BC556C or BC546C for swap

jkeny · 19th May 2009, 11:35 AM

I bought from Mouser 100 each of these high HFE transistors with the intention of getting matched pairs out of them. I got them in ammo form so each type is from the same batch.

On testing, using a DMM with hfe, I find that all the 546Cs are in the 500 range & all the 556Cs are in the 400 range. I need closer matching than this.

I have a small no of these from another source & they are the opposite (BC546Cs 460-480, BC556Cs 500-520).

Anybody got any complementaries that would match for swapping?
BC546C range 500-520
BC556C range 430-460

jkeny · 19th May 2009, 12:20 PM

All mine are tested and marked, BTW

h_a · 19th May 2009, 01:12 PM

May I ask you why you need hfe-matched complementary pairs?

I am not aware of anybody or any design that would require or even recommend this - so I'm curious!

Have fun, Hannes

jkeny · 19th May 2009, 01:30 PM

Aha, yes, what a dummy I am - I only need to match within the types - I got so caught up in measuring & forgot about to look at the schematic - Doh!

peranders · 19th May 2009, 04:06 PM

PNP's are not as good as NPN's so a qualified guess is that you probably won't find any pair NPN/PNP pairs.

19th May 2009, 11:35 AM	#1
jkeny Banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Dublin	BC556C or BC546C for swap I bought from Mouser 100 each of these high HFE transistors with the intention of getting matched pairs out of them. I got them in ammo form so each type is from the same batch. On testing, using a DMM with hfe, I find that all the 546Cs are in the 500 range & all the 556Cs are in the 400 range. I need closer matching than this. I have a small no of these from another source & they are the opposite (BC546Cs 460-480, BC556Cs 500-520). Anybody got any complementaries that would match for swapping? BC546C range 500-520 BC556C range 430-460

19th May 2009, 01:12 PM	#3
h_a diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Graz, Austria	May I ask you why you need hfe-matched complementary pairs? I am not aware of anybody or any design that would require or even recommend this - so I'm curious! Have fun, Hannes __________________ fresh matched IRFP240/IRFP9240 fets \|\| AlephJ/JX-kits F5 transistor kits \|\| Burning Amp BA-1/2/3 transistor kits

19th May 2009, 04:06 PM	#5
peranders Electrons are yellow and more is better! diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Göteborg, Sweden Blog Entries: 4	PNP's are not as good as NPN's so a qualified guess is that you probably won't find any pair NPN/PNP pairs. __________________ /Per-Anders (my first name) or P-A as my friends call me

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19th May 2009, 12:20 PM	#2
jkeny Banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Dublin	All mine are tested and marked, BTW

19th May 2009, 01:30 PM	#4
jkeny Banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Dublin	Aha, yes, what a dummy I am - I only need to match within the types - I got so caught up in measuring & forgot about to look at the schematic - Doh!

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