Anyone ever tried 2N1008A? 1N538? I have access to a lot...

Looking for a particular component or hardware part and you just cannot find it? Got comoonents surplus and want to get rid of it? Post it all here... No sales of working pedals, put these in the 'Seen for sale' section please.
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12vshred
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Post by 12vshred »

I tapped in to a large supply of old-new components, and was given a sample of Germanium 1N538s from the 1960s, and 2N1008A Germanium transistors. I'm putting the 1N538s in a TS tonight to try them out, and decide if I want to go back for more (he's got a *lot*, and offered me an "he doesn't know what he's got" level amazing price vs finding them online, if I buy them all). He has multiple other 60s/70s part numbers in his stash that he's offering me in whole lots.

He's made a similar offer with the 2N1008As, but they have an fT of .4MHz, max voltage of 35V, and an hFe of 40, I'm thinking 18v bass pedal? I want to try the most feasible application for them, to give them a fair shake before committing to buy, but I don't have a lot of time to experiment. It's an all or nothing deal, and it's super cheap per item, but still over $100 worth of transistors. Any suggestions on what I should try with them? Move on to the next item?

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turbofeedus
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Post by turbofeedus »

As with most germs, the part number always takes a back seat to gain/leakage measurements and listening tests. Use the RG Keen circuit (http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/ffselect.htm) to test a handful of them and see what you get. Also, a transistion freq. of 0.4MHz isn't an issue, OC75 is only 0.1MHz! 40 Hfe is the minimum listed, but Ge is notoriously inconsistent, and Hfe always dependent on the collector current. The truth comes out in the testing. If they are of decent gain, and not too leaky (see that article for suggested values), then throw them in a circuit and see what happens.
As for the diodes, its all ears.
Good luck!
- Joe

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