoteric Mylar, polyester and
polypropylene capacitors here. Digi-Key can help you with those low-noise metal film and wirewound resistors, too. The
excellent Web site allows you to look up datasheets.
Fair Radio Sales. Those who know what they're doing can get surplus transformers from Fair Radio Sales. The surplus price can be very
reasonable. Fair Radio also sells test instrument kits, electronic military surplus, and many amplifier parts. These
parts include cabinets, heat sinks, capacitors and resistors. The store is in Lima, Ohio.
Far Circuits markets PC boards, instructions and components for electronic projects. Projects include many
types of test equipment. Far will also design and etch custom, plated PC boards for projects. These can be very
helpful for club projects, where you would order a quantity of PC boards. Far projects usually consist of a PC
board and an article on theory and assembly. Look for the Tower booth at many Midwest hamfests. Or order from
the Tower Web site.
Hamfests are also an excellent place to find deals on transformers and other essential parts. You can buy
from vendors or from individuals, flea market style. Beware: The "Hamfest Rule of Fives Guarantee" applies. Here are the
terms of this guarantee: "Returns only after five minutes or within five feet from booth." Make your best deal. Some
items (often transformers) are actually free. Bring a two-wheeler and make your best deal. You never know what you
might find. The chances are that you'll see or purchase at least one item that you can't find anywhere else! Find a
hamfest in your area! Click... Hamfest.
Hammond makes excellent audio transformers for guitar and
audiophile amps. You can find an exact match for servicing your Fender, Gibson, Marshall or Epiphone, etc. A single-ended
amplifier such as the GA-1RT requires a special type transformer. Dealers such as Mouser and Antique Electronic Supply
sell Hammond transformers.
Mouser is a Texas wholesale parts distributor with an excellent Web site.
The component prices here are sometimes only 10 percent of Radio Shack's prices. Wire is only available in large reels,
though. Mouser carries similar output transformers to the Radio Shack part. The famous Mouser catalog comes out
quarterly. It's still easier to navigate than the Web site. Both together make a winning combination. Mouser stocks
essential FETs by Fairchild, Supertex, Infineon, AVI and others. You can also find Carling DPDT switches, must-have
parts for your stomp-box project. No minimum order.
Radio
Shack sells basic electronic components at convenience-store prices. The price isn't the cheapest, but you can get
what you need right now! Must-have parts include MPF102 JFETs, 2N3904 transistors, perfboard, transformers, wire and enclosures. The
perfboard and wire prices are quite good. Other parts retail for many times the wholesale price. Over the years,
the variety of parts has dwindled. You can no longer find most Radio Shack standbys: Variety packs and resistors in most
common 10 percent values. The loopsticks, tuning capacitors and unijunction transistors are long gone. The transistor sub books
and project guides have vanished. Dependable brands such as Science Fair and Archer are but memories. Yet Radio Shack still
stocks a small output transformer with a 1K primary and 8-ohm secondary.
(Unfortunately, this transformer is very limited in low-end response.) The transformer works well as an inductor in wah-wah
pedals. The Web site has a very weak "search" feature.
Tower Electronics is the place to find deals on plugs, connectors, soldering irons, alligator clips, jumpers and
prototyping materials. Look for the Tower booth at many Midwest hamfests. Or order from the Tower Web site.
Triode Electronics sells kits, tubes and other tube amplifier parts. Among these are a line of superb, compatible audio output transformers by Magnetic Components. If you always wanted to build a Dynakit, you can buy a complete reproduction here. The kit even includes a punched chassis. If your
Fender Tweed Champ 5F1 or 5F2 needs a new cabinet, buy one here! The site also includes downloadable schematics.
Semiconductor Manufacturers
To visit semiconductor manufacturer pages, click on manufacturer logos. From these links, you can pick up data sheets or samples. Some links also allow purchasing, usually on a worldwide basis.
Advanced Linear Devices (ALD) makes a unique line of matched MOSFET arrays. You can buy some of these
fascinating and useful semiconductors in convenient DIP packages. Tube-like, depletion-mode MOSFETs to
look for include types ALD114804PCL and ALD114813PCL. Each of these comes in a DIP-16 package
with four matched-pair MOSFETs. ALD also makes exotic, zero-threshold MOSFET arrays. These MOSFETs operate
with zero bias voltage! The zero-threshold mode allows a device to operate on as little as 0.2 volt!
Imagine how long your batteries will last. Also, there is no level shift between stages. Look for types ALD110800PCL,
ALD110800APCL and ALD110900APAL. The first two of these come in DIP-16 packages with four matched-pair MOSFETs.
The last device has a DIP-8 package with two matched-pair MOSFETs. All these MOSFETs operate on a maximum of 10
volts DC. Mouser sells the ALD parts.
Fairchild manufactures and sells a full line of JFETs, MOSFETs and bipolar transistors. You can also find more
unusual devices such as IGBTs. (IGBTs are high-impedance amplifiers with MOSFET gates and the high gain
of transistors.) You can buy any of these devices directly from this site. Or find the datasheets here and buy
from a wholesaler. Fairchild makes superb MPF102 and J201 JFETs.
Infineon N-channel MOSFETs. In surface-mount packages. Depletion mode, just like tubes. Comparable to Supertex
parts. Some of these parts operate at tube voltages. Infineon allows direct-to-factory orders from this site. Check
out datasheets for the BSS139, BSP149 and BSS159. Caution: The input swing limit is plus or minus 20 volts. (Mouser
sells some Infineon parts.)
Interfet makes FETs such as the J201 for Siliconix. Now that Vishay Siliconix is exiting the FET marketplace,
you can
still find these devices by purchasing Interfet brand parts. Interfet sells through distributors. Go to the Interfet page
and find a distributor in your area.
Supertex N-channel, depletion mode MOSFETs. In TO-92 and TO-220 leaded packages. Also surface-mount. Includes the
famous LND150N3-G preamp and DN2540N5-G power amp MOSFETs. These parts can operate on tube power supplies. Caution: The input
swing limit is plus or minus 20 volts.
♦ WARNING. These links don't imply an endorsement of the products
and services on this page. I neither make nor imply any warranty. I don't guarantee
the accuracy, safety or effectiveness of the information on this page. Proceed at
your own risk. — The Webmaster