DIYstompboxes.com

Hey all

I sent an email to national semiconductor asking about wether or not I could get free samples of ICs, as I am still in school and don't have a job. I got this email back:

Quote from: National SemiconductorDear Mr. Allen,

Thank you for your interest in National Semiconductor.

Unfortunately we are unable to send samples to individuals.

Please purchase your requirements through one of our authorised
distributors, for a list of these within Europe please go to
http://www.national.com/contacts/Continent/0,1594,Europe,00.html .

We generally recommend Farnell as a distributor for small quantities
(www.farnell.com).

If you are a student in the UK then you may purchase your requirements from
the following website -
http://onecall.farnell.com
Parts ordered through the above site will be delivered next day and the
prices for them are negotiated by NUWPEC ( UK Government Agency)
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Kind regards,

Ulrike Mayer

National Semiconductor
The European Customer Response Centre
English :       +44 (0) 870 2402171
Deutsch:       +49 (0) 69 95086208
Francais:       +33 (0) 1 41918790
Europe Fax:   +49 (0) 1756 702889

E-mail:    europe.support@nsc.com
Internet:   www.national.com  

What a pain. What should I do, apply for samples using my father-in-law's camping website, which is registered as a company? Or should I give up my hopes of free ICs and maybe get some with the risk of me not liking them? :? Because the IC I want to try out, the LM3886, costs 6 euros or so and I don't have the cash to spend 6 euros on a bad IC. I was thinking of building a 50W SS amp to keep me entertained, it will at least be better than my 10W practice amp. And since the 3886 can deliver 50W at +/- 35v I thought it'd be great. But what if it sucks?

Any suggestions? :|

:lol: Dont afraid, it wont suck

Have you used one? Anyone with experiences with this IC?

Yes, I have a homemade power amp made with LM3886. I used 2x22 V toroidal transformer that is capable for stereo, 35 amps bridge rectifier and 2x 10 000 uF 63 V smoothing caps.

:oops: The enclosure needs some work, eh... :oops:

Speaker plop suppressing at power on and down, all kind of thermal and other dont remember protecting and low noise and good specs, and cheapish and few components and small size.

But it is a clean solid state amp, of course. And dunno is it really happy with anything than 8 ohms speakers...

Try Texas Instruments.  http://ti.com/

I'm not sure about Europe (I'm in the US) but I just recieved some Burr Brown op-amps for free.  I'm not sure if they have the exact chip you're looking for but they may have something comparable. It's worth a shot and for my company I typed in personal or individual or something along those lines.  Good luck.

AL

I can't find any power amp IC above 2W. Damn the national semiconductor chip looked great. I plan on using an 8ohm cab with it, so. But anyway maybe I'll risk it and try just buying the chip.

The LM3886 is only $5.00. That's less than the cost of equivalent power transistors alone.

Hmmm that's true. Five bucks at current rates = â,¬3,93, that ain't bad! I hope the local guy has them :lol:

Smoguzbenjamin  wrote

QuoteBecause the IC I want to try out, the LM3886,

I have one I will send to you today!!!
Peace!
Arn

Thanks arn!

You are welcome!!!!
Arn C.

The chipamp will cause only a small fraction of your costs when building an amplifier, you will spend a lot more money on the power supply (transformer plus some big caps), the enclosure, heatsink, pots and knobs, etc...

Very true. But I have some 2nd hand scavenged parts here. I have a heatsink here, which is basically a plate of metal, but it was being used as a heatsink in the keyboard amp it came from. I also have an enclosure but I don't know if it'll be right for me. The power transformer will cost me not a lot, since there's a local amp building man who has a shop here, he can get me 2nd hand transformers for cheap. I have a few caps, and yes the pots will cost me a fortune ;) But any money saved is money to make your amp more fancy and cool, right? ;)

I'll definately post pics of my build guys! :D 8)

you have to have a dedicated email like belllsouth or yourname at something .com
for national semiconductor to take you seriously.

then afeter you register with them it will ask when you request samples what they are intended for.

if you need any thing in the future ben dont' hesistate to ask i do a sample order at least once a week.

this week it was as many as they will send me

3886  386n-4   384's  380's and 555's

you can only have five orders per week.  lol

i think i got like 10 of each or so.

So if I had an email adress at a different provider they'd be OK? Sweet. Do they allow yahoo accounts or not, because then all I need do is open a yahoo account :mrgreen:

i think he means that you need an email like @someWellKnownCompany.com

C

True.... howabout @nl.abb.com? ;) My 'father-in-law' works for an engineering company, you know building gas refineries and stuff. If he'll let me I could get samples through him :mrgreen:

no not yahoo accounts i had that problem before.. so i used my other one that was so graciosuly bestowed on me

ansil@prophecysound.com

THanks Again.. Mike

also TI.com does killer samples too. i got my tlc2262's from them and i even got a ceramic one too.. i like it..

and for 4049's and such fairchild does samples too.. unfortuenately i can not find any other freebies on their site they dont' do like ti or national and show what samples are available they just make you type in everything you want to try and its hit or miss.

allthough they did let me have 10 4049's so that was cool    and national has the best static bags too..  padded and translucent purple anti static bags.  

but TI in my opinion still has two of the coolest chips..  that photodiode one was evil as was the 2262..  i have a smt 2262 if anyone wants that one. i bought it from a guy and i didn't read that it was a smt

now all we need is samples from switchcraft and alpha and hammond and we would be rolling..  J/J

Hmmm. I gotta get myself a good email adress! :lol:

Go to www.phayze.com and get an account there. National accepted that one for me =P

As far as sampling goes, Here's a list of manufacturers that I have ordered samples from and what I ordered

Texas Instruments (RC4558P, UA78L05)
National Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor (4558)
Bourns (10k Trim Pots)
Central Semiconductor (1N34a, 2N5952)
Lumex (Bright Blue, True Green Super Bright LED's)
New Japan Radio (JRC4558D, NJM13600D)
Supertex (2N7000)

Still looking for more freebies!  :wink:

Natonal is a pain about free samples. I think once your confirmed they should have a higher limit. Five parts a week just sucks. When I found that out I lost some interest in using their parts.

I have other manufactures overnighting the best parts in their lines in large amounts for free. I'm much more willing to go with them. Especially at the rate at which I go through parts. Boom.

Andrew

I added a links page in my site, it has a whole section dedicated to samples. Check it out, i went through the whole mouser listing of suppliers to put it together.

You might want to recheck at mouser (even digikey), they keep adding suppliers and i have only listed the ones that send (or might send) stuff to Argentina. Also, i filtered a lot of places only because their stuff was of no interest to me.

So far only a few orders have arrived, but hey, it's free so i'm not complaining ;)

Cool, gringo that's pretty sweet. Hey andrew, do you have a list of where you get your samples from? Cheers!

i saw where to get samples, but never tried....

i could probably fake a company too, if I really wanted to try.  My mom works at a company that sells batteries, and the owners like me becuase i fix their computers  :twisted:

I was always afraid that if I clicked "free samples" they'd hunt me down and make me buy 10,000 of them....

Hal, you mihgt just need a 2W power amp to fix their computer ;) What if their soundcards are all bust? ;) :mrgreen:

I've never been given any trouble when getting ICs, I just fill out the forms on the sites. I got 10 NE5532s from TI and i got a bunch of these tone control chips from National Semi, and i should have a couple MAX1044s on the way

Guess I was too cautious ;)

Well, with some of the prompting here, I just ordered some 555 cmos type chips from TI, along with RC4558, rc4559, and some burr brown opamps. After that I ordered some stomp switch samples from carling, then I hit the NJR site and ordered a bunch of other stuff. Now I have more than enough to keep me busy for some time.

Sweet :mrgreen:

Still looking there at TI for the Burr Brown ones.
 NE5532 [I am ordering]
 TL072's> there's quite a batch to choose from...
 Any suggested part numbers you could recommend?

Here's what I ordered from TI:

Part Number     Qty     Status
--------------------------------------------------------------
OPA2134PA    5    5 items shipped on 2/20/2004
OPA2604AP    5    5 items shipped on 2/20/2004
RC4558P    10    10 items shipped on 2/20/2004
RC4559P    10    10 items shipped on 2/20/2004
RC4580IP    10    10 items shipped on 2/20/2004
SE555P              5        5 items shipped on 2/20/2004
TLC555IP       5       5 items shipped on 2/20/2004

The first two are the Burr Brown Opamps.

Hey java, what kind of email account did you use to order those? Certainly not a hotmail account. :?

The OPA134 really is a nice opamp, OPA2132 also has nice specs (OPA132 only available as SOIC). OPA627 has a very good reputation for hi-fi applications, at 12.25 a piece :shock:

TI also has a nice Power Opamp (http://focus.ti.com/docs/search/paramsearch.jhtml?tfsection=param_table&templateId=3&showAssociated=false&familyId=503) lineup.

javacody, how did you manage to order 10 items at once? I'm limited to 5 per product...?

The limit depends on the part. Cheap parts like the RC chips you can get 10 of.

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminHey java, what kind of email account did you use to order those? Certainly not a hotmail account. :?

I got some samples from Ti using the Hotmail e-mail.

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminHey andrew, do you have a list of where you get your samples from?

I have samples from just about everybody always coming in. I don't have a list off hand but I may do something like that in the near future.

Basically there are three types of companies that give stuff away. Those for free no strings attached, those if you have a decent reason, and those if your part of a company. The first two are friendly to DIYers but just don't say you want stuff to build one pedal cheap.

Some companies are very open if you are ordering standard cheap parts. It doesn't cost them much so if it means someone will build something with their parts they're up for it. In those cases you don't need to lie about being in a company. If you need to say something you can just say your a student doing a project. Some companies love to send stuff to students especially if say your going to publish a report. Cheap advertising for them.

Other companies won't talk to you unless your part of a registered company. Luckly I have my own company and I am doing real R&D work so I can order from other less popular/open companies. At that point some companies are really good about service. Some companies will even go so far as to make custom parts for me to my specification for testing free. Thats when things really rock.

Andrew

Well I say that I'm a student anyway. Something along the lines of "I'm a student doing research, and I wish to experiment with multiple ICs in my circuits but don't have that much money etc etc." Because I am doing research! Just not for school ;) That's their assumption. I'll see what TI has to offer.

Marcos,
I read that TI charges a small amount for sipping costs on their site. Did you have to pay for shipping?

They have a real nice website.
 They sent me a confirmation for next day delivery for 8 chips too.
 Supercool...I think I'll whip up a circuit in TI's honor so I'll have something to try them out in !!!  
 What a nice reward for those whov'e figured out how to use them ... Thanks' TI, Aron....Everybody !!!
 Pretty DangKool mahnn.

I just ordered from TI this morning, and they offered different shipping methods, but said shipping was free...

They did say they charge for customs, out of country, though.

I got from onsemi.com
They have transistor samples, not only ICs. I got all my JFETs, MOSFETs, and 2n5089s there! They also give out power transistor samples, and you can order up to 25 of each part there.

I signed up for TI's program with my hotmail account, ordered a couple of different chips for a rodent I'm building to try out.
I've gotten some LED's as samples from Lite-on in the past too.

I wanna order some dual array samples from National, but they ask for a company name.  I've got the email thing sorted...but should I just...lie and stick in a fake company?

Well, maybe you should start your own company? Would it be lying then?  :wink:

Anyone know where I can get high-quality film capacitor samples?

I just ordered my onsemi samples! That's the 4th sample order I've placed today!

I wonder if all these companies are gunna wonder why so many people are asking for audio op-amp samples this week...

Quote from: javacodyWell, maybe you should start your own company? Would it be lying then?  :wink:

Vandelay Industries, manufacturer of latex and latex related products?

...well, if George Costanza can do it...

I couldn't find onsemi's sample order form (if they even have one).  Oh well.  As for the company thing, if I could access my company email from home, I could probably get a ton of samples.  I work for Halliburton Energy Services.  However, my company email is on a secure net and I can't access it without actually being at work.  :(

GuitarLord, sign up for an account on onsemi, then browse the products. There should be a link next to each product that says "samples available" or something to that effect. Click on the link ant it will be added to your cart. When you are all done, check out.

Throwing out seeds to see what 'takes'.
 Seems these companies have figured out that 'sprinkling' seeds [chips] here and there in small quantities makes for excellent research medium for application of the chips...guys like you and me take these seeds, 'plant' them into various circuits and use them for different applications.
 Some applications become popular and create demand for the chips.
 By spreading some of their "DNA" [chip designs] around in fertile places [like this], they can help create marketable applications for the chips !
 This IS a good thing !!!

Well, I didn't payed nothing to receive the samples. At least not yet.

wow, most forums knock you if you ask about samples, something about a code or something, but the way you've desribed pete, we're free advertising.  I like thinking of that sort, that way, we both (company and us) get something out of the deal.  sweet.

The questions we're pretty general,  They probly figure the seed could start growing anywhere, and by distributing it to individual experimenters, the chances of one finding a new growth territory is good.

Bobbletrox, why don't you just type in "Student" in you company name box ;)

I gotta get some samples! :P Any other good companies that offer samples?

Well...I am a Student, although my major hasn't got anything to do with electronics.  :D

Thanks for the tip  :wink:

I'm in high school, so I can call myself 'almost a student' :mrgreen: Close enough... But we're doing electricity in physics this semester so I could need a few semiconductors to blow away my ignorant classmates :mrgreen: lol.

Getting samples as a school/university student seems to be legit, I simply entered the name of my university under "Company Name". TI even has the possibility to choose "School Project" or something along those lines as the ordering reason.

I'm not an electronics student either! Though I had to attend an electronics course where I failed miserably... :oops:

I remember showing my little gem to a friend, he was all like "wow how d'you know all that stuff!" It's an IC and 2 caps, plus a resistor :mrgreen: It was really funny to see his jaw drop to the floor, haha :lol:

But anyway I can't decide what to order from TI. Suggestions?

There are some OPA #'s in response to my similar question.
 NE5532 is probably a good bet...4558/?

my samples from ti

Part Number Qty Status
OPT101P 1 1 items shipped on 1/29/2004

TLC2262IP 1 1 items shipped on 1/29/2004

TPA701DGN 1 1 items shipped on 1/29/2004




OPT101P 5 5 items shipped on 2/18/2004

RC4558P 10 10 items shipped on 2/18/2004

TLC2262CP 5 5 items shipped on 2/18/2004

TLC2264CN 5 5 items shipped on 2/18/2004


TLC2262CP 5  
TLE2426ILP 5


1P1G3157QDCKRQ1 10  
ADS1286P 5  
CD40103BE 10  
DAC7512N/250 5  
TLC548CP 5  
TLC555CP 5


INA103KP 5  
INA163UA 5  
OPA2134PA 5  
OPA2604AP 5  
SE555P 5  
TLC2262IP 5  
TLC555CP 5  
TPA321D 5

hello there,  has anyone tried to get samples of the op275 chip from analog devices----used to build the blackcat overdrive on fuzz central? i think they have a samples program. this is a dual bipolar/jfet combo opamp.  i'd like to try and build this one---has anyone out there given it a shot?       rh

how many cool blue LEDs can i ask for from lite-on?

they just have a blank field for quantity...

As many as they'll give you I guess... :? Just keep it reasonable.

hahah exactly, but what is reasonable...5, 10, 25 ?

5 - 10 I guess I donno

Quote from: Halhow many cool blue LEDs can i ask for from lite-on?

they just have a blank field for quantity...

I think I had ordered 10 last time I did it.

Quote from: Halhow many cool blue LEDs can i ask for from lite-on?

they just have a blank field for quantity...

whats the actuall address for lite on  as all i got was a pda type company

I just ordered 10 of about 25 different LEDs. I even got some of those 7mm square Super Blues. I'll order more later on. Lumex.com is in Palatine, Illinois so I should get them on Tues.

I also ordered this from onsemi.com this afternoon:

ORDER TYPE   QTY   ORDER NUMBER   PART NUMBER
----------   ---   ------------   -----------
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N3906RLRA
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N3904RLRA
SAMPLE       5     10680502       LM358N
SAMPLE       25    10680502       1N4005RL
SAMPLE       25    10680502       1N4004RL
SAMPLE       25    10680502       1N4003
SAMPLE       25    10680502       1N4002RL
SAMPLE       25    10680502       1N4001
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5089
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5088
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5087
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5486
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5457
SAMPLE       25    10680502       2N5458

Just a start. Plus all of those opamps I got from TI.com!!

National and Fairchild want a corporate email. (no aol.com or hotmail.com) Their sample ordering isn't as easy as TI, ONSEMI and LUMEX is.

This may sound greedy, but I'll take it if they give it.

Quote from: Halhow many cool blue LEDs can i ask for from lite-on?

they just have a blank field for quantity...

I guess you mean lumex.com?? If not I don't mind getting more free LEDs from another site.

Quote from: Ansil

Quote from: Halhow many cool blue LEDs can i ask for from lite-on?

they just have a blank field for quantity...

whats the actuall address for lite on  as all i got was a pda type company

Lite-on is actually a huge corporation they make lot's of stuff, but the link to the opto-electronics arm of the company is:
http://www.us.liteon.com/opto.index.html
have fun

So with the Lite-On site, you can only sample one item of __ quantity? I couldn't find any way of adding more part numbers.  :x

Can't you place more than one order a week? ;)

Quote from: XlratorI also ordered this from onsemi.com this afternoon:

Do onsemi.com ship samples internationally?  I could really use some 2n5088s.

Oh, and National don't offer samples for their supermatched dual transistor arrays...I guess they cost too much to offer as samples!

I think ONSemi is international...and you don't have to pay customs charges. I know this because they ship from outside the US, and I didn't pay a cent!

Try and hope for the best

Anyone know of any photocell manufacturers?  I'd like to get a few samples to fool around with.

Quote from: MooI didn't pay a cent!

You didn't have to pay for shipping?  It says shipping and handling is $20...do I pay for that?

I did some searching about and came upon this site:
http://www.globalspec.com/
they call themselves "The Word's Largest Database of Technical Products and Services" looks like a good place to learn about various suppliers, you can search for specific products and it gives you a whole list of companies that manufacture them as well as a website address for them.
I did a quick search for photocells and came back with about 15 different suppliers, I havent had a cahnce to go through them yet but I checked one out, lumex, and they do infact have a sample program, I signed up for it and an assortment of photocells, we'll give it some time and see.

I didn't pay for shipping on ONSemi. I don't know why it's saying that you have to...

ACK!  The last stage asks for my credit card details to pay the $20 shipping.  :evil:

It'd normally only cost about $3 to send 25 transistors overseas...

www.microchip.com has a sample program too: Today I ordered a couple of PICs for my projects.

Guys, if you pick up a trade catalogue that offers devices in 1, 100, 500 and 1000 lots, you'll be able to work out just how little the average op-amp costs to manufacture. Peanuts.

The truth is, hobby electronics has always ridden on the back of manufacturers that over-produce, and buyers that over-purchase. The excess can be offered to us (sometimes via a third party who charges over-the-top rates). Nobody could make money making parts for the hobby market.

The costs of free samples, whether in small lots to us, or bigger lots to industry, cost the manufacturers little in terms of their global income, spread goodwill, and generate future income, all of which are good reasons for freebies.

Just think like this - you're saving those components from a future as landfill, and thus helping the environment. Go for it!

That's it! I am no longer going to be lazy! I'm going to order samples NOW :D

Ge_wiz - yes, but the fact that TI is willing to pay for next day air shipping seems kinda crazy...

Where can I get samples of resistors and caps? Sorry, I'm cheap  8)

I don't think anyone is gonna sample resistors and caps. There;s nothing to experiment with in that sense...

man, i just ordered mosfet, jfet and darlington samples from onsemi.

I feal like i'm stealing from them lol.  Maybe I shouldn't max out the quantities anymore.

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminI don't think anyone is gonna sample resistors and caps. There;s nothing to experiment with in that sense...

Wrong!!  :twisted:

http://www.kemet.com/

http://www.koaspeer.com/koa/index.html

http://www.piher-nacesa.com/

Check my samples link list at my home page.

has anyone found a company that ships to Australia...for free?

I need 2n5088s dag nabbit.

I just ordered 30ea of 4 things from KOA Speer.  Their max is 50ea of 10 things.   :shock:

On the KOA Speer site, what's the "KSE Representatives, KSE Distributors & Contract Manufacturers (Only)" form for? Do you just plug your info into that??

Quote from: XlratorOn the KOA Speer site, what's the "KSE Representatives, KSE Distributors & Contract Manufacturers (Only)" form for? Do you just plug your info into that??

I just left it blank.  I got a confirmation email so I guess everything went through alright.   :?

anyone find any free Ge trannies?

hello there,  i don't quite understand the part number system at the Koa speer site---looking to get some free metal film resistors.  i don't see any example catalog numbers to go by either. can one of you guys help me out with this?   thanks       rh

hey bobble,
i just got a confirmation of samples from TI, national - and im awaiting conformation from switchzone.
hope this helps and ill let you know when (if) all this stuff gets here.
i also ordered some leds and pots, so we'll see how they go too.
trent

What would be cool if someone can put together an entire pedal made from free samples. Even an enclosure and jacks.

Then give it away to someone.  :lol:

Quote from: XlratorWhat would be cool if someone can put together an entire pedal made from free samples. Even an enclosure and jacks.

Then give it away to someone.  :lol:

workign on it :roll:

If anyone's used KOA Speer for Resistors, could you kindly tell me how the hell you decipher the part number system?  I know its in the PDF, but the only area I have a problem in is the resistance part of the part number.

Hal, agreed, but I guess that, just occasionally, nice things happen.  :D

Quote from: Gringo

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminI don't think anyone is gonna sample resistors and caps. There;s nothing to experiment with in that sense...

Wrong!!  :twisted:

http://www.kemet.com/

http://www.koaspeer.com/koa/index.html

http://www.piher-nacesa.com/

Check my samples link list at my home page.

Holy sh*t :mrgreen:

Quote from: MRTelecAnyone know of any photocell manufacturers?  I'd like to get a few samples to fool around with.

Texas instruments has some light-controlled voltage generating chips. Pretty cool for stuff like twin T wahs :D Check out their OPT101 chip :)

My stuff from TI:
Part Number Qty Status Est. Ship Date
RC4558P  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
TLC555CP  5  In Stock  2/27/2004
TL072CP  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
OPT101P   5  In Stock  2/27/2004
OPT101P-J 5  In Stock  2/27/2004
TLC2262CP 5  In Stock  2/27/2004
RC4559P  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
TL074IN  10  In Stock  2/27/2004


:mrgreen:

Quote from: bobbletroxhas anyone found a company that ships to Australia...for free?

I need 2n5088s dag nabbit.

TI is great ship for free to Australia. I ordered some TLC2262CP and TL072 etc etc. Ordered Mon, arrived on my doorstep thurs!!!

Quote from: smoguzbenjamin

Quote from: MRTelecAnyone know of any photocell manufacturers?  I'd like to get a few samples to fool around with.

Texas instruments has some light-controlled voltage generating chips. Pretty cool for stuff like twin T wahs :D Check out their OPT101 chip :)

My stuff from TI:

Code Select Expand

Part Number Qty Status Est. Ship Date
RC4558P  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
TLC555CP  5  In Stock  2/27/2004
TL072CP  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
OPT101P   5  In Stock  2/27/2004
OPT101P-J 5  In Stock  2/27/2004
TLC2262CP 5  In Stock  2/27/2004
RC4559P  10  In Stock  2/27/2004
TL074IN  10  In Stock  2/27/2004


:mrgreen:

Those aren't the photo cell's i am looking for right?

Nah what these'll do is output a voltage depending on light. Also fun to play with though.

I feel kinda bad for maxing out all the values on my sample order from TI but hey, 60 IC's for free isn't nothing you know :D

I was checking out ONsemi today, I'm confuzzled. The shopping cart will let me add an infinite amount of samples, I was about to order 170 samples of 10 different devices including FETs, diodes and also bipolar trannies. Then I decided that they were gonna look up and go 'huh?'... The unit price of all these was about 3 - 10 $cents but still. I calculated what I would have payed in the local shop: â,¬52,60! Compare that to the $14,95 shipping cost from onsemi! But what I was wondering is, can I get away with ordering 170 samples in one go? :?

Create a different user with your buddy's address and see if they will ship to him. If they say no, you can still use your address for resonable requests.  :D

Give it a try. It's not like Interpol is going to come knocking on your door if they don't. :lol:

I checked my mail today and this is what I got:

----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Ben

Thank you for choosing to do business with ON Semiconductor. This is a status notification email - no action required by you.

Our records reflect the following changes in status on your previous order submitted through our web site:


Samples for currently available products:
Order id    Device        Quantity    New Status
10680502        2N3906RLRA    25        CANCELED
10680502        2N3904RLRA    25        CANCELED
10680502        LM358N        5        CANCELED
10680502        1N4005RL    25        CANCELED
10680502        1N4003        25        CANCELED
10680502        1N4001        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5458        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5457        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5486        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5087        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5088        25        CANCELED
10680502        2N5089        25        CANCELED
10680502        1N4002RL    25        CANCELED
10680502        1N4004RL    25        CANCELED


The shipping address for all these items is
   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Best Regards
Bill Bradford

Remember, to check the status of your order at anytime, please go to www.onsemi.com, login to MyON. Top right hand side of the screen!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I checked it out and I guess it means that it shipped. CANCELED/CLOSED = SHIPPED They could word it a bit different to keep me from ordering a duplicate.

But incase someone else get's this, don't panic. :oops:

OK looks good you ordered more than 170 samples ;) You didn't pay anything for all that? Except for the $14,95 shipping. ;)

Shipping? What shipping?  :?:

Don't fill out any credit card forms :!:

I don't have a credit card as such :D Just a giro account, no VISA or mastercard though.

Hmm TI order form says "VTA may be assessed in the destination country and will be C.O.D."... what's that mean?

Ciao.

Donno. Probably import tax.

COD means cash on delivery, so i think it means you may be charged, sorry to say!

O shit what if the postman comes round asking for â,¬30,- :D

But if you're not being charged for the items and just the shipping, wouldn't it still be worth it?

If The post(woman) asked me for $5 for shipping from ____ for $15-20 of transistors and opamps, I would say, OK.  8)

True but the whole point of ordering samples is that they're freebies and that I don't have to pay anything. :mrgreen: I like keeping my money in my bank accountand I rarely have any cash lying aorund. Oh well my guardians will lend me the money I spose ;) â,¬5,- for 60 ICs isn't bad I guess :D

Anybody give some help on the KOA Resistor code?......not following it.

Quote from: rhinsonhello there,  has anyone tried to get samples of the op275 chip from analog devices----used to build the blackcat overdrive on fuzz central? i think they have a samples program. this is a dual bipolar/jfet combo opamp.  i'd like to try and build this one---has anyone out there given it a shot?       rh

I did, they send you samples real nice. I hate that BlackCat though. OpAmp distortion bbbaaaaaddd!!!!

Regards

RDV

Ok, tax is good. And doubt I have to pay the mailman directly...the instant I receive the stuff...

Cash on delivery ;) The man probably won't give it to you (or at least not to me anyway) if you don't cough up. Then he takes it back to the post office and it'll take me ages to get the darn package back again. Hmmmm I better go withdraw some money tomorrow :)

strungout - not sure where you live, but thats only for out of the USA.  Mine was totally free.

Lumex just denied my order...I didn't think I was too greedy.  

SSL-LX100133SRD 5 2/23/2004
SSL-LX100133SRC/D 5 2/23/2004
OED-PCC-9P5-3 5 2/23/2004
SSL-LX3044LID 15 2/23/2004
SSL-LX50595UBC125 2 2/23/2004

thats 2 blue, 5 normal red, 5 super bright red, 15 high efficency 2mm red, and 5 LDRs.  they said "Hello Hal,
Thank you for visiting our site. Unfortunately I can not sample you this
many products. You may purchase these parts through any stocking Lumex
distributor. If you have any questions please contact me."

I wonder if i try for less, if they'll send me that...

Hal,
I got the same thing when I requested some photocells from lumex, I asked for 2 of each value, I didn't think it was excessive, but oh well.

Can anyone explain those resistor codes at KOA?

Ok. I think I've got the codes here.... I was looking at the Piher site at some potentiometers, and they explained using the same code. Use the first two significant figures (47 for 4.7, or 50 for 5K) and then add a number for the number of zeros to add to the end. It goes like this:

1k = 102
10k = 103
100k = 104
1M = 105

2.7k = 272
25k = 253

Hope this helps!

Well, for the 1/4 watt G/P Metal Film leaded resistors you would use this:

MF1/4LLT52A___G

Where the blank would be your value, use the same method as capacitors. Like 474 would be 470K, 10R would be 10 ohm, 222 would be 2.2K etc...

That's how I did it.

What is the difference between T52 and T26? I ordered T26...hope they're not micros.....

Has anyone tried getting samples from Vishay? Their accounts say they give access to samples, but once you login it says that the only thing the account can do is let you quote prices on products......ah well.

They're not SMD if thats what you mean. I think that's the type of taping that they are coming in.

Found another one..... get MAX1044's at www.maxim-ic.com

They'll send you 2 of up to 8 samples

Yeah I requested 5 MAX1044s. Bipolar power from one battery!

Quote from: javacodyCan anyone explain those resistor codes at KOA?

Just go to Mouser and copy paste the manufacturer number they provide.
http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=data.listcategory&Ntt=*koa*&handler=data.listcategory&handler=data.listcategory&terms=koa&crc=false&N=66000000+120&Ne=100
Jun

I understand the numbering system, I was missing what the R stood for. thanks for the help guys!

"cancelled" from ONSEMI is ok?  It said that for my whole order, and at their website they say that they have the right to cancel orders, and it would say "shipped" if it shipped...

ACCEPTED The line item has been accepted through our web site
NEW The line item has been verified and waiting to be submitted to our order management system
CREATED The line item has been submitted into our order entry system and waiting to be shipped
SHIPPED The line item has been shipped
CANCELLED The line item has been cancelled (see below)
ORDERHOLD The line item is on hold pending customer service representative review (see below)

Why may my order be "CANCELLED"?
 ON Semiconductor reserve the right to cancel orders without notice. If address, telephone number or email address is entered incorrectly - an order may be cancelled automatically.


mannnn i really wanted those partS!

Yeah, I just got an email that my stuff has shipped.

Hal, I'm going to call them tomorrow to find out if my stuff shipped also. I got the same thing. I assumed CANCELLED/CLOSED meant that it shipped.

Maybe all these companies are being overwhelmed with requests of similar components and are suspicious??  :cry:

javacody-what did you order, and what did you put for company and stuff ?

My ONSEMI order just shipped today. The funny thing is that the same order was cancelled a week ago, but I just resent the order and now it is shipped. I guess it depends on who reviews the order, whether they like us or not!

I think I figured out the shipping charges issue: it is free to ship to North America and costs a bit to ship international. It appears that US customers (like myself) get free shipping and international customers don't.

It's too hard to navigate and they cant' seem to decide if I'm registered or something anyway...

I didn't find the on semi site too hard to navigate... It took getting used too but OK.

Here's what I ordered:

Type     Item     Details     Billing
Status    Status     Item Value    Tracking #    Qty.    Total
Free    Billed
MLT SAMPLE    2N5089    General Purpose Transistor NPN       CREATED    0.0773       25    0    0.00
MLT SAMPLE    2N5088    General Purpose Transistor NPN       CREATED    0.12       25    0    0.00
MLT SAMPLE    2N5458    Small Signal TO92 JFET N Channel 25V       CREATED    0.227       25    0    0.00
SAMPLE    2N7000RLRA    Small Signal MOSFET 200mA, 60 v, N-Channel TO-92       CREATED    0.0653       10    0    0.00

However, I got a separate email saying that the 5088 samples have shipped. I'm not sure on the other parts.

Sounds discouraging... Maybe you should place and replace your order till they get fed up with you and they ship it anyway :lol:

Try breaking your order down into smaller chunks and see if that works.

I live in Quebec, Canada.

Maybe I can find some canadian manufacturers adress and get freebies from em for REALLY free :D

Ciao.

Look at the order status when you log on to your on-semi account.  If it says OPEN, then some parts of your order are already shipped, whereas others are awaiting shipment.  The order status should be on the Recent Activity page, on the left.  I believe that they may have a few separate warehouses that they ship different parts from.

Anyone know where to get BBD's?
And which ones should I get?

Thanks!
Arn C.

That's the same thing I was thinking :D

Nop, no free bbds that i know of, and i've searched, believe me :(

I have received pots, caps, some mosfets, even switches, but i can't get fets nor common npn trannies as samples shipped to argentina. Weird, don't you think?

Thanks Guys!
I will keep looking!!  
What BBD's should I get if I find a place to get them?

Arn C.

I guess it all depends on what you wanna make. A 1024-stage BBD will sound better in a chorus while a 256-stager is nicer for flangers ;)

If yer looking for cap samples, try Illinois Capacitor http://www.illcap.com/ check the MSR line for poly film caps  :P

Maybe Intel gives free samples too... I'll ask for a Pentium 4!

:mrgreen: That would be sweet!

or if TI gave out those graphing calculators...

Quote from: Halor if TI gave out those graphing calculators...

if you got 10 free of the OPA627 and sold them (12.25 each) you could buy a ti graphing calculator ;p

C

I have to have a graphic calculator for school next year... Ghehe :lol:

How do you get free samples of the JRC4558D
The new japan radio website doesn't have a option there...

I think with onsemi overseas people may more likely to receive samples because we have to pay...

Where can you get free pots?

Only if we could get free enclosures!!

I just ordered a bunch more IC's & burr brown chips from TI
Delivered from US to Australia in four days, impressive!

JRC is new japan radio, so I doubt you'll have any luck at another supplier. I ordered some 4558s from TI so I'm covered :)

Just got some plastic enclosures from Davies.  I'll have to shield them, but they look like they'll hold up pretty darn good!  I threw one of em in the air and let it fall onto my concrete driveway and it survived beautifully.  Cant wait to put something in 'em now!

Also, look here:
http://www.okw.co.uk/catalogue/sample/sample_form.htm

I haven't tried to get one from them yet, but it looks promising.
"We are happy to send a free sample..."

:shock: Whaa! Link, link, gimme the link!

Piher International called my house... that was odd, i hope they didnt cancel, because no one picked up; i found out when i checked my call id.  crap...

Quote:Whaa! Link, link, gimme the link!

As requested:
http://daviesmolding.com/

:mrgreen: Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! 8)

If anyone can find a company like Illanois Caps that ships samples internationally, it'd be much appriciated!

Check out all the knobs those guys make! I'm gonna build an amp and I can't decide what knobs I want on it! I want to sample them all! GL5000, did you have to pay shipping on those samples?

enclosures now too?  bad ass!  Now if i could get perf...

Quote from: Chris R

Quote from: Halor if TI gave out those graphing calculators...

if you got 10 free of the OPA627 and sold them (12.25 each) you could buy a ti graphing calculator ;p

C

I know it was a joke, but everyone should keep in mind that these samples are under no circumstances for resale or use in a commercial product, unless the agreement says otherwise.

Resale is against the terms and unethcal as well; I'm sure some people do this, but if you want samples in the future it's a good idea not to exploit the system.

I agree totally with you travissk.  Also, I personally get samples to actually 'sample' the products.  When doing so, I always request a quote, that way, if I find a good product, I can and WILL purchase from these suppliers, providing they have decent pricing.  Mill-max will get all my socket business from now on.  Their sockets are 100 times better than rat-shacks!

Ben...No shipping paid, bro!

I just ordered from Illinois Capacitor. Thanks to the person that found that out!

My next order is gonna be from KOA...I have enough TI ICs and ON transistors...

Someone should really make a list of companies and their websites that give out samples. That would help out a lot!

Quote from: MooI just ordered from Illinois Capacitor. Thanks to the person that found that out!

My next order is gonna be from KOA...I have enough TI ICs and ON transistors...

Someone should really make a list of companies and their websites that give out samples. That would help out a lot!

I already did. Check the links at my home page.

Uh......check out Gringo's Home Page.  That's what clued me in on the whole free sample stuff.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I'm planning on building a diy PCB drill because of something I saw on his site.  Thank you Gringo!

I stumbled onto Illinois Capacitor on accident... musta had something to do with the delirium caused by trying to figure out KOA's code system  :P

hey all,

i just got my package from TI today - 4 days from US to AUS, quite a good effort by my book, and i didn't have to pay a cent in customs (the order was only worth 10.71)

i was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold? my main problem is that i have everything else for these pedals, from other samples or donations from my school, but these chips are only 85c a piece, and i have to order them from america making them cost a hell of a lot more. btw what are these chips classified as?

also i'd like to build a couple rebote delays for myself and a few friends have asked for a delay pedal :roll: but hey i know i'm not gonna get any free BBD's... save up and get em from small bear i guess. same deal for the mn3007's.

anywho - TI rocks and after their kind gesture and awesome quality stuff, im certainly not worried about paying for their chips now:) in my order i got some of these: SN65LBC182P, and i can't remember how or why i was going to use them... but something made me ask for them, so i guess i'll have to figure it out eventually unless someone has any ideas.

i have a couple max1044's on the way, so i can do some of those anderton projects but other than that i just want to thank gringo for the great links.

thanks, trent

Maybe it is just me but I'd feel more than a little guilty taking advantage of the goodwill of these companies just to get 'free stuff' to build pedals. And NOTHING is really free - the money has to come from somewhere (in traditional company structures this means out of the pockets of the share-holders, but also out of the pockets of the employees also). In addition, you are then also taking money away from people like (for example) Small Bear Electronics who have gone out of their way to create a business that caters SPECIFICALLY for your hobby and interests.

I feel my conscience is worth more than a few bucks of electronics parts.

Mike

Quote from: vdmi was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold?

rockby.com.au has them for $9.50 apiece if you don't want to wait for an o/s order.

Mike

Quote from: mikebMaybe it is just me but I'd feel more than a little guilty taking advantage of the goodwill of these companies just to get 'free stuff' to build pedals. And NOTHING is really free - the money has to come from somewhere (in traditional company structures this means out of the pockets of the share-holders, but also out of the pockets of the employees also). In addition, you are then also taking money away from people like (for example) Small Bear Electronics who have gone out of their way to create a business that caters SPECIFICALLY for your hobby and interests.

I feel my conscience is worth more than a few bucks of electronics parts.

Mike

  Thank you Mike, kind of gets under my skin seeing people order the max of everything they can get, just because they can. It will be sad if the free samples stop from this mfgr. or that mfgr. because of abusing the sample request.
 Some of us/most of us only order min of what we need for a specific project/circuit/test.
 Loading up on everything just because you can seems kind of, well,...greedy.
  Of course this is just my personal view point, so fire away...:^)
  Jered

Quote from: mikeb

Quote from: vdmi was wondering if there is anywhere to get 3080 IC's for a small stone phaser and maestro filter sample and hold?

rockby.com.au has them for $9.50 apiece if you don't want to wait for an o/s order.

Mike

Dick smith have them in some stores for $4.50. I have afew here from when I bulk ordered from Small bear.

Got my package from TI in less than 3 days(!) - good going from U.S to Australia. Got some burr browns OPA134 to build a nice headphone amp and opa627 ($18 a piece!) ! Gulp! :oops:

After the previous posts, now I feel pretty guilty, yeah don't think I'll be ordering freebies again unless I can't find it anywhere to buy (electronic parts range sucks in Australia). I think we are abusing the system to a degree by maxing out samples requests..

I doubt giving away samples makes any difference to the profits they make from selling hundreds of thousands of ICs to manufacturers.

But still, I agree.  20 Burr Browns should be enough to last a DIYer aaaggges.

If you look at the individual cost of each IC, it's peanuts. I'm looking at my sample sheet which came in today. No customs costs, 3-day shipping from the states to Holland, pretty good! :D TI rocks! But anyway,

The cost for 1 RC458P is thirteen cents! That's nothing for a company that makes millions and millions of dollars a year delivering semiconductors to people and manufacturers all over the world. My total order value was $40,90, divide that by three or so and you've got the actual manufacturing cost for the chip alone not including advertising, website design etc etc. In a way, the $20 that they're eventually paying to send us samples is advertising, if I go and make a pedal that uses the TI OPT101P chip (a photodiode) and that pedal rocks so hard that everyone wants to make one, TI is going to have a larger demand for their OPT101 chips. Now we're probably are at a tiny tiny scale, but still. TI supplies thier customer service as a luxury and it generates customers. Their fast shipping and easy-to-navigate website makes me happy, and I'm sure lots of people appreciate their professional but friendly way of handling these orderstoo, unlike ONsemi for instance which cancels orders without notice or any reason known to us. What I want to say is that when we order 50 bucks worth of ICs, it doesn't make much of a difference. I don't plan on ordering every week, maybe not even every month. A couple of DIY-ers ordering some opamps won't be such a bad thing for TI.

About Steve, you're right in a way, but I'll go to Steve when I want a BBD or a couple of switches and pots and knobs and an enclosure or two. Small Bear doesn't rely on IC sales to stay afloat so (no offense Steve) you shouldn't worry. From what I've picked up, SBE is overloaded with orders.

So never you mind :)

Wow that's the longest post I ever made :mrgreen:

Ben, I agree with you in a lot of ways.  When ordering samples of discrete products such as resistors, I always order the maximum amount possible per piece, though I do NOT order a maximum of individual pieces, because there is no need to for my purposes.  These companies will generate business due to the testing of their samples.  The ways in which they'll generate this business are complex and there are many.  I have a completely clean conscience when ordering samples, because if I find a use for them, I'll order some legetimately through that company, providing they are not unreasonable with their prices and min. shipping quantities.  Another reason for sampling is sound quality per piece.  While true that you probably wont find much difference between that 10k carbon film resistor and that 10k metal film resistor, changing out ALL of the resistors from carbon film to metal film, changing op amp types and capacitor types and LED types might make a CONCIDERABLE change.  Thus, sampling in larger quantities when possible will gives me the chance to evaluate the sound integrity of the components in a variety of applications and give me, the consumer, a good grip on what is of good quality and what is not and in what applications I would use "x" product.  I do not abuse the sample offers, I use it.  And in the end, if these companies did not want you to sample their products for free, they would not offer them world wide on an internet website.  Texas Instruments has earned a new found respect from me for their truly professional website and great customer service.  I found this out by sampling their products.  I will buy Texas Instruments product and tell my friends/associates about them.  All for a few dollars in IC chips and a few minutes to keep me informed with an email or two.  Tell me, who is the one losing out?

WOW! Incredibly long post!

Oh, and as for onsemi.  Personally, no problems here.  One sample recieved and two in transit.  They are a bit slower shipping than their competitors, what with the ORDER HOLD status, shipping errors, and the various shipping times, but they have good prices.  I'll probably order from them only when they have a product that I cant find anywhere else, or when I'm not in a particular hurry to get products.

And as for Small Bear...No worries.  Small Bear offers specialty items for stompboxes.  They will still receive business from me as long as I continue to build.  And their Alpha DPDT switches are some cool little buggers!  I just got my Small Bear order today!  They sent me a sample of wire (which I didnt request) that I'll have to try out.  Thank you Small Bear.

It isn't the value involved, it is the principal. I just gave Small Bear as an example from looking at it in a different way. And it is just one person's opinion, but I thought I would post seeing as there many other posts here and I didn't want to feel left out ... :D ...

Australia does suck as regards availablity of parts, but at the same time we have it good in many many ways with respect to building things, eh dubs? ;)

Mike

Well mikeb, think about it from this perspective, if even one of these guys comes up with a famous design that sells, then these samples will have paid for themselves many times over in future sales. These samples are investments in the future. You throw out a few seeds and you see what takes sprout. How many of us will do stuff that maybe we couln't have afforded otherwise? Maybe someone else will be inspired by the stuff we're doing, and figure out a different way of doing it, and still order a million chips for their product. Either way, the company providing the samples wins in the end. They get thousands in sales for a two dollar investment. We aren't taking advantage of these companies, they are investing in their own future. I think it is a beautiful thing.

Some sample news, look what Mill-Max is shipping me!

http://www.mill-max.com/sockets/so_productinfo.cfm?searchBasicPartNumber=210&searchClipGrid=41&searchPinWindowPattern=001&searchInsulatorPinClipType=000&start=1&search_description2=Standard%20Solder%20Tail&search_rows=&search_numberofpins=8&searchPlatingOptions=13

And JRC just shipped out my JRC4558's and JRC386's!

Quote from: javacodyI think it is a beautiful thing.

Like I said, it is just my opinion. I have no financial interest in these companies, just felt moved enough to comment on what I was reading about. The same reasoning (that it is 'insignificant') could be applied to voting in elections, throwing 'just one' piece of rubbish to the ground, and so on ... but if you want to argue 'numbers', just how many sales will be made if someone here designs a new pedal and markets it? A few hundred? As has been argued, this is well 'beneath the radar' of parts companies who like dealing with tens of thousands, at least.

I'd like to write more, but am having a hell of a time with a bad back so now will retire to read-only mode ....

Mike

Yes, but if someone here takes a job somewhere else, say Boeing for instance, and they remember TI fondly, who knows? Or maybe someone here has an uncle who is a professional EE?

They must be interested, because I have plans to sell something on a rate of 1000 units per year, which is still nothing to them, and they still sent me samples. I was up front with them, and I still got the samples.  I can't speak for these companies, but in business you learn the value of positive public opinion. Sometimes you can't put a dollar figure on it, but if you go to get a loan or sell your company, it counts for quite a bit.

Personally, I was very impressed with TI, Onsemi, and JRC/NJM.  If and when I'm producing my own products, I will definitely remember their kind behavior towards me. This is something money can't buy.

Last but not least, most of these companies also offer stuff for educational purposes and there is no way they can make money off of that directly. So why do they do it? See above.   :D

There was a time in the not so distant past when you didn't have to BS these semi mfgr and say you were a business.  No problem with jered1011@aol.com or joeblow@yahoo.com. Not any more, every year more of the semi mfgr's are changing this policy. Any ideas why?
  Jered

quick question...

do you have to put your REAL phone number in? in all honest send me an email, but dont ring me!!!!

cheers
Jim

I entered my phone number, sure. Who's gonna call? And anyway you can remove it later.

Javacody is right when he says that public opinion counts a lot. :) How could I have left that out? :lol: But say for instance I get a job as an engineer with BOSS or DOD or Ibanez later, and I have had TI send me samples regularly for the past 10 years, am I going to turn around and design a pedal with other parts? No! I will probably take that nice chip that only TI makes and incorporate it into my pedal if it's applicable. Once again TI has invested in their future. I respect that opinion though, mike, at least you're saying what you're thinking :) Get well soon with your back!

Oh and Jered I was totally honest with TI saying that the parts were for a personal project. They sent me the parts anyway ;)

I have to say I’m with MikeB on this one.  Are ICs really that expensive for the majority of you?  Especially if you’re in work (no matter how low paid!).  Believe me, if I can afford to buy stuff YOU can!

How many of you are REALLY going to end up working with some large electronics manufacturer and end up placing huge orders with the firms you’re getting all the freebies from?!  

I’ve read some pretty lame justifications for what you’re all doing.  I’m no angel so I’m not going to say DON’T do it, only I wouldn’t feel comfortable ripping these companies off.  Just because they’re large faceless corporations doesn’t make it OK.

I don't have a job so if I can save a few bucks on opamps I will ;)

One TI sample order is enough to keep me going for a real long time, I don't see the harm in having one order last me for over 5 months. Hell probably even longer. I don't feel that we're ripping these companies off, they are offering these samples, and they actually have 'personal project' as an option to what the parts are going to be used for. Once again it ain't costing them much to send me a bunch of samples, they make millions. If they couldn't afford it, they wouldn't be offering samples. Plus it's not like I'm ordering 10 dollar ICs. The most expensive ones I ordered were the photodiodes, which are chips that I wouldn't have bought if I had to pay their full amount, something like $2. I wouldn't have thought it worth it.  Two dollars is 5% of my monthly pocket money! ;) So that's why I placed one sample order. :)

But I'm going to shut up about this now before I get myself into trouble :lol:

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminTwo dollars is 5% of my monthly pocket money! ;) So that's why I placed one sample order. :)

My budget goes up to u$s 15 a month for other than food, rent, etc. And that much in a GOOD month  :lol:

Let the samples come to me, i say  :twisted:

Someone who knows what I'm talking about :mrgreen:

yeah i can dig that....

ive started a new money consuming hobby... model cars! such fun, but so expensive. this means the stompbox production will slow a bit, so the money i dont spend on opamps can be spent on paint.

rock on

cheers
Jim

A buddy of mine makes model anything, from hovercraft to planes. You don't wanna know what insane amounts of money he pays for the little combustion engines!

Gas and Electric...
 I musta spent about  500 a month on that.
 Them little cars...run just like big racers...shocks steering...rediculous !!!
 They sure are fun though.
 One reason I quit [I liked the gas cars...wheelies...extended burnouts...doughnuts etc..really unbelievable what they can do}...oh yea the one reason I quit was I didn't like getting all gassed up...all over my hands and sometimes clothes...the smell anyway...but mainly the amount of money it takes....gas, parts, maintenance, batteries, etc et etc etc. ...Spensive little buggars...I had that thing runnin just amazing though...dogs and kids loved it...the little cars would draw them out...run that thing for about one minute and there's a crowd !!!...lol

At the risk of being stoned to death (albeit virtually), the phrase “Entitlement Syndrome” keeps coming to mind when I read through many of these posts.

It would be nice if everything in life were free, but unfortunately it's not.  Does this mean we’re entitled to the things we can’t afford, at the expense of others?  I’m afraid not.

Justify this all you like, but if you can’t afford these things then you’re not living within your means (no matter how low).  Life is all about compromise and making sacrifices.  It took me a long time to learn this lesson but I feel happier for it.

I’m not a right-winger or anything (far from it, and I’ve even surprised myself with this response), and I’m not coming at this from the religious angle either (dyed-in-wool Darwinist), just a little food for thought…up to you what you do at the end of the day.

Quote from: gezup to you what you do at the end of the day.

Let's keep it at that. No hard feelings, right guys? :)

No hard feelings from me at all. I've been honest with all of the samples I've ordered.

Maybe its the industry I work in, but we get all kinds of marketing crap from companies for free and I don't see this as being much different, other than this marketing crap isn't something that I will chuck in the garbage can at the end of the day.

It may be entitlement syndrome, but I doubt it. I don't live in a country where you can sponge off the government for very long. I have to pay for all of my own medical expenses and if I lose my job, I have to find another one quick, I can't live off of an unemployment benefit indefinitely.

Glass houses and all...

Hmm I'd like to add one thing about our little moral discussion :D. I've read a few Samples FAQs that some manufacturers post on their websites, and one of the things that came up a few times is the warning that these samples are not to be used for applications in which human lives could be threatened (hmm, Ima order some sample to fix that laser eye surgery thingie....), because these samples could be from an older batch than the one they ship when you buy a batch of 500 000 of em :P

Tho they're good enough to put in a stompbox :D

It's good that this issue came up tho, maybe make people aware of the difference between using or abusing the system ;)

Ciao.

You know the fact that the chips could be from an old batch didn't even occur to me. :D

Quote from: javacodyIt may be entitlement syndrome, but I doubt it. I don't live in a country where you can sponge off the government for very long. I have to pay for all of my own medical expenses and if I lose my job, I have to find another one quick, I can't live off of an unemployment benefit indefinitely.

Glass houses and all...

I didn’t quite mean it like that.  

Every successive generation takes for granted what their forefathers had to struggle/work hard for.  As we acclimatise to a comfortable standard of living we learn to (are encouraged and pressurised to!) take it all for granted.  It gets to the point where we EXPECT everything in life and don’t feel that we should make any sacrifices - “I’ve always had it in the past why should I compromise?!”  It fosters a “something for nothing” mentality which, I feel, is getting a little out of control.  One only has to look at the growing amount of debt that many in the West (well, in this country at any rate) are finding themselves in to see the negative side to all this.  Not to mention litigation and rise in rates of depression.

I’m uncertain as to why this particular subject rankles me so much, but after a little thought I think it’s nothing more than the Englishman in me (“fair play” and all that).

I doubt that there are many amongst you who genuinely can’t afford to buy what you’re expecting for free.  And at the risk of being nominated for "Pompous Ass of the Year Award 2004", for those that can’t then perhaps you have your priorities wrong - concentrate on feeding yourself/feeding your family/overthrowing your govnt./whatever.  

For those of you playing the justification game, and trotting out the ‘why shouldn’t I?!” gambit, ask yourself (and I’m playing devils advocate here - I’m honestly not THAT bothered about all this!) “why should I?”.

Please feel free to tell me to f*ck right off, as Ben said “no hard feelings!”.

This is my last post on the matter.  Let’s just agree to disagree and get back to finding some uses for all your booty!  :D

I dunno gez.  Seems like you're saying that its only right to sample from these companies if you are part of some huge company (microsoft anyone?) that intends to spend millions on part sales.  It really seems to me like these sample programs are intended to draw smaller businesses and individual sales.  Large companies tend to get the cheapest parts that will make their product function, and care not about component quality.  The need to sample products for them is not really necessary in most cases.  Smaller businesses and individuals tend to care more about quality of products and are willing to spend a bit more for the "perfect" IC or cap or resistor or whatever.  I just dont see the justification in the whole "they can because they have" mojo that Big Industry has put on the mindset of people.

Fair enough.   :D

Quote from: gezLet’s just agree to disagree and get back to finding some uses for all your booty!

Ghehe I like that... Nice call gez ;)

I like the way gez put things ..... in many, many countries in the world people are too busy with keeping alive that they don't have time or money to even consider having one hobby, let alone more than one. Maybe our Western countries suck in some ways, but in general we are very lucky, very fortunate to have the opportunities we do for self-entertainment and self-amusement. So when people seem to be getting frustrated that their 'free sample' orders have been cancelled I can't help but chuckle (evilly) at the irony!

"Large companies tend to get the cheapest parts that will make their product function, and care not about component quality."

Sampling would be done (for the most part) not necessarily to determine quality, but rather to plug the thing into a design that has been done to see if it 'works as advertised'. Will it fit the PCB using the footprint the company has specified? Will clearances between the component and other parts and physical mountings be ok? When it is fed with X, will it output Y as the spec sheet says it will? I know for one embedded application I was working on the software for the comms chip couldn't source quite as much current as the spec suggested, which meant there was all sorts of drop outs and errors. The PCB had to be redesigned to accomodate a different chip, the cost per unit was increased .... it cost a lot of money, merely because it was assumed the IC would work 'as advertised' - and it didn't.

Mike

strung out - most semi manufactures and distributors have this warning.  They simply don't want the liability, it has nothing to do with these chips being old, although they might be.  I think it was either mouser or some other dist.  that had a warning that said "none of out products are to be used in any critical application, including, but not limited to, life support, air traffic control, or weapons guiadance systems."  The last one kinda made me laugh.  DIY missile guidance, from mouser...

Hal - LOL yeah I remember reading sum like that ;) To bad, but grandma's gonna have to go the hospital to get that new chip in her pace maker...  :roll:


For those who are interested, my shipment from Microchip just got here (Quebec, Canada) by FedEx, no taxes to pay, custom duty or anything. I'm glad about the chips, but DAMM that little box is cool  :lol:

What's the link ;)
Box? is it aluminium and suitable for an effect? :)

whatd u get from them?

Today I received my samples from Microchip, there were no taxes duty and no shipment payment for me, too (I live in Italy).
Sorry smoguz, Microchip box is not big enough for containing an effect... well, maybe just a mosboost...
Today I received many samples from texas instruments too!
People, is it Xmas?!?!?!


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Not far 'till Brisbane.  Come in spinner!  :o

I ordered some caps from Kemet.com and the guy called me back saying they will be in at the end of this month. He told me he will call before coming out to my place to drop them off!!! The rep's office is only 7 miles from here.

How about that kind of customer service? A+

Yeah, basically the boox is good to hold a bunch of IC's and whatnot in it :D Solid Plastic case, foam on the bottom and top, hmmm! Now that's good storin'

I had ordered some MCP609, MCP617, MCP6S22 (PGA - not sure how to do the Programming part of it...), and some Digital Pots.

Ciao.

Quote from: XlratorI ordered some caps from Kemet.com and the guy called me back saying they will be in at the end of this month. He told me he will call before coming out to my place to drop them off!!! The rep's office is only 7 miles from here.

How about that kind of customer service? A+

Did he realize that you are a DIYer? I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable if there was a TI salesman knocking at my door and handing over some opamps. I'd rather talk to a Jehova's Witness!

Will you show him your "work"? :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

A company like TI can afford to send a few chips to DIYers. For all they know, today's DIY guy may someday become tomorrow's Jim Dunlap with an order in the millions. If someones already pointed out this ridiculously simple scenerio, then pardon me.

Regards

RDV

ahhh i couldn't find any op-amps at microchip's web site...but i guess you did :-D.  Tell me if they're any good :)

Got 30 opamps from TI in 5 days :P . Wishing they got more big clients out of there generousity :wink: .

By the way, I don't really want to do this and I won't recommend either, I just want to know if they would give free samples the second time around?

Quote from: Halahhh i couldn't find any op-amps at microchip's web site...but i guess you did :-D.  Tell me if they're any good :)

http://www.microchip.com/1010/pline/analog/anicateg/linear/Linear/index.htm

and

http://www.microchip.com/1010/pline/analog/anicateg/linear/opamps/index.htm

they don't produce TL0x2 or 4558, but I'm considering to order some samples to try at least a couple of their op-amps.
Microchip is famous for its lucky MCU family, the PIC.
Hmmm.... they've got charge pumps too...

I hate to drag this back from the depths but it didn't make sense to start a new topic about it.
I got a phone call from someone working for TI earlier today, he was just following up on the sample requests. Very nice guy, I told him what I was useing them for and that I was basically a student and he was all for it!  He said he's talked to quite a few people about that sort of thing. He even said if there was anything else I wanted to give a try to feel free to use the sample program again.
These were one's I had gotten back in Feb. so I wouldn't be suprised if anyone else that had ordered some around the same time would be getting a call too.
So, in conclusion TI is super cool about samples.

Tried for some samples today and got the message "you have exceeded the limit for sample requests in a 6 month period"  :cry:

I expect I'm on the list for a call  :oops:  (or a visit  :shock: )

Yeah, TI rocks :twisted: . I think TI is in big business because they supplies chips to big electronics and mobile communication companies. That's may be the reason why they can afford to freely give samples without that much restrictions.

If I'll have a company, TI would surely be one of my supplier.