CLM6000 lore

[ErikMiller]

Colin "anonymousexperimentalist" and I took a trip to Mike Quinn Electronic Surplus yesterday, and got some information about one of the great mysteries of DIY stompboxing.

That would of course be why Craig Anderton used such obscure parts as the Clairex CLM6000 in his projects.

Those things were hard to get 20 years ago when I was building my first EPfM projects.

Colin asked Jay about Clairex CLM6000's, which I had never bothered to do, never dreaming that such rarities would be available there, and Jay said sure, we have 'em. I told him why they are so sought after in the DIY stompbox world, and he told us that when Craig was writing his book, Godbout Electronics and Mike Quinn's were sharing space, and Craig was a daily Quinn's shopper.

One day, Mike Quinn brought in a huge box of CLM6000's. Part of that lot is still on the shelves!

So if you would like any CLM6000's, the price they quoted us was $3 a piece. Drop them a line at sales@mikequinnelectronics.com. Jay said that they'd be happy to mail them out. They're in San Leandro, California, USA. They don't take credit card orders over the phone or web, but the owner has a PayPal account.

[cd]

What about the 4136?!

[mikeb]

Nice story, thanks for the info!

4136s can be had from www.jaycar.com.au for about AUS$2 - part ZL3936.

Mike

[cd]

I should have been more specific, I mean what is the story behind the 4136.  As I understand it, it was uncommon when EPFM was new, and the quad DIP form was well established.

[ErikMiller]

....what is the story behind the 4136.  As I understand it, it was uncommon when EPFM was new, and the quad DIP form was well established.

I'll try to remember to ask Jay, but I'll bet Mike Quinn had a big pile of them for .25 a piece so that Godbout could get a bunch of them for the kits and resell them.

I've worked with electronics engineers at Orban and Nady, and done no small amount of related work myself, and a lot of the time, parts get used because they were what was laying around on the person's bench. That's why I think TI is so wise to send half a dozen parts to anyone who asks: that's how they get designed into production units. Engineer sends off for samples of components from 3 different suppliers, the one that gets there first with the least amount of hassle has by far the best chance.

I contacted Exar months ago regarding obtaining small numbers of their XR2206 chip for prototyping, and I never heard back. If I'd been working for a larger company, and been on a deadline, and hadn't found an XR2206 in a tube at (where else but) Quinn's, that simple audio generator of mine would probably have a Maxim chip in it.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I got a stack (few hundred) of NOS CLM6000 a couple of years ago from a US ham parts guy (now retired) in the NW. Quite a few were defective, and it has been suggested somewhere that this was due to the led being affected by gradual diffusion of  water vapor thru the plastic and/or the seal along the legs. Whether this is true, or indeed possible, I don't know. But, it IS true that the ldrs salvaged from them are great for Morley optical wahs.

[ExpAnonColin]

Actually, I wasn't really looking for the CLM6000's at all...  When climbing upon all of the broken computers and other misc parts to try to get to the opto-IC section to look for H11F3s, I saw the little drawer, with none in there... turned out they had some. Go figure.  That placed rocked though, Erik, thanks for showing it to me.  I am now regretting not getting more of those "Secret stash" knobs

-Colin