November 1953 QST
Table of Contents
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles
from
QST, published December 1915 - present (visit ARRL
for info). All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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"If you're not using transistors already, chances are you'll
consider them for amplifiers and oscillators in future circuits." So says the line in an
advertisement for General Electric vacuum-sealed transistors in a 1953 edition of QST magazine. To
say the claim was prescient is an understatement. A lot of people resisted the switch to transistors
for many years - especially hobbyists who had grown accustomed to working with vacuum tubes. Maybe
GE figured pitching the newfangled devices as being "vacuum-sealed" would help the hardliners soften
their opposition to them. Not mentioned in the ad is that these three transistors - the
2N43,
2N44, and 2N45 - are all germanium-based. It wasn't until May of 1954 that
Texas Instruments (TI) announced the commercial availability of grown-junction
silicon transistors.
General Electric Advertisement
• They're brand-new ...
• space-misers ...
• long-lived, with stable performance ...
G-E Vacuum-Sealed Transistors

Colpitts Oscillator using a G-E junction transistor. Note extreme simplicity of circuit.
Best Yet For Your Compact New Rig!
If you're not using transistors already, chances are you'll consider them for amplifiers and oscillators
in future circuits. And G.E. has ready for you a new, better product - vacuum-sealed junction transistors,
with all-welded metal construction.
Tiny But Tough! Look at the picture! G.E.'s new transistors are under 1/2 inch wide, with a seated
height even less. Yet power ratings are up to 3 times those of other types ... the new construction
make possible a collector dissipation of 150 mw.
Advantages: G-E vacuum-sealed transistors are moisture-proof ... free from solder-flux contamination
... operate perfectly at all temperatures from hard-frozen ice to boiling water ... will outlast your
equipment, with stable performance right on through their life.
See Your G-E Tube Distributor for facts and prices. Radio amateurs with G.E. helped design these
new transistors - added assurance they will meet ham needs for maximum space-saving and circuit simplicity!
General Electric Company, Tube Department, Schenectady 5, N. Y.
2N43 with high gain
2N44 with medium-to-high gain
2N45 with medium gain
Be Sure to Nominate Your Candidate for the 1953 Edison Award!
Only those amateurs will be eligible whose names are submitted to the judges by letter. Terms of
the Award were published on this page in September. Your letter may win the trophy and gift for a friend
who has rendered important service ... and your cooperation will help build wider recognition of the
valuable work which all amateurs are doing in the public interest.
Electronic Tubes of All Types for the Radio Amateur
General Electric
1878 -1953
75 Years of Electrical Progress
Diamond Anniversary
Posted January 9, 2017
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