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Components and Circuits For discussions about component types, alternatives and availability, circuit configurations and modifications etc. Discussions here should be of a general nature and not about specific sets.

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Old 7th Sep 2018, 8:41 pm   #1
G6Tanuki
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Default If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Following on from my thread about your preferred 'go-to' set of valves, what would your choice be for semiconductors?

My suggestions are -

BC109: generic do-anything low-level transistor. Go for the 'C' highest-gain grouping and then throttle it back where necessary.

BFY51: medium-power transistor that works well in regulators/relay-drivers etc and can deliver a Watt or so of RF output up to 10MHz.

AC153: a better functional-replacement for the old OC72/OC81

AC187/188: low-power complementary output-pair for audio amps up to a couple of Watts. The 'K' variants are conveniently fitted with cases incorporating a hole to let you bolt them to a heatsink.

OC35/NKT404: Classic TO3 power-transistors that work well both as audio-amps and as switching-transistors in inverters.

2N3055: You can't build a low-voltage high-current power supply without these.

BF981: Dual-gate MOSFET for RF-amp/mixer duty up to 500MHz.

J310: a classic JFET useful for oscillators, mixers, switching, cascode RF-amps.

AF127: old-style Germanium RF/IF amp that substitutes for OC44/45 and the whiskery AF11x series.

MJE340: an overlooked high-voltage transistor that works well as a single-ended Class-A output stage with 200+ volts supply.

MRF428: beefy Motorola transistor that can be used in a simple 150-Watt HF amplifier. Think of it as the semiconductor-generation's equivalent of the 807. Beware of fakes!

MD108: a good up-to-several-hundred-MHz double-balanced-mixer-in-a-can.

[I won't go into MMICs here....]

As to diodes:

1N914: generic diode, works well in balanced-mixers and detectors.

OA47: "Gold-bonded" Germanium diode - great for use in detector/noise-limiter applications - it's my go-to for crystal-sets!

BY127: Long in the tooth but still good for HT rectification - I used loads of these in voltage-quadruplers.


What would you add??
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Old 7th Sep 2018, 9:05 pm   #2
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Interesting thread. I already have a library of parts I use, mainly optimised for cost.

2n3904/2n3906 - literally most things.

Mpsh10 - most faster things ie small signal HF amps.

2n3819 - cheap and capable JFET. VFO buffers, switches etc. J113 seems to mostly work for this too.

BD139/BD140 - medium power GP/drivers/audio.

IRF510 - magical mosfet. Seems to suit a lot of tasks from switch, regulator, PA etc. Dirt cheap and quite difficult to blow up unintentionally.

1n4148 - any small signal function.

1n4004 - rectifier.

1n5711 - signal switching/ detection.

1sv149 - cheap as chips varactor (aliexpress)
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Old 7th Sep 2018, 9:38 pm   #3
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Hi

A few that I'd add would be:

BC557/8/9 bog standard PNP signal transistors as well as the BC547/8/9 NPN versions

BU208A line output transistor commonly used in many colour TVs

BY157/8/9 fast recovery diodes used in TV line output stages and SMPS

BY228 and BY448 fast recovery efficiency diodes for line output stages

BYX71 EW modulator diodes

BT106 mains rectifier thyristors

1N916 (lower capacitance version of the 1N914)

There are no doubt many others that will come to mind


Regards
Symon
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 12:14 am   #4
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

AD161/162 complementary pair as low-volts, high-gain PA for portables-with-punch. (I've always liked the two-hole metal "diamond" packaging for power transistors, whether the smaller SO55/TO66 or the larger TO3, they give confidence for durability and heat transfer compared to later, cheaper single hole-mount plastic types preferred by OEMs).

1N5391-5399 jellybean rectifiers- similar size and price to 1N400x but 1.5x current rating. Easy to remember series as immediately before 1N540x. Haven't used 1N400x for just about ever!

BYV95,96- also 1.5A, additionally fast recovery and tiny glass pellet package.

BA159, BY133 for HT rectifiers.

BT151 for "ha'porth of tar" crowbars for pricey/precious kit.

MJE340 not overlooked here!- good and slightly unusual combo of good hFE and high voltage, also useful for HV PSU use are 2N3439 (comparator/drive) and BU326 (pass), the latter also with good hFE and trusty TO3 package.

2N3866, 2N5109 for services to HF goodness, whether receiving or transmitting.
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 5:12 am   #5
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

There are a few there I actively avoid.

2N3055 - a great transistor and one of the absolute classics. But the 2N3055 marking is used now as a dumping-ground for rejects of far livelier devices. It's become rather difficult to obtain devices which are as tame as the originals. Finding devices to repair Quad 303 amplifiers is a frustrating exercise.

2N3819 - the classic JFET. It has very wide ranges of Idss and Vp which means you may have to select devices to work in some circuits. This can confuse and discourage beginners if you use them in a circuit to be published.

The 1N400x family are OK at the low voltage end of their range, but the high voltage rated parts have some very dirty habits. Think of them as RF noise generators. They seem to be everyone's go-to diode, but are best avoided.

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Old 9th Sep 2018, 7:33 am   #6
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

The greatest germanium TO-3 cased switching transistor of all time, it always gets forgotten.

It was better than any AU*.* series transistor and it is an essential spare part for anyone repairing the horizontal output stages in germanium transistor television sets from the 1960's era:

The 2N3731 has a very high frequency response, rapid recovery time, high voltage rating (I think 320V CE voltage off hand) and a low C-E saturation voltage (look up the specs).

Then, as a much lower power counterpart, was Mullard's AF118 for video output stages. Killed off by the Tin whisker effect. But luckily the Japanese came to the party with the 2SA358, that makes a great replacement.

Without being obsessed with high frequency capable Germanium transistors, what about the chunky & robust ADZ12 power transistor. The massive bright nickel plated copper case and style was awe inspiring. RCA had the 2N174 as its rough equivalent, but it lacked the style.

It is also hard to go past a genuine 2N3055, that is the one with the original die inside, not the plethora of 1/4 sized die fakes that have overwhelmed the market.

Sure, there are plenty of modern epoxy cased transistors which out spec all of the above, but they lack the quality and style of the ones cited.
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 7:42 am   #7
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Just to help make the point I have attached two photos of ADZ12's from my collection. They make modern epoxy cased transistors look like junk.
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 9:33 am   #8
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

1N5404 - 3A range of the 1N4*** sereis

There are plastic cased 2N3055 (T0-47?) equivalents IIRC that would eliminate the need for mounting hardware.

BC547/557 are my go-to TUN and TUP.... which reminds me, Elektor did a nice selective range for 'universal' devices that also included a range of diodes.
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 3:15 pm   #9
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

I have to add the BC546 and BC556 as they are useful transistors for low voltage valve circuitry. I have other high voltage transitors, but due to their general lower gain they are perhaps of less general use.
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 6:10 pm   #10
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Good suggestions and normally at a fair price(s).
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Old 9th Sep 2018, 6:25 pm   #11
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Not generally in vogue now, I can remember a time when I thought that the 2N706 was device a that could be relied upon in a range of roles.

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Old 9th Sep 2018, 10:52 pm   #12
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Bipolar transistors:

MJE340/350 NPN and PNP, high-ish voltage, couple of watts.
BC547/557 NPN and PNP, small signal.
2N6675 10A 400V NPN power

JFETS

J310/J174 N and P channel small signal

MOSFETS

IRFP350 will do most things (N-channel)

Diodes

1N4148 small-signal diode
UF4007 1A 1,000V rectifier - fast-recovery, use for SMPS as well as 50Hz
1N5817 1A 20V Schottky rectifier
A 10A 400V fast-recovery diode
BZX79 series 350mW Zener diodes
BZT03 series 1.5W Zener diodes

With the above, you can do most things (RF is a bit left out I admit)

Let's not include IC's!
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Old 10th Sep 2018, 7:20 am   #13
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

For RF, I'd add 2N5109 or 2N3866 TO-5 jobs that will do a couple of watts, or make a high dynamic range preamp.

2N5179 for low power and low noise.

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Old 10th Sep 2018, 9:01 am   #14
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Quote:
For RF, I'd add 2N5109 or 2N3866 TO-5
Along similar lines is the 2N4427 which was really popular in VHF lowish power output stages around 1W, looking really cute with a round Thermalloy heat sink. However, if there was a transistor that has been cloned more than a 2N3055, this would have to be it. Most I have bought over the last decade have been poor quality.
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Old 10th Sep 2018, 9:53 am   #15
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Some years ago, a firm was shutting down and was dumping a lot of parts. 'Did I know anyone who wanted some boxes of transistors?' I got asked. They were first quality 2N3866s with a house stock number on them. So tens of thousands of the beasties were distributed throughout the amateur radio world via the QRP gang. It was so much better than going to landfill or for scrap metal.

I suspect there are large numbers of them still nesting in people's junk boxes all over the world.

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Old 10th Sep 2018, 8:20 pm   #16
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Argus25 View Post
Just to help make the point I have attached two photos of ADZ12's from my collection. They make modern epoxy cased transistors look like junk.
One of the Pye Vanguard FM25B radios I had used a pair of those as thetransmit inverter: they delivered enough HT to get me 60 Watts of continuous-carrier (from a QQV06/40A) without the inverter transistors getting noticeably warm to the touch.
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Old 10th Sep 2018, 8:35 pm   #17
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Germanium power transistors and the Royer oscillator could almost have been made for each other! It would probably be difficult to beat units like that inverter for their simplicity/efficiency intersect.
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Old 10th Sep 2018, 10:11 pm   #18
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

For a number of years I thought all you needed were BC107,8,9 BYY51 and TIP41 and TIP42 oh and a 2N3819 if you needed a FET

Having built amplifiers using AD161/162 AC126/7 I prefer not to remember those times

Forgive me I was still in my early teens

Truth is you soon find you need a 2N2222A a 2N3773 and any number of other devices.

If I could have just one the transistor that has saved me so very may times once I started work in 1975 it's the 2N2222A does most things that don't need big power or very high frequency but that's what the glassware is for

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Old 11th Sep 2018, 6:43 am   #19
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

I worked for a company once where we almost universally used the Ferranti ZTX450 / 550 transistors. Needless to say, there were many imaginative uses of them in homer projects.
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Old 11th Sep 2018, 8:38 am   #20
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Default Re: If you had to choose a range of semiconductors...

Quote:
Originally Posted by turretslug View Post
Germanium power transistors and the Royer oscillator could almost have been made for each other! It would probably be difficult to beat units like that inverter for their simplicity/efficiency intersect.
How true.

The other thing I like about the Royer configuration is that the inverter output is intrinsically short circuit proof, as if shorted out the feedback is killed and the transistors switch off. It was this fact that made the original Royer inverters also suited to CDI ignition, as when the SCR fires it effective shorts out the inverter, and then it restarts and recovers. The Royer inverter was also popular in early mobile radio equipment in the early 1960's . The Americans used 2N174's a lot, and in the UK the NKT404 was popular. I still have a box of them.

One of the reasons the germanium power transistors run low temperatures is the very low collector-emitter saturation voltage drops. Sometimes there can be more drive power lost in the B-E circuit than in the C-E circuit. Also, because of the limited HF response of the transistors, they were stable. If silicon transistors are substituted into the Royer circuit it often goes berserk with HF oscillations.
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