Abusing the LM386

AIUI bitrex's 386 circuit stays within the IC's capabilities, though not within mfr specs. How are you going to know what a part can do if you don't crank it up to find out?

If it stays working reliably enough it's not overstressed.

NT

** Hey s*****ad - read what does YOUR own damn post says !!!!

" The circuit I showed ..... ""

** Ignore it at your peril - fool.

See if I care.

.... Phil

I probably won't ever have a chance to build it, a lot of my free time is taken up these days banging women in their 20s. sorry bro.

I almost always run new parts to the edges, see where the thermal limits are, how long does it last when stuck in some thermal limit cycle. Push the voltages up... It's not that I plan on using the part here, but I want to know. Most parts are darn good.

George h.

Why stress parts beyond their design capabilities. If you need amps, add a buffer to the output. If you need volts, use an audio amp or photocoupler.

Derate components. Do not push them to their limits.

Field returns are a huge liability. You pay for repairs. You lose credibility with your customers. That is one risk you cannot afford to take.

Every failure is an unhappy customer. You may save pennies in the design, and lose a fortune in the market.

Selling high-cost high-margin boutique items that customers expect lifetime support and performance guarantees on sounds like a great way to lose a fortune in the market in 2018. That sounds like the "HP Way" when HP was in that business and where the f*ck is HP now I ask you.

Different businesses require different strategies. If you're making one-off devices, you can do a lot more fudging the spec than you can if you're making millions. One size does _not_ fit all.

ts

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and to any EE that ought to be obvious. It puzzles me that to many it's not . An important skill area for any engineer is to understand the market & th e business enough to know what is and what is not ok to do. In budget consu mer appliances, underrating everything & designing it for a lifetime would result in bankruptcy.

NT

I'm not sure what the HP way is, but I think customer support is our #1 selling point. You buy something from us, we keep it working, and you buy more things from us.

Today is a prefect case in point, I did customer support, (ID'ed the failed bit, known failure and we ship out the replacement at ~cost + shipping + some handling, and we loose money on the deal. ~$100.. it depends how you count it. Our alternative is to announce the potential problem and get one big whack. A lot depends on what the 'problem' is. In this case it's a product with plastic push buttons that fail over time.

George H.

I've never worked in the high volume world, I figure you've got a lot more competitors, I can see that being both a good and bad thing.

George H.

Oh I should add, that years ago I made a detailed description, with pics, of how to replace it and which wires go where. I've never had any problems, or questions. In my mind, grooving, is Simon and Garfunkel, "Keep your customers satisfied, satisfiiiiied" :^)

GH

Not necessarily more competitors but they tend to have sharper pencils than those in smaller volumes. ;-)