# mmbfj201



## TSReppe (Jan 22, 2021)

Getting these in the mail next week to finally get my M800-build going. Was wondering if people usually use sockets with these or solder them directly to the board? Worried that using resistor-cutoffs for legs will be a bit thin and will make the jfets not sit tight enough in the sockets.


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## phi1 (Jan 22, 2021)

I do recommend sockets just in case. It seems that smd are generally more consistent than the through hole type (especially now that fewer legitimate through hole ones are available). So socketing may not be necessary with the smds but I still always do.

to me most resistor legs (there’s some variation) sit pretty tight in machined (round hole) sockets so I doubt they’d fall out, but you can solder at least one of the leads in the socket before closing the back up.


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## peccary (Jan 22, 2021)

I haven't used them yet, but I have an Obsidius build I am prepping for (which uses J201s) and I bought some pin headers as I thought that might work pretty well. I thought about using snipped leads, but that sounded kind of like a hassle and I feel like the pin headers will look cleaner. I won't really know till they get here though, but though I'd mention it.


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## TSReppe (Jan 22, 2021)

peccary said:


> I haven't used them yet, but I have an Obsidius build I am prepping for (which uses J201s) and I bought some pin headers as I thought that might work pretty well. I thought about using snipped leads, but that sounded kind of like a hassle and I feel like the pin headers will look cleaner. I won't really know till they get here though, but though I'd mention it.


Yeah pin headers would be awesome, but ordering the, will take longer than my patience can take haha.. Think I’ll use sockets, but might be a last minute call.

I used 2n5485’s for an Obsidius and thought it sounded awesome as a replacement in that pedal, but think the M800 calls for some real J201.


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## peccary (Jan 30, 2021)

TSReppe said:


> Yeah pin headers would be awesome, but ordering the, will take longer than my patience can take haha.. Think I’ll use sockets, but might be a last minute call.
> 
> I used 2n5485’s for an Obsidius and thought it sounded awesome as a replacement in that pedal, but think the M800 calls for some real J201.



I just finished installing everything other than the ICs/pots/switches in the Obsidius and it took me a little time to finagle a way to install the SMD J201 in such a tight space. The layout meant that the board had to jut out in the direction of the electros and they wouldn't fit unless I raised them above the level of the caps, which would look absurd and might not even fit in to the enclosure.

I looked for some build photos of how others might have solved the issue, but it looked like the other Obsidius builds on this forum hadn't used the SMDs in their builds. I took some pin headers and bent the legs 90 degrees so that they would sit on top of the resistors in front of them. I think it looks kinda cool and thought it was a fairly elegant solution. I was going to install sockets for them to sit in, but the pin header legs wouldn't fit in to the sockets without a lot more force than I was comfortable using, so I left them out. I've heard that the SMD J201's are pretty reliable, so we'll see. If they don't work out the pin headers will be pretty easy to de-solder, so I'm not that worried about it.

Just thought I'd share as this might come in handy for people looking to build the Obsidius with the J201 SMB breakout board.

Here's a couple photos:









						New item by Joe B
					






					photos.app.goo.gl
				












						New item by Joe B
					






					photos.app.goo.gl


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## phi1 (Jan 30, 2021)

If I want to use sockets I use leftover resistor legs instead of pin headers (and then solder to the sockets at least one leg before boxing). But the way you did it looks cleaner.


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## Danbieranowski (Jan 30, 2021)

I just use resistor legs. Bend them in an L shape and solder them in. Works great and allows for easy socketing. I wish there was a more uniform easier way, but I also don't want to spend any money on that lol.


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## peccary (Jan 30, 2021)

Danbieranowski said:


> I just use resistor legs. Bend them in an L shape and solder them in. Works great and allows for easy socketing. I wish there was a more uniform easier way, but I also don't want to spend any money on that lol.



I totally let aesthetics take the lead in how I dealt with it. lol. I was thinking of using snipped leads, but I don't like the Tayda resistor leads for that kind of thing as they are too flimsy and am not in the habit of saving the thicker ones from things like Diodes (as I probably ought to do - but - I really don't like digging through that pile of leads after a build!). 

The pin headers are nice and sturdy, I think they look cool, and that was more important to me than the sockets. We'll see if I regret that choice in a few days!


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## Barry (Jan 30, 2021)

Danbieranowski said:


> I just use resistor legs. Bend them in an L shape and solder them in. Works great and allows for easy socketing. I wish there was a more uniform easier way, but I also don't want to spend any money on that lol.


Some of the boards have smd pads on them already ADHD comes to mind as one
EDIT: actually I think it was the Deofol that had SMD pads


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## Danbieranowski (Jan 30, 2021)

Barry said:


> Some of the boards have smd pads on them already ADHD comes to mind as one


I have a pretty tricky essential tremor in my hands that makes smd seem a bit out of reach. Maybe one of these days I'll give it a real shot.


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## Danbieranowski (Jan 30, 2021)

peccary said:


> I totally let aesthetics take the lead in how I dealt with it. lol. I was thinking of using snipped leads, but I don't like the Tayda resistor leads for that kind of thing as they are too flimsy and am not in the habit of saving the thicker ones from things like Diodes (as I probably ought to do - but - I really don't like digging through that pile of leads after a build!).
> 
> The pin headers are nice and sturdy, I think they look cool, and that was more important to me than the sockets. We'll see if I regret that choice in a few days!


It definitely LOOKS better than mine lol.


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## Robert (Jan 30, 2021)

Danbieranowski said:


> I have a pretty tricky essential tremor in my hands that makes smd seem a bit out of reach. Maybe one of these days I'll give it a real shot.



It's not that bad, the first connection would be the trickiest one.    Once you have one corner of an IC (or one pin of a transistor) soldered into place it'll stay put while you solder the rest.    You just have to keep it aligned long enough to get that first connection made.


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## Nostradoomus (Jan 30, 2021)

Sometimes I’ll pull off a pin head sized amount of blue tack to solve that problem, usually on bigger chips though.


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## Danbieranowski (Jan 31, 2021)

Robert said:


> It's not that bad, the first connection would be the trickiest one.    Once you have one corner of an IC (or one pin of a transistor) soldered into place it'll stay put while you solder the rest.    You just have to keep it aligned long enough to get that first connection made.


Yeah I’ve read those techniques here. I bought a few of the little 201s, just haven’t tried yet. I actually think I have a couple boards that have both the pads and the larger through holes so I guess I have nothing to lose by trying. If it doesn’t work I can just use one of the presoldered ones I bought from you.


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