Tung-sol ET-12 transistor for rangemaster.

[morcey2]

I am finally getting around to a rangemaster and picked up a NOS Tung-Sol ET-12 PNP germanium tranny.  (If I say it that way, the $6.00 I spent on it feels better).  It is marked as a NTE126A equivalent and test with an hfe of 85, which according to the doc on geofex is right in the middle of the desired range.  Here is the oddball part.  It has 4 leads.  The pinout on the box has them labeled E,B,C,S.  I'm assuming 'S' is shield?  or 'Stay away from this lead' .  If it's shield, I assume it should be grounded.  Question is on a +ground circuit, is it grounded positively or negatively?  I can measure the hfe in my DMM without the 's' lead connected, so maybe I should just leave it floating. 

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Matt

[MartyMart]

"S" is the case itself, you can leave that "hangin" for now, perhaps it's meant for a ground point
and in this case + is ground as stated.
Try it left unconnected and see if the noise is fine.
MM.

[morcey2]

I'll do that.  I was worried that I overpaid for it because I bought it locally, but then I looked at the prices for germs on smallbear and realized that if it sounds good, I might have a good source. 

Matt.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The shield only matters if you are doing radio work, float it if you want. I guess it is neater tied to ground, though.