TRANSISTORS: Soviet Germanium Transistor Data

Germanium transistors from the former USSR are cheap, generally high quality, available in large quantities and very cheap compared to their European counterparts.    They are their own thing and are not direct copies of European transistors – you can find similar transistors, but they are never like-for-like replacements.  They nearly always sound different and … Read more

TRANSISTOR / DIODE: Soviet Semiconductor Device Designations

This has been transcribed from the U.S. Joint Publications Research Service No. 569 from 1978.  Translations of Eastern European Scientific Affairs.   Among other things, it contains a guide to Soviet semiconductors.  The publication can be found in this folder.    It’s a handy guide to Soviet transistor and diode numbering, as well as their … Read more

TRANSISTORS: Soviet Transistor Pinouts

Russian transistor pinouts 497b122fdebd

 Just a little reference to Soviet-era transistor pinouts.    SOVIET TRANSISTOR PINOUTS note:  in addition to potentially different pinouts, some Soviet-era transistors can have the case connected to the base – which is not good if it touches anything else.  The dot on the case usually marks the emitter, not the collector as often found on European … Read more

Soviet Colour Codes for Germanium Diodes

Russian diode chart 2196da67ecf6

Looking for some affordable germanium diodes?  It’s hard not to go past the price, quality and availability of the old soviet stock.  They can behave a little differently than their European and American friends, but otherwise, they are well worth a look as an affordable substitute. BEST 1N341 / 1N34A SUBSTITUTES USING SOVIET-ERA DIODES Д9Б … Read more