Russian Germaniums?

[raulduke]

Thought it might be

Goes without saying that my Cyrillic is not the best!

[rick989]

Hello folks, I'm new to the forum. I was looking for info on the Russian germanium transistors available on eBay and found this thread. I hope it is not against forum etiquette to revive this thread again but the topic is obviously still relevant.

I am thinking about buying a box of 100 of the GT308V from Gordeluxe. I have several questions:

1. Has anyone bought any of these transistors recently?

2. How did they sound in a fuzz face?

3. How many good ones were there in a hundred?

4. Anyone ever have any troubles buying anything from Russia?

5. Ebay info says that buyers maybe subject to additional fees for customs clearance. Anyone ever have them charge you any fees like this?

6. Does anyone have any suggestions for any other sources for quantities (like 100-150) of germanium transistors useable for fuzz faces currently available?

Thanks for any info you all can provide . 

[raulduke]

Hey dude,

Welcome to the forum.

In response to your questions.

1. I bought some a couple of months ago. I haven't got around to using them yet though 

2. Haven't trief them in any circuit yet (had other things going on). However, please note you can use a wide gain range of transistor in a FF.

3. Depends what you define as 'good'. I got a pretty good stash overall (not many below hfe of 60). However, some have bought batches where many fall into the 40-50 hfe gain range, some have had batches where some are in the 20's. This does not mean that they are useless.

4. My experience was good, but other people have varying experiences.

5. I did not have to pay any customs. I'm in the UK so I don't know if that makes any difference. You might have to pay customs if you are in the US. Customs charges are always random in my experience.

The general consensus is, I think, that it's 'worth a punt' (to use the English phrase). They are so cheap its not really a big risk. Take the plunge and see what you get.

Hello folks, I'm new to the forum. I was looking for info on the Russian germanium transistors available on eBay and found this thread. I hope it is not against forum etiquette to revive this thread again but the topic is obviously still relevant.

I am thinking about buying a box of 100 of the GT308V from Gordeluxe. I have several questions:

1. Has anyone bought any of these transistors recently?

2. How did they sound in a fuzz face?

3. How many good ones were there in a hundred?

4. Anyone ever have any troubles buying anything from Russia?

5. Ebay info says that buyers maybe subject to additional fees for customs clearance. Anyone ever have them charge you any fees like this?

6. Does anyone have any suggestions for any other sources for quantities (like 100-150) of germanium transistors useable for fuzz faces currently available?

Thanks for any info you all can provide .

[midwayfair]

rick989: You have to pay close attention to the letters following the numbers. There are different gain ranges -- for instance, MP38A is 40-120 hfe. MP38B almost never gets above 40. Don't go by what the ad tells you -- there is a datasheet on the internet that has all Russian germanium transistors and their US/UK/Continental equivalents. Go by that.

I think the common rules for gain ranges in fuzz faces are bunk; I think it has more to do with the ratio of gain ranges and other factors.

If you get stuff that's low, build a Harmonic Percolator. Use them in Q1 in a fuzz face or Q2 in a Buzzaround or Tone Bender. If you get stuff that's leaky, use them for Q3 in a Buzzaround or Tone Bender. There are very few useless transistors, and Russian germaniums are better than most.

[rick989]

Thanks for thge replies. I found a very negative review of the GT308V on you tube so I opted against those. I went with a bag of 150 AC125z VI. Let's see what happens ....

[atreidesheir]

please keep us posted.  we can never have too much info about this stuff.

[raulduke]

Had a play with my russian ge tr's over the weekend, and just as an update, with a few tweaks my GT308V's sound great in a fuzz face.

I had to add a small (100pf) cap between base and collector of Q1 to cut down on some 'fizz' and hiss I was getting. This made a big improvement to the tone (to my ears anyhow).

I changed the traditional 330R/470R resistor to 820R (higher output volume).

I also added a 50K pot (wired as variable resistor) on the input (fulltone 69 mod), and an output filter copied directly from the Fuzzmite.

The rest was stock fuzzface.

The circuit sounds fantastic like this. It's still on the breadboard at the moment, and I can upload a schematic if anyone is interested.

[nzCdog]

I'd like to see the schematic if you dont mind

[Effectsiation]

Thanks for the replies. I found a very negative review of the GT308V on youtube so I opted against those. I went with a bag of 150 AC125z VI. Let's see what happens ....

Would love to hear how this turned out!