Germanium Transistor in Current Production

Why bother?

John

Don't they produce a nice warm cozy sound just like tooobz ?:-) ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 | "Somebody had to build the ceiling... before Michelangelo could go to work." - John Ratzenberger

No, they are obsolete crap that self bias, and produce lots of noise. They are the 'Slomans' of the transistor family. :)

--
The movie \'Deliverance\' isn\'t a documentary!

`Well they sound more transistiory than toobs, although they do sound smoother and sweeter than silicon.

There is a niche market for them in guitar effects. The trouble with them is that you have to buy a lot to find the ones with the proper gain and leakage, and at two bucks a piece and up that just prohibitively costly to do with NOS.

GIGO.

--
The movie \'Deliverance\' isn\'t a documentary!

Almost; the sound is rather floral from the Geranium in those parts..

Sand power is rather sharp, due to the Silicon being not quite cracked up as it should be..

That's true, they have a softer turnon characteristic than silicon and are usually much lower gain overall, all of which which contributes the right kind of nonlinearity to the sound.

Depending on the volume, you might find good stocks on Ebay if you have patience, but they will all be old. The ge types tended to deteriorate more than silicon in any case, though the mil spec ones will be better due to screening and process.

Perhaps a Russian company ?. They were some of the last people to make valves in any quantity...

Regards,

Chris

Fred,

Mouser

carries the NTE102A and NTE103A, but they're not cheap.

Earlier this year I went looking for Ge transisitors to replace those in my Heath Mohican shortwave receiver's audio output; Mouser's NTE102As were the only ones I could find.

The NTE102As were $6.30 each, and the NTE103A is higher still.

Well, the NTE102As seem to work; the sound from the Mohican's

1.5"(?) speaker is _much_ better than it was (replacing the power supply's electrolytics may have helped a bit).

There's still 'way too much static on most of the bands for my tastes, though.

Frank McKenney

--
  A striking fact of the last two years of financial trouble is how
  accountability has differed in the public and private spheres. On
  Wall Street and across the country, decades-old firms have failed,
  fortunes have vanished, and some former captains of finance face
  jail or fines. In Washington, meanwhile, most regulators and
  Members of Congress remain on the job, often with enhanced power.
      -- "Bernanke\'s Second Chance" / Wall Street Journal 08/26/09

Sno-o-o-o-ort ;-) ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

You should really go easy on the recreational substances Jim. They may provide a short term buzz, but the long term side effects are irreversible :-)...

Regards,

Chris

Naaaah! I'm just old and prone to snoring due to recurrent sinus problems... when I laugh I make such a sound ;-)

As for "snorting", a "friend" gave me a "line" around 1980. What useless stuff, I think you have to be an addictive personality already to find that stuff "uplifting" :-( ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 | "Somebody had to build the ceiling... before Michelangelo could go to work." - John Ratzenberger

Fred wrote in news:0a31b4f9-c50d-4d0c-95c6- snipped-for-privacy@b18g2000vbl.googlegroups.com:

At one time, Germanium Power Devices Corp. was making germanium transistors and devices for an admittedly niche market. Us long-timers might remember "Oliver Germanium" in company ads. The company is apparently still in business, but not making transistors as such:

Mixed silicon-germanium transistors are being made, but I suspect that's not what you're looking for.

--Damon

Damon Hill wrote in news:Xns9CB3D183216A2damon161attbicom@127.0.0.1:

Some further research about GPD reveals they were making germanium Schottky rectifiers with even lower foward drop than silicon Schottkies. I'd guess very low on-resistance power MOSFETs operated as syncronous rectifiers probably beats that (but who's actually doing it?).

Try asking diyaudio.com and see what the inmates are doing with germanium--we'll try almost anything!

--Damon

..You mean that you are NOT in the market for a working CK722?

No, but even in the uk, I recognise the part number from late 50's radio-electronics mags. Sort of uk equivalents of the period were the red spot for audio and white spot for rf, though neither were very good compared to the mullard 0c44, 45, 71 and 72 series.

My dad made our first transistor superhet radio in 1957 using that type of transistor and my first transistor radio, if it deserves the name, used a red spot transistor augmenting a crystal detector.

How a mis-spent youth can have a lifetime's effect :-)...

Regards,

Chris

Great Ghu, another one! I was given a "line" in 1971 which had no noticeable effect on me, despite others claiming it was "really good sh*t".

Afraid I almost certainly have to part ways with Jim re: "nature's herbal muscle relaxer", marihootchie. It's infinitely less harmful than its nearest "competitor", alcohol (which I despise); it doesn't make me party-goofy, it calms me and lets me think more deeply than usual. I can't wait for Cali and other states to decide they just can't do without the pot(!)ential tax revenue and LEGALIZE IT!

Mark L. Fergerson

The nice thing about the CK722 was that you did not have to worry about bias.

IC0 took care of it for you.

--
Many thanks,

Don Lancaster                          voice phone: (928)428-4073
Synergetics   3860 West First Street   Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552
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I'll have to look into that further. Supposedly that's the new tech, mixing a little germanium in with the silicon. They could be just the thing.

I read about GPD when looking to sources. :)

Even if the NTE102As work with audio, there still reamins the matching issure. I guess I'll have to look into that further too.

I was a student in the 60's and it was hard work avoiding coming into contact with various temptations. In the early 70's, I worked in pro audio design in London, connected with music where you needed a strong constitution to keep your head straight. Many, many got completely burned out with the excess. Fortunately, I discovered micros in 1977 while working in the states and was earning a new living and moved out of London within a couple of years. It's paid for lunch ever since, but have no regrets at all about those times, just good memories...

Regards,

Chris