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hey,

i'm trying to put together a pedal but this is the first time i've ever done anything like this before, when i got the parts through the transistors came in futuristic packaging with warnings suggesting i could destroy the world if i open and use them incorrectly - all static sensitive and the like. i spoke to some guys in the local electronics shop and they said i have to touch metal whilst using them, is this right? any tips on how best to install them without causing doom?

cheers

They really aren't THAT sensitive. Unless you're sitting near a computer/TV/substation, they should be fine for quite a while. Just make sure to keep them packaged until you are going to use them. I like to build the majority of a circuit first and then solder in the transistors last, to keep them static-safe and to avoid heat damage.

I've never heard anything about touching metal... I wouldn't. Just keep it simple.

Look at it this way... your gas tank won't explode because you smoke in your car.

Take a BIT more caution with old metal can types, though. They tend to be more sensitive. Any plastics nowadays are pretty hefty. Either way, they don't just up and die because of anything. You would have to be pretty negligent with them, IMO.

Oh, take the same precautions with diodes, as well.

Have fun!

thanks for the advice, much appreciated. yeah you're right, i was perhaps being a little paranoid, altho it must have amused my girlfriend to see me holding onto the radiator as i tried to insert the transistors into a breadboard... i ended up breaking the transistors without the aid of static just by twisting them to death anyways!

am new to all this electronic stuff but it's awesome, managed to get a SM working the other night, thought i might double the circuit up, put some pots around the chaos caps and add a feedback loop... i cant believe i hadn't started screwing around with pedal guts before.

best way to start the day, with a celebrity cease and desist. that'll teach you to try and help struggling comic book stores!

yeah JTHM is beautifully convoluted, haven't seen much output since i feel sick, squee and zim tho, just random one offs