Germanium transistor Which is base, emiiter and collector

[harkkam]

I bought a germanium transistor and a 2n3906 tranisitor for my easy face clone from small bear elec. How do i tell which pins are the base, emiiter and collector on both of these tranistors there was no documentation provided.

Thank you guys

[petemoore]

  One way is to use the DMM's Hfe checker if it has one.
  This doesn't account for leakage, so doesn't accurately calculate usable gain.
  Another way is by measuring the B/E diode.

[harkkam]

Yeah I have hfe checker on my multimetter how do I use it? I dont want to put the pins in the wrong hole and fry the germanium.

[PRR]

2N3906 pinout can be found on the Web. Learn to look things up.

Does the Germanium have a part number on it? There is NO standard, and there was even less standardization in the early days. While you can buzz it out with an -analog- ohm-meter, in this case a part-number would be mighty good, and I'd also ask the Bear if they know which is which.

Was it "Transistor - The Easy Face PNP SKU: 0111"

[harkkam]

Yes it was, I bought the Germanium transistor labeled for easy face on bears website.  

Thank you, I didnt know that was available online. Sorry about it

[sean k]

The collector usually has a dot by it and they are usually, the germs, the cbe orientation but the easy way is with the hfe tester, which won't fry them as I do this myself quite often when I can't be bothered looking things up and the other way is to apply the red lead, using the diode test, to any pin and the black to any other and when you get a drop of .3V's then the red is the emitter and the black is the base.

[petemoore]

  On the Hfe checker sockets I've tried in DMM's, you need about 1/2'' or more leads to reach the contact wipers.
  They don't fry transistors.
  They do make a safe, convenient way to determine pinout.
  On each side of the socket:
  NPN side of the socket has E B C E holes [two emitter socket holes so it's easier to test every possible way and not have to twist the leads around one another to do it].
  PNP side has 4 holes for 3 transistor pins also.
  When a number appears in the DMM screen which is 'ballpark' for the Ge, you're getting gain, that's a test passer for pinout at least.
 

[harkkam]

Well the schematic Im using puts them in a PNP configuration. And on the bag that I got the germanium transistor it had the numbers 185 which Im assuming is the gain number.

So if I put the germanium transistor correctly and the numbers 185 show up that means that I have the leads in the right holes which tells me which one is base collector and emitter.

[Solidhex]

If its a transistor set from Small Bear its most likely a To-5 package germanium and a to-92 package 2n3906. The germanium will have a metal tab sticking out. That will be closest to the emitter. From there it goes emitter, base, collector. When the flat side of the 2n3906 is facing you the legs will be emitter, base, collector from left to right.

--Brad