I Think I Have a Problem

[Ed Nice]

motterpaul wrote

By the way - mentioning problems - I just bought 150 AC125 Ge transistors from Bulgaria - and I don't even know if I want to build fuzz tones. But the price seemed right (note to self; ambien and eBay at 2:00 a.m., bad idea)

I feel you man. I just got a ton of god knows what from Bulgaria (IT308, MP20 & D40?) plus some odd looking things I didn't order but are probably very cool and interesting!

This leads me to draw several conclusions from the facts we have at hand, Dr Watson...

1. Chateuneuf Du Pape and ebay are dangerous bedfellows
2. Germanium is the new laudenum
3. If someone in authority (Frank & Rocket, I'm looking at you!) warns you off, heed those warnings!
4. Man still like 'shiny things' even if they have no idea what they should do with them and just want them simply to posses and admire them in the comfort of their man caves
5. I need to get out more (especially to junk shops so I can find a cheap toaster oven)

[dbat69]

Ed Nice wrote

1. Chateuneuf Du Pape and ebay are dangerous bedfellows
2. Germanium is the new laudenum
3. If someone in authority (Frank & Rocket, I'm looking at you!) warns you off, heed those warnings!
4. Man still like 'shiny things' even if they have no idea what they should do with them and just want them simply to posses and admire them in the comfort of their man caves
5. I need to get out more (especially to junk shops so I can find a cheap toaster oven)

I'm with you Ed
Slight change to 1 ... replace Chateuneuf Du Pape with good 'ol BEER

I'm addicted, I'm addicted ... I get my fix from our Bulgarian friend every pay day
He is sooo willing to keep listing nice things for us Ge-addicts ... need more Ge

There will now be a world shortage of toaster ovens, I need one too

[motterpaul]

Good ol' IPA beer - yum. But not with eBay.

What happened with me is I kept seeing NKT275s on auction, with 10 bid up to only $10, and so I kept bidding $11 with a limit of $20, and they all sold for $.50 more than my max. So I bid low on the batch of 150 AC125s and won (but they weren't that cheap). I did get some Mullard OC75s for a decent price, too (from Turkey).

For toaster ovens - go to CraigsList. I just bought a hand drill there for $15, with two chargers. I see toaster ovens there $10 to $30 (for the best).

I was not thrilled with the idea of fuzz guitar but I watched the new Kurt Cobain documentary last night and I realized he used fuzz a lot, especially in "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

[rocket88]

Wait, did I just get called out for something good? I didn't realize I had become an authority on anything. I'm actually really honored.

It's not that you shouldn't get involved with Ge transistor builds, it's just that it's addicting. I think I went from having like 50 to now I've got a couple thousand laying around, all sorted for builds.

Dbat you're better then me, I'll wait and suddenly order like $100-200 worth of part from him. In fact I think I'm due to order some more things from him. You order a little at a time rather then a massive amount.

Crazy thing is I have about $400 in IC's and transistors sitting in my eBay cart right now waiting to be ordered. Got to stock up for my initial launch, don't want to be low on anything. The only thing is I'm getting worried about ordering bulk IC's now based on some of the sellers we've all used have begun to send out bad/counterfeit parts. Polida2008 to be specific. I always got great parts and fast from them, but I've been seeing a lot of posts about bad/counterfeit parts, so I'm not sure I can trust them anymore.

I don't think beer is ever a problem, more like a solution to every problem. Build doesn't work right, drink more and suddenly you figure it out. Like you forgot to put in the IC or transistors. So you feel like an idiot and drink more.  

[Ed Nice]

Yeah, I didn't know what to buy but stumbled upon Rocket's description and spotted some familiar numbers on ebay, mixed with a little alcohol and voila. It's a slippery slope...

I'm not a huge fan of fuzz really. I'm more of a crunch -> overdrive person but, I just built a PlimSoul, which is not a huge overdrive, more of a tight fuzz with tons of sustain and I really like it. And I can see where the fuzz thing is going a bit more clearly now. So, once I've cleared the decks and finished my two Big Muffs, I reckon I'll start my journey into some cool fuzz. And maybe even grow a beard? :)

I'm in the UK so we have Gumtree rather than CraigsList.

[dbat69]

THanks Paul, but I don't get CraigsList in the UK.  Here its local charity shops and wherever things get listed, or ebay

But I need to get some etching primer first.  Thanks again Beaker for that tip

[dbat69]

That is it Ed ..... you're joining the ranks of the Ge addiction and there is no turning back.

Ohhh lovely Ge fuzzz

Yeah, that was what I couldn't remember .. Gumtree  .. you've put me out of my misery trying to remember the name.  I think its an age thing, or maybe beer

I just love experimenting with sounds, some I hate, but others I like.  Its all part of the fun ... erm and the addiction

[Silver Blues]

rocket88 wrote

also, let not talk about things slowing down here. nothing is slowing down, sometimes people don't have as much time to work on layouts. stay positive, we're all right here where we've always been. we brothers of the soldering iron got to stick together.

I don't even think it's slowed down - I just think the energy has shifted from the main blog to the forum. Although there hasn't been much on the main page lately, over here we've been flourishing with new layouts and spirited discussion.

[Beaker]

I agree with you there Zach, Mark and Miro are busy guys, and I feel that maybe people have relied on them to come up with the goods, on a regular basis, for maybe a little too long.

Now on the forum, we have got a bunch of great contributors like Alex, Anders, Savvas, Silver and yourself.

I think we are doing pretty well really.

[motterpaul]

Well, I am going to make an effort to visit the blog area and let people know that the forums are still here and very active  - and to give links to over here.

[rocket88]

Me?

[bogey]

Yes you rocket. I think yourself and anybody who contributes to this site deserve HUGE congratulations. Not only for sharing your tips, skills and knowledge but just for being such a friendly bunch of guys in general. It's not often people give such things and expect nothing in return.
The info and layouts within these pages and on the main site will keep me happy and busy for a long time to come( I just wish I'd got into it earlier).
The other reason I like to visit here is, I find reading the banter between some of you to be hilarious.
Hats off to each and every one of you I say.

[Frank_NH]

The main thing for circuits that are developed here in the forum is that they are tweaked and verified.  Again, it would be nice to provide a list on the main page to layouts in the Contributions section.