How long do you wait for readings to settle when measuring germaniums?

[LucifersTrip]

- When I put it, I find around Ice0 = 200-250µA,
- 2-3 minutes later, it reads 120-150µA,
- 10 minutes later it reads 80-100µA,
- 1 hour later, if I wait for, it will read around 80.

Aa I wrote in my first post, I have been using R.G's method...and indeed, what you describe here is very similar to the way my readings progress. Though, the 2N223's took longer to drop to the bottom plateau than most of the others.

My question is...If a transistor takes 10 minutes to drop to a lower leakage, how long will it take a fuzz pedal to sound "right" after you engage the effect...It is not under the same load as in the ge test, but there must be a correlation.

I have noticed that the ge transistors that sound the best so far have been the ones where the collector voltage reading stays the steadiest after playing for a bit.

[tubelectron]

Well, LucifersTrip,

My question is...If a transistor takes 10 minutes to drop to a lower leakage, how long will it take a fuzz pedal to sound "right" after you engage the effect...It is not under the same load as in the ge test, but there must be a correlation.

I have noticed that the ge transistors that sound the best so far have been the ones where the collector voltage reading stays the steadiest after playing for a bit.

When you manipulate the transistor to install it the measurement socket, you take it in your hands, so that's why I mentioned a "recovery" time of 10' to let the conditions going as stable as possible to make a measurement as close as it would be if it was in a pedal. Touching the transistor is a special situation that you don't find on an effect pedal, so I think that - by the difference in the conditions - there is no direct correlation, and in the pedal, there would be little or no "recovery" time to wait for that purpose.

But there may be an "heating" time to wait - by playing a bit - and nonetheless you are right : a stable transistor will behave better, or at least, more consistently than a leaky one.

A+!

[petemoore]

  they never settle, part of the character.
  Stick 'em in the fridge until they're about as cold as will ever be used, bias for that temp.
  Take 'em out of the fridge and let it warm up 'till they're as hot as you'd ever play them. Bias for that temp.
  Might not bais below/above certain temps.
  Where' the bias begins to 'sound bad' or whatver is when it crosses over a parameter that makes you think it doesn't sound as good. these parameters are different for every FF, and they drift !
  ...ok so you put a pot on the top of the box for 'cool' or 'warm' temperatures as well as off-bias pinched or gated tones.
  That pot value and taper should be derived from the cold, hot, and 'likely' tests, so it's range either gates it totally out or tends to only sweep across 'usable bias parameters' [remember that the temps alters these...takes a bit of working with and then you can decide what the 'optimum' temperature range is for improved tone.
  The temperature influences air and the other components also [such as speaker, strings 'n fingers etc.], but Ge's tend to have the worst tempterature immunity...it seemed logical to be able to compensate for this in my case there was cold air, on my sun drenched pedalboard, radiant heat dissipated into the air...big differences in temp, I found it easier to get it warmed up than to cool it down...bring an ice bag I guess...
  The day in the sun I hit the switch and whapped the Tonebent strings, the signal said gjggjjjjknerrrrkfft fft   fffffft ft f f f gak...almost totally gated, had to resort to the DIST+, basically I get lazy/forgetful and the DIST+ always just works the same when I hit that switch.

[LucifersTrip]

When you manipulate the transistor to install it the measurement socket, you take it in your hands, so that's why I mentioned a "recovery" time of 10' to let the conditions going as stable as possible to make a measurement as close as it would be

I actually use gloves and I believe they do work. If I touch the transistor after it is in the measurement socket with the gloves on, little or nothing happens to the readings...

But there may be an "heating" time to wait - by playing a bit - and nonetheless you are right : a stable transistor will behave better, or at least, more consistently than a leaky one.
A+!

Yes, I do believe that in addition to leakage, stability should be a definite factor when choosing ge transistors.