Cynthia, Fred; It used to be that the 2N2222A had lower Hfe than the 2N2222. The '2222 became such a popcorn part that the two spec's merged to that of the 2N2222. The PN2222 looks to adhere to the '2222 spec for Hfe. So it's easy to believe depending upon vendor that a '2222 and a '2222A would perform "somewhat" differently. Regards, p