[Boatanchors] Elderly Transistors (was gassy tubes)

[J. Forster]

There were also problems with inter-metallic compounds being formed.. 
likr 'Purple Plague'.

-John

================



>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com>
>
>> Actually, not all transistors are still good after being in storage for
>> decades.
>
> I can confirm this.  I rebuilt an early solid-state rig with
> Germanium transistors (SBE rig IIRC) and had to discard
> several NOS devices that were "leaky."
> I don't know why, but I was told this had to do with
> impurities in the early transistors; the doping migrated and
> boundries got "fuzzy-"  and also that the contact points on
> the germanium decayed over long periods.
>
> I imagine those made in Western factories to today's standards
> could theoretically last for millenia.  Or until some doofuss like me
> hooks them up backwards ;-)
>
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