2SK208-Y available

I think as @manfesto eluded to, it's really the usage in the circuit as to the "swapatibility".
But I can check those 30A numbers against these two small bags I have (not sure why I got them)?
 
One bag was way off, the other seems fairly close (random check).

The IDSS was seemingly the biggest difference ..these checked at 2.60 - 2.64mA

Edit: That's the drain current.
 
thewintersoldier said:
In a lot of the pedals that I have built that use 2sk30a, 2n5457 is the usual substitute. Japanese jfets like their bjt counterparts have a different pinout which requires leg twisting. I imagine Fairfield got a good deal on a large lot of the original fet. I haven't checked the data sheet but j201 is probably the closest substitute.
Click to expand...
I mean, looking at the datasheets, the 2SK208 and 2SK30A have literally identical parameters, so they may be a *little* closer than a J201
 
Anyone with a Low Tide and a socket in Q1 wanna twist the legs and try a 2SK30A?

If it’s just a buffer stage it’ll probably sound identical to a J201, but even then we’d have learned something about whether or not 2SK208s are worth tracking down
 
thewintersoldier said:
It's getting harder and harder to find legit 2sk30a in thru hole, really any legit thru hole jfets. I used the last of mine in an Ibanez Standard fuzz earlier this year. In any case I use smd now cause I know they are real, but more importantly to me they are more consistent. Usually very tight tolerances and easier to match.
Click to expand...
Oh for sure, and if the SMD 2SK208 were readily available then I wouldn’t have brought up the 2SK30A, but unfortunately they’re not and the 2SK30A are, from a relatively reputable dealer (I’ve gotten a few 2SK30As from Tayda and they’ve all been fine).

If the Low Tide’s Q1 does more than buffer and depends on the specifics of the JFET like its gain characteristics, and it was a 2SK208 in the original, then a 2SK30A could very well be closer in sound than a J201.
 
thewintersoldier said:
It's getting harder and harder to find legit 2sk30a in thru hole, really any legit thru hole jfets. I used the last of mine in an Ibanez Standard fuzz earlier this year. In any case I use smd now cause I know they are real, but more importantly to me they are more consistent. Usually very tight tolerances and easier to match.
Click to expand...

Transistor FET 2SK30A-GR

New England's source for guitar pedals, pedal parts and electronics.
smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com
 
I burst my SMD cherry last night soldering the 2SK208-Y into the Low Tide.

Then I popped out the SMD J201 (ordered it with the Low Tide) ... the 2SK was the size of a gnat, but the J201 SMD was the size of a gnat's posterior-orifice stain. Hokey crap that thing is small. Good thing I've got tweezers and a magnifying-lamp.

I know there are different package-sizes for SMD but is that the biggest the J201 comes in?
 
Feral Feline said:
I burst my SMD cherry last night soldering the 2SK208-Y into the Low Tide.

Then I popped out the SMD J201 (ordered it with the Low Tide) ... the 2SK was the size of a gnat, but the J201 SMD was the size of a gnat's posterior-orifice stain. Hokey crap that thing is small. Good thing I've got tweezers and a magnifying-lamp.

I know there are different package-sizes for SMD but is that the biggest the J201 comes in?
Click to expand...
Yeah, they’re small. At the risk of being the laughing stock of my house hold I put on a set of jewelers goggles and use all three magnifications when soldering SMD’s. Hey it works. KPedals bought an smd soldering kit off Amazon a little while ago, I’ll have to ask him if it’s worth it. Looked pretty cool. Pretty much just a digital heat gun.

This is the link he mentioned, looks like it could be useful now that we’re seeing more and more of these:

CO-Z 858D Rework Station, 110V SMD Soldering Rework Station with Hot Air Heat Gun Set, LED Digital Temperature Display Screen Electric Desoldering Welding Iron Kit for Electronics Repairing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MR2IWBN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8Q9KKY407CT7M92EYRFS
 
Feral Feline said:
the 2SK was the size of a gnat, but the J201 SMD was the size of a gnat's posterior-orifice stain. Hokey crap that thing is small. Good thing I've got tweezers and a magnifying-lamp.
Click to expand...

Where'd you get them from?

My 2SK208 and MMBFJ201s are pretty much the same size. (SOT23 vs SC-59)
 
Robert said:
Where'd you get them from?

My 2SK208 and MMBFJ201s are pretty much the same size. (SOT23 vs SC-59)
Click to expand...
Links in Post #2. Sourced from Taobao, they may not even be real ones.

E47066DE-CB14-46B9-93ED-603C4762F546.jpeg DBEB8DBC-9CE8-4F46-95D9-E2FA6E368294.jpeg


Pencil for size reference, pics taken before I finished popping the board and cleaning it. Waiting on some parts I thought I had but didn't ... a few resistors and some caps I need to fetch tomorrow, then will continue with the build.

First time dealing with SMD up close and personal — tiny, so very tiny. 😸


Please don't tell me I need to desolder the 2SK...🥺

At least I know the J201 is legit! 😹
 
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I was imagining the size difference to be more than what your pic shows.

It might be legit, I'd at least try it before removing it.

I do think these have a slightly "shady" appearance to them. The surface is rougher than usual, if I got them from anywhere but Mouser I'd think they were sanded down fakes. :ROFLMAO:
 
That's an awful lot of trouble to sand them down, paint JY on and reinsert them into the tape-reels... 😺 then again, labour is cheap over the border from me. 😾

Even if the circuit works when I fire it up, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a legit 2SK part; I'll see if my friend can somehow test one of the others from the scrap of tape-reel I got; that won't be til the end of the week though.

After looking at the pics again, the alleged 2SK is indeed slightly larger than the J201 (0.2mm?), but what I noticed when soldering was the 2SK's legs seemed much bigger than the J201's.
 
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