Russian Germaniums?

[FredGarvin]

Not to burst your bubble, I bought a 100 Tungsram AC128 off of that seller you're mentioning and they're mostly low hfe and a lot of leakage.

[night-B]

Not to burst your bubble, I bought a 100 Tungsram AC128 off of that seller you're mentioning and they're mostly low hfe and a lot of leakage.

I'm not a pro but I heard that Tungsram is a poor quality brand. As much as I can, I'll try to buy Mullard or others high quality brands.
I'll test the hfe and leakage and I'll never sell or use the bad ones.

[dwstanford]

I just purchased a quantity of 100, GT308B for $38.00 bones plus shipping. I'm hoping these will fair better because of their age, 1990. And, if they don't, no sweat. I've spent more on beer an pretzels!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Germanium-PNP-Transistors-GT308B-USSR-1990-QTY-100-/310319330642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4840793552

I thought about ordering some of these.  Let me know how they turn out once you receive them. 

[FredGarvin]

I received them the other day and started to go through them. Unfortunately, they all seem to have low hfe 45-80, the odd one near 90, but, strangely they have little to no leakage. My Peak DCA55 reads zero leakage. I've breadboarded a fuzz face and I'm in the process of biasing them to see if they sound good. I'll be back with the results soon.

[cjkbug]

I just got my dca in the mail yesterday. those things are amazing. no more math, or checking datasheets for pinouts. I spent 45 minutes sorting ge transistors last night. makes working with unfamiliar devices so much easier. money well spent.

[FredGarvin]

Well said, brother. I hear ya. If and when your battery dies, maybe you already know this, the best place to get replacement batteries is at Walmart. They have a 2 pack for $13.00 bucks. The batteries aren't cheap. 

[night-B]

I just received mine today woohoooo !
I've got a huuuuge stock of NOS ac128, ac127, 2n404, get872, oc139, oc602, and nkt275 to test

Edit : like Fred said, the ac128 bags from minifux1 have high leakage (0.1 to 0.8mA), but all the others are at 0mA or almost nothing.
I've ordered some Fuzz Face boards from MBP, does anybody know if transistors like oc602 (with hfe of 20 and 30) can offer a very light fuzz/boost? I'd like to build a high gain, a mid gain and a low gain fuzz in 3 different boxes. I've seen on youtube that some builders adjust the bias on sun faces to get a light boost and I'd like to get that type of sound on one of my pedals  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJbM9kZrPVU
Thanks !

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[jimmybjj]

Did anyone find any of those russian transistors (the one's on ebay that you can get 100 of) of any value for fuzz's?

[cjkbug]

yep sure are, I've got another hundred on order. I got a batch of the gt308b's and out of a hundred I got about 20-25 between 75-110hfe with next to 0 leakage most were 60 to 65hfe I got some otheres that werent so hot. but have gotten ore than enough to justify buying them there instead of from small bear. the 308's sound nice in a ff circuit. dark and smooth with a nice even decay. I've got a mkIII/ff hybrid I'm gonna try them out in soon. should have build reports to follow soon. I got 100 of the 308's for $35+ shipping. they should last me quite a long while. I'm gonna stock up before the prices skyrocket.

[jimmybjj]

yep sure are, I've got another hundred on order. I got a batch of the gt308b's and out of a hundred I got about 20-25 between 75-110hfe with next to 0 leakage most were 60 to 65hfe I got some otheres that werent so hot. but have gotten ore than enough to justify buying them there instead of from small bear. the 308's sound nice in a ff circuit. dark and smooth with a nice even decay. I've got a mkIII/ff hybrid I'm gonna try them out in soon. should have build reports to follow soon. I got 100 of the 308's for $35+ shipping. they should last me quite a long while. I'm gonna stock up before the prices skyrocket.

Awesome. Which seller did you use? Are you getting the same ones?

[JakeFuzz]

Well I finally broke down and bought a big ol batch of these. I bought 50 IT308B (GT308V) and 10 GT309D and G from gordelux. Hopefully they live up. Some people are saying they sound better than OC140's  that would be interesting. I am excited. I also picked up a pair of NOS Sony AC128's from BYOC, so lots of stuff to report when it all comes in. I went with the IT308B because the JB Fuzz Face has one as Q2 and the GT309's because I read that these had really consistent specs.

[jimmybjj]

awesome, very interested in seeing what your opinion of these are. I have been on the fence about spending the money for some of these.

[JakeFuzz]

You know what? If i find a combination that I like and I have a few extra Ill just send you a pair so you can try them out. Hopefully I will have a bunch of good ones! Wish I had a camera so I could record how they sound.

[jimmybjj]

You know what? If i find a combination that I like and I have a few extra Ill just send you a pair so you can try them out. Hopefully I will have a bunch of good ones! Wish I had a camera so I could record how they sound.

Wow, that would be awesome if you can. I appreciate you doing that, let me know how much to send you.

[dwstanford]

I got a pair of the ac128's from byoc and they sounded pretty good.  For 12 bucks, definitely worth a shot. I also ordered 150 ac125's from ebay.  I bought ten first and they were low leakages in useable gain ranges, so i went for a crap ton.  Theyre great sounding transistors for fuzz faces and particularly tonebenders as they were created as a replacement for the mythical oc81d.  I have been tempted to buy some of those 308's and 309's, but have yet to pull the trigger.  Let me know how they turn out.  If you have any extra pairs, i'll swap you for some of mine. (if you're interested)