NTE (and other) replacement part thoughts.

[ragtime8922]

In a recent thread this subject came up and I was curious what the general outlook is on these replacement parts. Here my last entry in that thread:

You have mentioned the NTE cross references a lot. Do you use those regularly? The NTE (and others) replacement transistors scare me. For instance, Jameco catalog states "DO NOT USE THESE FOR NEW BUILDS, REPLACEMENT ONLY". Also, I've heard from a few others that these are mostly defects from various manufactures than happen to fit in to a very broad gain range. This is whay you got the same replacement match for like 4 or 5 transistors. Don't take my word for it. Take two or three transistors that you know to be different but semi close in gain range and do a search for the NTE match. I'll bet it's the same.

[Fret Wire]

That was me you're asking, correct? I didn't get the email notification on the other thread. Well, I already answered part of it, sometimes they are only approximations of the real devices.

They cost far too much when the real thing is available.
Not all their stuff is rejects from other manufacturers. Some stuff is made generically for them. Also,  manufacturers reject parts for different reasons, some are cosmetic, and don't affect performance. BC109's use a grading system  depending on gain (a,b,c), other companies may sell a general purpose transistor to NTE if the batch falls above or below their specs. Then NTE assigns it their corresponding number.

Why do a lot of different trannys and such fall under the same NTE specs? Will they still work? RG answers this question all the time. Between the 3904 and 5088, you can replace a lot devices and get correct function.

Have I used some...yes, but not much. Because  the real thing is easily found, and cheaper. I tried one pair of NTE158 Ge pnp's. I got lucky and they were perfect gain wise, low leakage, and sounded good. I never bought another. I've also used a couple times the NTE1641 BBD and NTE1639 clock driver with no problems. They were cheaper than the MN3007 and MN3101.

Some people will tell you across the board that all their stuff sucks. Probably because they read it here, and are repeating it without ever having tried them. Others will tell you it can be hit and miss, from experience.

What we all will tell you is, why spend the extra money when the real thing is cheap and easy to find? When you have no other choice, you may have to use their stuff, and it will most likely work fine.

Why do I reference them alot? Same reason others do. When you're unfamiliar with a device, NTE is a good starting point. NTE can tell me what the device is (BP, JFET, MOFSET), then you can go from there. It's a starting reference point, that's all.

On that other thread, it turns out the transistor in question can easily be replaced by a common one. Neither the original, nor the NTE need to be used. Sometimes the big builders will talk about a hard to get part as the secret recipe (mojo). Many times, it can be replaced exactly with something common

[ragtime8922]

Thanks Fret. Also, uderstand that I was just making conversation to learn and understand NTE types and the general feeling about them. I have used them and didn't have any negative experiences. I still don't know if I am for or against these components. I'll personally test both in a ton of situations for a long time.
      I do, however, fully agree with the hype stated by some effects buliders to promote there product. Specifically the OC44. I have some CV7003's that I spent a long time locating and a lot of money buying. Yes, they are great but they are not that much different from a good Rangemaster Ge from Small Bear.  (yes, they were tested and biased)
      Also, it can not always be the case that rare means better. I mean at one time OC44's were plentiful and I've seen schematics for various treble boosters that used other transistors like the OC76 and 2 or 3 more that I can't think of right of hand.

[petemoore]

Use that site all the time to figure out what I have...usually it comes up NTE123 or NTE158...It came up with NTE458 when I typed in J201..there's an NTE guy near here.
 I pulled out the J201 and plugged in the 458 a couple times and the 458 was louder sounding...better?...sometimes I use MPF102 for Jfet
 MPF102  then J201 ...NTE458's the loudest Jfet I have, close to the J201 in gain. I use j201's these days.
 Used different OA's and transistors, NTE is good but pricey IME.
 NTE158's all worked good in my tries with them.

[sir_modulus]

NTE is quite pricey. I do find their stuff to be quality. Take a bunch of 2N5088's from different manfs, and one NTE123AP. The NTE had less noise, and was better quality. The downside was that it was 3 times as much (50 cents - $1.50)

[Paul Marossy]

I have had good experiences with NTE stuff. They are expensive, but in some cases, it's worth the money when you have some odd old part in need of replacement, IMO.

It seems to me that the general consensus is that they are to be used as a last resort... which I don't really agree with. But, it is a good idea to try to get the real thing whenever possible...

[Lonestarjohnny]

The NTE 458 works great for building Emulator's and a Clean Boost, really makes for lot's volume on the boost.
Johnny