[N8VEM: 16467] LM323K discontinued notice

[Vince Mulhollon]

As per the following URL from an email from Mouser that lots of you
probably received:

http://www.mouser.com/PCN/STMicroelectronics_7947.pdf

Last date to order LM323K from STMicro is 17-DEC-2013, donno about Mouser,
and then that is the end for commercial availability of TO-3 5V regulators
except for the pulls and counterfeits (as per another recent discussion).

STMicro helpfully suggests a LM323T which is a 3 amp TO-220 package (yes, 3
amps in a TO-220 package?) Mouser has 3000 of them on order, which should
handle my needs when they arrive.

As per a recent thread I also got a dead LM323K from the same vendor as
that other thread, then I did an absolutely perfect job mounting and
soldering, and of course I found out it was one of the dead ones. I bought
and installed an expensive replacement from Mouser, the Mouser regulator
works perfectly. So now I feel the need to test every reg before I install
it, which is annoying.

Thats the facts of it. As for opinions...

Its probably a good idea to start contemplating how to modify all the
boards to use TO-220 packaged regs and/or tiny DC-DC converters (some of
the packaged converters are cheaper than a LM323K list price and also need
no heatsink or insulator kit, making them even cheaper..) I have a couple
uncompleted boards on my desk and on order which I'm going to probably
convert off LM323K regs and use "something else" for voltage regs, I'm
probably not the only one... It would be interesting if someone else has
already tried the Philips (or other) DC/DC converters as an option, or has
stories about hotwiring TO-220 replacements in various boards. I suppose
if I really, really trust my insulator kit I can stick a TO-220 anywhere
it'll physically fit and not worry about the traces. I have also
considered plain old bipolar pass transistors and feed them with a TO-92
packaged 7805 with a couple diodes in series in the ground lead to account
for the drop, but then I have to find a place to stick the 7805.

Also I googled around WRT counterfeit LM323K and apparently its been a big
deal in the pinball replacement retrofit hobby for a many years, its not a
recent problem. In other words the counterfeiters are apparently in
business to rip off the pinball hobby, not rip off the S100 hobbyists. And
STM tried discontinuing them as a product back in '07 but they're at least
currently temporarily in production.