True & that's why it is always good to buy from big authorised seller like Digikey or Mouser.
I have done curve traces for a beer per part, and would offer this again.
Yes , one could DIY assemble a system with software and affordable, PC controllable power supplies plus a suitable test jig but you'd also need to spend a lot of time getting up to speed on correct operation and verifying results. An offer of a few beers for your services makes a lot more sense. 
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I was just thinking that since the counterfeiting seems more and more widespread is precisely this kind of servicing that DIYers and technicians would have need more easily. 👍
However the question seems to remain open since does not seem easy to be able to obtain a certainty about the topic, except for the trace of the curves that generally speaking is not easy to access.
Will there be a shared and reliable alternative between/to those already mentioned?
Probably not while servicing is a business and incomes depend on service folk being reliably good at it.
Servicing should really be performed by trained technicians - guys that where possible, will only use reliable parts sources and don't gamble with using or reselling cheap parts from platform sellers. That's if they want to at least stay in business and maintain respect. What you do for your own projects is your choice alone but you can always warn others here about the times you do get burnt and the sellers who did it.
Servicing should really be performed by trained technicians - guys that where possible, will only use reliable parts sources and don't gamble with using or reselling cheap parts from platform sellers. That's if they want to at least stay in business and maintain respect. What you do for your own projects is your choice alone but you can always warn others here about the times you do get burnt and the sellers who did it.
It could be worse. We could go back to the days when you couldn’t get a transistor rated over 60 VCEO from Digikey or Mouser.
Using a curve tracer for hobby work, DIY, is not practical for most people.
If you build one, it still needs calibration, or it will not be trustworthy.
Like above, stick to a trusted source, or buy good copies if you know the ones with original markings are bound to be fake, for example the TDA series chips went out of production at ST before 2000.
So I would buy the ones with the maker's mark, rather than with a fake ST mark.
CDIL are an old company, they have been around since 1964, and are at least consistent...they may not be best in class, that is a big debate point with so many companies changing hands and names, but same components purchased years apart are within spec, and that is also important.
And to my knowledge, nobody fakes their product.
In that sense, it is a better than average quality item, easily available in India at least, so more trustworthy than dubious fake mark stuff.
I have no ties to CDIL, and they may not be available in your area. But I think I made my point.
If you build one, it still needs calibration, or it will not be trustworthy.
Like above, stick to a trusted source, or buy good copies if you know the ones with original markings are bound to be fake, for example the TDA series chips went out of production at ST before 2000.
So I would buy the ones with the maker's mark, rather than with a fake ST mark.
CDIL are an old company, they have been around since 1964, and are at least consistent...they may not be best in class, that is a big debate point with so many companies changing hands and names, but same components purchased years apart are within spec, and that is also important.
And to my knowledge, nobody fakes their product.
In that sense, it is a better than average quality item, easily available in India at least, so more trustworthy than dubious fake mark stuff.
I have no ties to CDIL, and they may not be available in your area. But I think I made my point.
I hope you guys come up with a good answer, I have a whole coffee can full of these. Most I think are OK. The Toshiba’s I’m unsure.
I'd want to know how you acquired them. If they are pulled from working amplifiers, only suspect or just discarded because its the manufacturers warranty or service condition, you may get lucky and still have perfectly good parts.
If someone is able to DIY a curve tracer, using it will not be an issue. It is no rocket science, really.
Have you looked at todays curve tracer designs out there? Calibration really is a non-issue for most of them. Mine is accurate and precise to the sub-milliamp level.
Just googleing for "2SA1941 equivalent".
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/2sa1943-o-q-/pnp-tht-transistors/toshiba/2sa1943-o-q/
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/2sc5200/npn-tht-transistors/toshiba/2sc5200-o-q/
Or the equivalent of the equivalent.
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/nte2329/pnp-tht-transistors/nte-electronics/
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/nte2328/npn-tht-transistors/nte-electronics/
Assuming them as real equivalents and since Toshiba 2SA1943 and 2SC5200 seem available from major dealers and currently in production is there a reason in order to not choose them?
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/2sa1943-o-q-/pnp-tht-transistors/toshiba/2sa1943-o-q/
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/2sc5200/npn-tht-transistors/toshiba/2sc5200-o-q/
Or the equivalent of the equivalent.
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/nte2329/pnp-tht-transistors/nte-electronics/
https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/nte2328/npn-tht-transistors/nte-electronics/
Assuming them as real equivalents and since Toshiba 2SA1943 and 2SC5200 seem available from major dealers and currently in production is there a reason in order to not choose them?
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Perhaps it is a personal choice that also depends on what exactly one wants or he is forced to want on circumstances, and we still don't exactly know those of the OP.
Furthermore it also depends on how much one gives importance to the fact that they are absolutely original (if existing) or not, so a personal choice too.
At the end of the day if I can't use the equivalent-original even with a different sign just as an exact replacement exactly as if they were original I could choose the original ones even with a different sign and find out which changes to make if possible in order to use them at their best, but this is my personal choice.
Furthermore it also depends on how much one gives importance to the fact that they are absolutely original (if existing) or not, so a personal choice too.
At the end of the day if I can't use the equivalent-original even with a different sign just as an exact replacement exactly as if they were original I could choose the original ones even with a different sign and find out which changes to make if possible in order to use them at their best, but this is my personal choice.
The Toshiba’s I’m pretty sure are ebay fakes, their legs are very thin. The other transistors came out of old equipment, a Proton amp, a Harmon Kardon receiver. The HK had literally dozens of transistors! Oddly the transformer went in that one.
