ok, i'll save the long winded explanation, so I made a quick picture to say my piece here. To say adding a SC to everything is lame is uneducated. I realize this is just one guys option, but I took theory of ICs in college too, and this is what I've taken from my reading..... (please excuse the lame drawing, but I have MS paint, and I'm prepared to use it) EDIT: any of you MEs out there feel free to expand on/fix any of my calcs.....