Hey all, Where does everyone get their replacement transistors from? I'm in Ottawa and would like to find a place to go pick some up.  IRL540 or 12n10l's. Wondering if Active sells them?

Gervais Electronics.  On Industrial.

Active sucks.

Mike

Thanks MrMikeman, as I thought, Active Sucks! Just needed to know that I wasn't the only one that thought so.

How about fuses? Can't find them anywhere!

I could not find a 'one store has it all' locally in Ottawa.
Here's the list of local places I have been using
(prices usually increase as you go down in this list):
- Add Electronics (on Armstrong near Parkdale)
- Gervais
- Reset Electronic (on Baxter Rd near the Ottawa Citizen building)
   (they have fuses, but are not cheap)
- Active

From the US: I also use Digikey, Ed at Great Plains Electronics,
NewarkInOne (once), and Steve Young/The Pinball Resource (often).
Also purchased quite a few new electronic parts from eBay.

Good luck !

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

Thanks Sylvain, I've used Digi-key a few times in the past but was hoping I'd find a good place in Ottawa. Thanks for the list, tomorrow I'll go shopping!

I forgot to add The Source by Circuit City (old Radio Shack).
They have a fairly good choice of fuses of various ratings,
both fast and slow blow.

I tried to get some fuses at The Source but they don't seem to have 2.5A slow blow 1-1/4" x 1/4" as required for system 6 solenoid fuse.

I searched high and low for the 2.5a slow blow and even our Sayal Electronics (which isn't so cheap for a discount parts place), and usually end up buying from NewarkinOne or Digikey (but try to build up an order to make the shipping worth it).  PB Resource is going to be costly for anything.  You might also try PinballLife.  You would think that one of those industrial suppliers would have access to the fuses, but often you have to buy in bulk to get a good price.

Ok so today I went to Gervais Electronics and Active and both places said they didn't carry IRL 540 or 12N10L's so I guess I'm s_ _t out of luck. Anymore Idea's?

Are you thinking these are the same? Here Clay says they are different. The one looks like it's 12 amps while the other is 36 amps. It looks like you have no issue with the higher rated one being used for a substitute for the lower. It would also appear that it has been replaced with 22NE10L. So basically if you needed the 12N10L and not the IRL540 you should hunt for 22NE10L.

    * IRL530 - 100 volts, 12 amps continuous. Aka NTE2987. Some people call it IRF530, but that is actually a different animal. The "L" in "IRL" means logic level drive, which is an important aspect of this MOSfet. There is also an advanced
    * 12N10L - 100 volts, 12 amps continous. Exactly the same as the IRL530 (Gottlieb uses the more generic 12N10L nominclature).
    * 20N10L - 20N10L replaces either an IRL530 or a 12N10L, but not vice-versa. 20N10L MOSFETs have been discontinued. The replacement is a 22NE10L, which is an enhanced version that can sink 10% more current (22 amp versus 20 amps). The 20N10L was used in Pinball 2000 and many Whitestar driver boards.
    * IRL540 - 100 volts, 36 amps continuous, so this is a bit more robust than a 20N10L. You can replace the 20N10L or 22NE10L with an IRL540.

The "IR" in the above part numbers means International Rectifier company. The "L" after the "IR" means logic level drive. International Rectifier had their own MOSfet numbering system like the IRL530 and IRL540. The generic part number are 12N10L and 20N10L. The first pair of numbers refers to the current rating. In the case of a 20N10L, it is rated at a maximum drain current of 20 amps. The N indicates an "N channel" FET. Some FETs are of opposite polarity and known as "P channel" FETs. The final two numbers indicate the voltage rating, where "10" means 100 volts. The "L" suffix indicates that a logic level can be used to turn the FET on.

Note you cannot substitute an IRF Mosfet for an IRL Mosfet. The IRF Mosfet has a higher Vgs threshold voltage. The IRF's Vgs voltage is higher than the guaranteed output high voltage of a typical logic gate - it is intended to have a higher gate voltage to turn it on. The IRL (L = Logic Level Gate Voltage) is designed to turn on the MOSfet using the output high (5 volts) of a typical logic gate.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

    * 20N10L - 20N10L replaces either an IRL530 or a 12N10L, but not vice-versa. 20N10L MOSFETs have been discontinued. The replacement is a 22NE10L, which is an enhanced version that can sink 10% more current (22 amp versus 20 amps). The 20N10L was used in Pinball 2000 and many Whitestar driver boards.
    * IRL540 - 100 volts, 36 amps continuous, so this is a bit more robust than a 20N10L. You can replace the 20N10L or 22NE10L with an IRL540.

Very useful info.
Just to add a bit to this.  The 22NE10L has now been discontinued.  This leaves the IRL540 as the primary replacement to the 20N10L and 22NE10L.

-- Ed