[sdiy] Midwest Analog Product Books, any reviews?

[Ryan Williams]

midwest analog books are nice. I've got the CA3080 book which is great, 
and also the noise generator book. both will show you lots of circuits 
that can be built along nice descriptions of them.  Most of the algebra 
that you might expect on the CA3080 is missing although you can find 
that online in Achim Gratz' tutorial here: 
http://homepages.compuserve.de/Stromeko/diy/OTA.pdf
I would reccomend that CA3080 book for sure, even if you won't be using 
them in the future.  The first few pages of the 3080 book covers simple 
current sources, linear and exponential, that are used to bias the 3080. 
The rest is VCA, VCO, ring modulator.  There are similar VCO circuits on 
the web. From what I've seen, all the synth VCOs are kinda similar.
I like the noise book too, I'm going to add a digital noise circuit 
(based on the one from the book) to my modular.

The 13700 is a dual OTA and the 3080 is a single, so they aren't drop in 
replacements but, the LM13700 can be used just like a CA3080 if you 
leave off the linearizing diodes, and don't use the buffers. I think the 
specs are very similar?

-ryan

Charles Brodeur wrote:
> Hello All,
>  I'm thinking of ordering a few of the books from Midwest Analog
> Products, found here: http://www.midwest-analog.com/catbooks.html.
> Specifically, I would like to order the 3080 OTA book. Has anyone on
> the list gotten their hands on these books? They seem short and I
> wonder if the information could easily be found on the web. Are there
> any reviews available? Also, I am specfically interested in the chapter
> on the VCO in in this book. Is there an equivalant online?
> 
> Secondly and slightly offtopic, I seem to remember rumors of the 3080
> being discontinued. Can anyone confirm this? Is the LM13700 a direct
> replacement?