Old transistors in NEW production (including Germanium types)

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Browsing for datasheets I found this almost unknown amazing Semiconductor Company: Comset.
They seem to have bought some European (Belgium based) Philips plant and keep producing all those mostly obsolete or unavailable transistors.

NEW production, obviously with the same dies and masks , but updated where it counts, I found incredible to find, say, long gone BD130 ... ROHS compliant !!!!!! :eek:

They also have Germanium transistors, including small signal PNP and NPN ones, AD162 , AD149, ASZ15, etc.
Unbelievable.

This is not unreliable/suspect EBay or rusty NOS but the real thing, freshly made by an European Company.

Just check:
Comset Semiconductors Home page

List of products, with datasheets:
Comset Semiconductors Products Page
Liste des Produits Comset Semiconductors

Proof they are a factory and not old stock resellers is that most types can be ordered in commercial quantities, for OEM users; while for mere mortals, meaning service Techs, Hobbyists, etc. , they have a Belgian based online distributor which accepts Paypal:
Electols, The best source for electronics components

with very reasonable prices , such as:
* BD130 ... 2€
* 2N3442 ... 1.75€
* 2N3773 ... 1.75€ now you can repair those old Sunn/Ampeg/Acoustic amplifiers
* AD149 ... 3€
* AD162 ... 1.25€
* 40411 ... 4€
* 2N3054 ... TO66 metallic case :eek: ... 1.10€ ideal for old VOX amps ;)

a real Time Machine.

They know no new designs will be made using these, they state they cater for the service/replacement market , mainly Industrial machinery (train/Medical/manufacturing controllers/communications/telephony) which must be kept working, not replaced or "improved" so they need the exact same original part.

In any case , a bonus to DIYers who often delve in old/classic equipment :)

Now "unobtanium" takes a step back :D
 
Extremely cool discovery.
No more cutting and splicing boards to make new "better" parts work.
Real TO126 TO18 & TO139 packages.
No more supporting oligarchs in certain infamous countries who treat their workers & neighbors like dirt. The reason I don't buy & throw away new trash daily like my neighbors.
May they live long & prosper right there in the EU. And not be shut down & turned into a 66% correct relabeler like C*****l Semi by bankers.
 
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They're fabless so depend on others to make the die for their parts, and probably in at least some cases are packaging die archived against future demand by their former manufacturers. They've been around for quite a while, but are not exactly a household name.. lol I think they are a practical choice for repair parts - but seem expensive for general hobbyist use.

Rochester Electronics in Newburyport, MA has served as a secure repository of die from discontinued semi-conductor product lines for decades now: https://www.rocelec.com/ This would be one potential source of die. (Most U.S. and many Japanese companies use them for coverage of parts that can't go completely obsolete due to contractual obligations)

Aerospace, military contractors, medical and mass transit manufacturers would be typical customers.
 
Well, they seem to source finished transistors from Comset :)
The online seller company will first sell what they have on stock, then either order more fresh made ones if they seem to sell regularly or plain state "no more available" if it's a *sloooowwww* seller.

In any case, it's an oasis in the middle of the desert.

FWIW I have been involved in servicing medical equipment and in general, a Hospital can spend as much as is needed on existing equipment maintenance, think a defibrillator, a gas-in-blood analyzer, an 80's but still working well CAT scanner (in fact I was scanned myself in an old 80's Marconi scanner after a partial stroke which left my left face and neck paralized :( ) , because it's considered "normal maintenance" , no need for special authorization, while buying a new one is a complex Political problem, needing a public demand published in newspapers, getting price quotes, approving/voting on one of them, a mess, while "repairing what's already installed" rises no eyebrows.

Plus, contrary to common "hobbyist Audio" custom, on real world critical equipment you keep it working as is , period.

Plus you don't "mess with a winning team" , I have repaired blood analyzers where PH meter depended on miniature pencil tubes , some sections were based on silicon or germanium transistors, and final evaluation and display was made by TTL chips or early microprocessors (think Z80 or 6502) , all on the same device.

When life is at stake, depending on *proven* stuff takes the lead position.

Under those premises, being able to get original parts, even if currently outdated, is a big advantage.

I bet Metro/subway/train controller stuff runs under the same premises, let alone newspaper/magazine printing presses and similar stuff.

In a nutshell, there is still a good market for "obsolete" parts.
 
I had trouble with a 1980's Maplin 225WRMS amp with 2N3055/MJ2955.
I had to buy in new output transistors.
The amplifier oscillated badly with the new transistors and I had to increase VAS capacitor to stop the oscillation.
Yes.
Old ones were probably Hometaxial ones, "slow" (800 kHz FT) but robust (same as those 2N3773); while modern ones (think ST and such) are all Epitaxial, faster (>3MHz FT) but weaker, big time.
And if amp was compensated for old ones, new ones may very well make amp unstable.
 
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