where do you guys get germ transistors without paying a ton?

[adapt]

i feel like everyone on ebay wants 20 bucks for 2-3 of these and they don't even measure them. is there a better way?

[IvIark]

Russian.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141149925513
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141218740880
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131090760514

[tjdracz]

Buying in bulk is one thing. Other... well, there's not much. I'm slightly delayed with setting up my shop fully but I might roll it out with the stock I've got in place now, including bunch of germaniums. Measured and tested for duds, European, Japanese, US. Should be £1-£1.50 per transistor for most of the types, unless I decide to sell my super mojo Mullard OC76's which are SURELY like £10 each ;p But seriously, would rather use them in some giveaway than sell them for obscene ammounts.
Are you interested in any particular types/circuits? I could hook you up with some from my stash when sending those ME4003's

[tjdracz]

And there's minifux1 on ebay who's selling them on auctions and they quite often go for reasonable prices. Problem is, tested and quite probably leftovers from cherry picked stashes. Got mixed results, some were absolutely great, one pack leaked 400uA+ and the other one was all <50 hfe. It's hit and miss. Always better to by tested but quick look on ebay, you can get Tungsram AC128 for  £1.50 but tested one, ramps up price to £3.50. Madness!

[adapt]

well, i'm building a spaceman gemini III and need 3 germs, 80-85 PNP, 110-115 PNP and 120-130 NPN... kind of a lot to ask.

[tjdracz]

Don't have any NPN's I'm afraid but you should be able to get something like AC176 or AC187 quite cheaply on ebay. PNP's, no problem. Do you know what kind of leakage is needed? Are they best without any leakage whatsoever, medium leakage, higher leakage? Let me know and I'll send a pair your way :)

[rocket88]

I've got some NPN's in that range actually . If you want I can look to see which ones they are and how many I've got. If I got a few that I can spare they'll be Russian, so hope that's not a problem. BTW, is there a vero for the spaceman gemini III ?

[adapt]

wow, you guys are too much.

looks like the leakage is pretty low... is that ok?

russian doesn't bother me at all...

yeah there's a vero for it, it's a digi2t creation, i dont know how people feel about linking up in here but if you google "gemini III dual fuzz dissected" it will come right up. it really is best to read the whole thread, the pedal is pretty complicated, with strange part values and pretty exact specifications.

[IvIark]

It's no problem linking anything like this, I don't think we're in competition with anyone, and we're all on the same side at the end of the day as far as I'm concerned.

[tjdracz]

Sent you an email, will pop two AC125 in the post for you :)

[adapt]

you are a real gent sir. thanks so much, incredible!

if that's the case IvImark then here is the thread on it: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=97493

[rocket88]

it's no problem adapt, it's what being part of a community is like, we're all here to help each other. i actually feel like over here we are much closer and helpful then some others. i mean how many people in another country would be order parts for you and send them to you without trying to make anything from it, (i'm looking at you mark, tom, javi, many others, myself included). but, back to the transistors at hand, I unfortunately only have 1 NPN within the right gain range that is low leakage, but many that have leakage in the +300uA range, not sure if they will work in the circuit though. In the link you posted about the build the build notes say to use an AC176.

Also, in the notes this comment was made:
"Here is the updated vero, there were some additional corrections where caps were concerned. Also, I went with Russian Ge trannies on this build. I found that it was easier to find good trannies (read, NOT LEAKY AS ALL HELL), and they gave me a much beefier fuzz than the AC128/AC176 combo. I also teeter-toddered on Q5. I wasn't thrilled with the 2N2222 in this slot, but I found that a 2N3700 sounded better. Then, I tried a BC109B... NIRVANA! Anyway, you can really experiment with different trannies here, sky's the limit." The russians look like GT402's for Q1-Q2, and an MP38A in Q3, which is what I would be using. not sure if different hfe's were used then the ones you quoted.