classic semiconductors

John Larkin · Mar 1, 2015

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 11:27:29 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/25/2015 4:52 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:07:35 -0800, mrdarrett wrote:

What are the "Classic Semiconductors" out there?

I stumbled across the MC34063 as a "classic" switching regulator
(considered somewhat obsolete today because of the low, 100 kHz
switching frequency). It was news to me. But still not bad, at $0.61
each at Mouser.

Now I'm wondering what else is considered a classic, for example, the
555, 2N2222, LM317, LM386, etc.

That depends on how you define "classic". Take any given person, find out
what was available when they started as a hobbyist or a wet-behind-the-
ears engineer, and chances are high that you've found their "classic".

Some genuinely ground-breaking chips are still sold, such as the LM309,
which introduced the band-gap reference. It was also a classic Bob
Widlar prank.

(Of course they're ridiculously expensive, and used only for repairs,
but they're still being made.)

Another example is the LM306 comparator.

The uA709 isn't made any more, of course, but you can get LM301s for cheap.

Some of my faves were discontinued over the years, including the MAX900
comparator, the TL011 series current mirrors, the AD639 trigonometric
converter, and the VTC VA713 75 MHz operational transconductance
amplifier. (Sort of an LM13700 on steroids.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Tunnel diodes. I used to really like tunnel diodes.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing laser drivers and controllers

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

John Larkin · Mar 1, 2015

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:20:07 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/28/2015 6:16 PM, David Eather wrote:
On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-favorite-widlar-story.html

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I met his girlfriend at the bar of the Washington Square Bar and
Grille (sadly now gone.) They were living in Mexico and she was back
visiting family.

There was an oilskin tablecloth on their kitchen table, and under that
were IC designs. He never let her see what was under there. A couple
times a year he'd go back to National and dump the next revolution on
them.

She was concerned about his drinking.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing laser drivers and controllers

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

Jim Thompson · Mar 1, 2015

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 15:42:22 -0800, John Larkin
<jlarkin@highlandtechnology.com> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:20:07 -0500, Phil Hobbs
pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/28/2015 6:16 PM, David Eather wrote:
On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-favorite-widlar-story.html

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I met his girlfriend at the bar of the Washington Square Bar and
Grille (sadly now gone.) They were living in Mexico and she was back
visiting family.

There was an oilskin tablecloth on their kitchen table, and under that
were IC designs. He never let her see what was under there. A couple
times a year he'd go back to National and dump the next revolution on
them.

She was concerned about his drinking.

Phil Hobbs · Mar 1, 2015

On 2/28/2015 6:35 PM, John Larkin wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 11:27:29 -0500, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/25/2015 4:52 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:07:35 -0800, mrdarrett wrote:

What are the "Classic Semiconductors" out there?

I stumbled across the MC34063 as a "classic" switching regulator
(considered somewhat obsolete today because of the low, 100 kHz
switching frequency). It was news to me. But still not bad, at $0.61
each at Mouser.

Now I'm wondering what else is considered a classic, for example, the
555, 2N2222, LM317, LM386, etc.

That depends on how you define "classic". Take any given person, find out
what was available when they started as a hobbyist or a wet-behind-the-
ears engineer, and chances are high that you've found their "classic".

Some genuinely ground-breaking chips are still sold, such as the LM309,
which introduced the band-gap reference. It was also a classic Bob
Widlar prank.

(Of course they're ridiculously expensive, and used only for repairs,
but they're still being made.)

Another example is the LM306 comparator.

The uA709 isn't made any more, of course, but you can get LM301s for cheap.

Some of my faves were discontinued over the years, including the MAX900
comparator, the TL011 series current mirrors, the AD639 trigonometric
converter, and the VTC VA713 75 MHz operational transconductance
amplifier. (Sort of an LM13700 on steroids.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Tunnel diodes. I used to really like tunnel diodes.

Well, one of them got you your BSEE at the last minute, after all.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

John Larkin · Mar 1, 2015

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 20:45:32 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/28/2015 6:35 PM, John Larkin wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 11:27:29 -0500, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/25/2015 4:52 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:07:35 -0800, mrdarrett wrote:

What are the "Classic Semiconductors" out there?

I stumbled across the MC34063 as a "classic" switching regulator
(considered somewhat obsolete today because of the low, 100 kHz
switching frequency). It was news to me. But still not bad, at $0.61
each at Mouser.

Now I'm wondering what else is considered a classic, for example, the
555, 2N2222, LM317, LM386, etc.

That depends on how you define "classic". Take any given person, find out
what was available when they started as a hobbyist or a wet-behind-the-
ears engineer, and chances are high that you've found their "classic".

Some genuinely ground-breaking chips are still sold, such as the LM309,
which introduced the band-gap reference. It was also a classic Bob
Widlar prank.

(Of course they're ridiculously expensive, and used only for repairs,
but they're still being made.)

Another example is the LM306 comparator.

The uA709 isn't made any more, of course, but you can get LM301s for cheap.

Some of my faves were discontinued over the years, including the MAX900
comparator, the TL011 series current mirrors, the AD639 trigonometric
converter, and the VTC VA713 75 MHz operational transconductance
amplifier. (Sort of an LM13700 on steroids.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Tunnel diodes. I used to really like tunnel diodes.

Well, one of them got you your BSEE at the last minute, after all.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Yup. "The Tunnel Diode Slideback Sampling Oscilloscope." I might
revisit the concept one day soon.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing laser drivers and controllers

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

Mar 2, 2015

On Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 3:20:09 PM UTC-8, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 2/28/2015 6:16 PM, David Eather wrote:
On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-favorite-widlar-story.html

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

That was rather mean of him.

I don't know what to think. But I can see some of the humor in it.

If I were his supervisor, I think I would be annoyed.

Michael

Phil Hobbs · Mar 3, 2015

On 3/2/2015 11:37 AM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

On Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 3:20:09 PM UTC-8, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2/28/2015 6:16 PM, David Eather wrote:
On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-favorite-widlar-story.html

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

That was rather mean of him.

I don't know what to think. But I can see some of the humor in it.

If I were his supervisor, I think I would be annoyed.

Michael

Nah, Widlar was the best free advertising National ever had--better than
Pease, even. He had the successful general's gift for promoting his own
legend.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

John Larkin · Mar 3, 2015

On Mon, 02 Mar 2015 19:49:09 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 3/2/2015 11:37 AM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
On Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 3:20:09 PM UTC-8, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2/28/2015 6:16 PM, David Eather wrote:
On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-favorite-widlar-story.html

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

That was rather mean of him.

I don't know what to think. But I can see some of the humor in it.

If I were his supervisor, I think I would be annoyed.

Michael

Nah, Widlar was the best free advertising National ever had--better than
Pease, even. He had the successful general's gift for promoting his own
legend.

Jim Williams, too. All three gone.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

John Doe · Apr 13, 2015

"David Eather" <eather@tpg.com.au> wrote in news

p.xusix3h8wei6gd@phenom-
pc.asus:

On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs <hobbs@electrooptical.net
wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

Not until you get a brain.

David Eather · Apr 14, 2015

On Tue, 14 Apr 2015 07:20:45 +1000, John Doe <always.look@message.header>
wrote:

"David Eather" <eather@tpg.com.au> wrote in
newsp.xusix3h8wei6gd@phenom-
pc.asus:

On Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:27:29 +1000, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net
wrote:

Bob Widlar prank

can you explain?

Not until you get a brain.

This was answered a fortnight ago. Obviously you have a brain, but it is
too slow to be useful.

Phil Hobbs · Apr 14, 2015

On 2/28/2015 6:35 PM, John Larkin wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 11:27:29 -0500, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/25/2015 4:52 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:07:35 -0800, mrdarrett wrote:

What are the "Classic Semiconductors" out there?

I stumbled across the MC34063 as a "classic" switching regulator
(considered somewhat obsolete today because of the low, 100 kHz
switching frequency). It was news to me. But still not bad, at $0.61
each at Mouser.

Now I'm wondering what else is considered a classic, for example, the
555, 2N2222, LM317, LM386, etc.

That depends on how you define "classic". Take any given person, find out
what was available when they started as a hobbyist or a wet-behind-the-
ears engineer, and chances are high that you've found their "classic".

Some genuinely ground-breaking chips are still sold, such as the LM309,
which introduced the band-gap reference. It was also a classic Bob
Widlar prank.

(Of course they're ridiculously expensive, and used only for repairs,
but they're still being made.)

Another example is the LM306 comparator.

The uA709 isn't made any more, of course, but you can get LM301s for cheap.

Some of my faves were discontinued over the years, including the MAX900
comparator, the TL011 series current mirrors, the AD639 trigonometric
converter, and the VTC VA713 75 MHz operational transconductance
amplifier. (Sort of an LM13700 on steroids.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Tunnel diodes. I used to really like tunnel diodes.

I have a bag full. I think you do, too. Unfortunately mine are all 2
mA peak current, which makes them about 100 times too slow to be
interesting. (Their capacitance is something ridiculous like 200 pF.)

It was the >100 mA ones that were fast.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

John Larkin · Apr 14, 2015

On Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:50:28 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/28/2015 6:35 PM, John Larkin wrote:
On Sat, 28 Feb 2015 11:27:29 -0500, Phil Hobbs
hobbs@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2/25/2015 4:52 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Wed, 25 Feb 2015 10:07:35 -0800, mrdarrett wrote:

What are the "Classic Semiconductors" out there?

I stumbled across the MC34063 as a "classic" switching regulator
(considered somewhat obsolete today because of the low, 100 kHz
switching frequency). It was news to me. But still not bad, at $0.61
each at Mouser.

Now I'm wondering what else is considered a classic, for example, the
555, 2N2222, LM317, LM386, etc.

That depends on how you define "classic". Take any given person, find out
what was available when they started as a hobbyist or a wet-behind-the-
ears engineer, and chances are high that you've found their "classic".

Some genuinely ground-breaking chips are still sold, such as the LM309,
which introduced the band-gap reference. It was also a classic Bob
Widlar prank.

(Of course they're ridiculously expensive, and used only for repairs,
but they're still being made.)

Another example is the LM306 comparator.

The uA709 isn't made any more, of course, but you can get LM301s for cheap.

Some of my faves were discontinued over the years, including the MAX900
comparator, the TL011 series current mirrors, the AD639 trigonometric
converter, and the VTC VA713 75 MHz operational transconductance
amplifier. (Sort of an LM13700 on steroids.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Tunnel diodes. I used to really like tunnel diodes.

I have a bag full. I think you do, too. Unfortunately mine are all 2
mA peak current, which makes them about 100 times too slow to be
interesting. (Their capacitance is something ridiculous like 200 pF.)

It was the >100 mA ones that were fast.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Mine are in the 7 mA range, something like 2 ns Trr. The 25 ps parts
were, as you say, in the 100-200 mA range.

Halted had a bin full of them and were asking 10 cents each. I should
have bought the entire bin. Not that I really have a use for them.

I can buy a CML or ECL gate or comparator now, with 40 ps rise/fall
times, and it's a lot more useful than a tunnel diode. But in ca 1965,
anything that made a 25 ps edge was amazing.

There are some really fast logic gates around now, 10 ps stuff,
unaffordable.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing laser drivers and controllers

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

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