can 1N60 be used in place of 1N34A?

[jpm83]

I dont yet know where to use them, but the place where I'm going to order some caps and stuff has them for 0,25 eur price. They would be kind of reserve for clipping diodes and other places that call for germ diodes.

Janne

[soulsonic]

I think they are pretty much interchangeable.

[Jobet]

Yes they're interchangeable. The 1N60 has the added advantage of being smaller, so if you're going to use that for mods and stuff like that, it would be a space saver.

[raulgrell]

I actually prefer the 1N60,,,

[jpm83]

Thanks for replies.

Janne

[mac]

I have two kind of 1N60s, the very old ones and the new ones which seem like 1N4148s.
I suspect that newer 1N60s are Schottky silicon diodes because they sound very different than the vintage 1N60 or any other old Ge diode I have. In fact they sound like silicon diodes. And they do not have temperature issues...

mac

[jpm83]

I have two kind of 1N60s, the very old ones and the new ones which seem like 1N4148s.
I suspect that newer 1N60s are Schottky silicon diodes because they sound very different than the vintage 1N60 or any other old Ge diode I have. In fact they sound like silicon diodes. And they do not have temperature issues...

mac

Were they sold to you as germanium diodes?

Janne

[stobiepole]

I got a bucketload of 1N60Ps from Futurlec that were described as being germanium, but were Schottky diodes (they refunded the money). The real thing looks like a 1n34, with the glass case, while the Schottky's look like 1n4148s. It's a common substitution - the Schottky's have similar characteristics for most typical purposes, but not for clipping. If they look like 1n4148s, I don't think they're germanium.

Chris

[mac]

I'm not an expert but I guess that for a lot of tasks the schottky 1n60s work as an original Ge diode.

Also I doubt that some new Ge transistors are real Ge.

mac

[amz-fx]

There are plenty of diodes on Ebay that claim to be germanium types, but they are not. If they are shown in DO-35 package size, like a 1N4148, then they are Schottky and not germanium.

http://www.muzique.com/news/fake-ge-diodes/

regards, Jack

[amptramp]

True 1N60's were first used as video detectors in televisions.  Even tube televisons that did not have another semiconductor anywhere in the circuit often had a 1N60 diode.  Since they were running at the nominal 45 MHz IF frequency of a television, they were optimized for low capacitance.  They could only stand 25 volts reverse bias whereas the 1N34A was good for 60 volts.  They could both carry a 50 mA forward current.  The reverse current is where there is another difference.  The reverse current was spec'ed at 30 µA at 1.5 volts for the 1N60 whereas the 1N34A was spec'ed at 30 µA at 10 volts.

This all comes from the original "40 Uses for Germanium Diodes" book released by Sylvania in the 1950's.  There is no ISBN number or any other indication of date other than second edition / fourth printing on it.

[Mark Hammer]

I can't presume to know the motivation or thinking of those who sell components on e-bay, but I think we should be more tentative in using words like "fake", or in assuming that any seller is somehow deliberately deceptive.

I imagine some may well be, but my thinking is informed partly by the various older transistor substitution manuals I have.  Look up a particular transistor number, and the listed subs can vary widely.  Can they "do" what the target transistor does if placed into the same circuit?  Possibly.  Is the listing assuming any particular application?  No.

We use diodes for clipping and such, but in the non-pedal world they are principally employed for power circuits and for switching.  So when something is listed as "equivalent" to a germanium diode, chances are pretty good that it IS "equivalent"...for switching, while likely not for an overdrive pedal.