[sdiy] selecting a semiconductor manufacturer

[Bob Weigel]

As I recall ECG was a Sylvania branch that actually started the line of 
parts and New tone electronics (NTE) wound up acquiring them a few years 
ago.  NTE started in '79 with just a few replacement parts and kept 
building. Anyway I know since at least the 80's a lot of their parts 
have been interchangeable and I don't know how that all came to be..
    But anyway SOME of the parts they apparently do buy the top of the 
line Japanese transistor for instance and remark it to be sold as an 
equivelent for "most applications' to those with lesser voltage/current 
ratings but similar overall characteristics.  THERE ARE SOME FLAT OUT 
ERRORS I HAVE FOUND in their 'system'..and I try to make notes in my 
master index as I find them.  When using NTE replacements I always try 
to research them out to make sure they are really going to work. 
WHich..is how I found those errors.  They put, in the catalog, the 
published specs of the device they are using and remarking.  There are 
cases where the device they were buying has become obsolete/unavailable 
and there starts a rats nest sometimes of compromise probably which is I 
imagine where the observed errors I've seen begin.  It's been too long 
since I've dealt with any specific examples but they were all 
transistor  ones as I recall.  I was SO glad when I found a website from 
a chap in GB which said "Here are the japanese transistor specs, and 
here is an interesting picture" or something...and he had a duck with 
swim fins on as I recall in the picture.  That was his whole website but 
man before that I had some in this sanyo book and they weren't the nice 
concise specs.  If I need a detailed plot of the frequency 
response...I'll try to get the spec book. But to quickly find what NTE 
remarked..hehe...I can just scope down the voltages and compare a few 
currents and have the match in a few minutes.  There's only one with the 
same general specs usually.  And for audio gear it always seems to work 
great if you just verify that they are as good or better than original 
device, especially if you have to bias it anyway.   I got a lot of them 
in a buyout and they've been very handy to have.  -Bob

Andrew Sanchez wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>  I had a question about this very thing (NTE parts). The place where I 
> work has a stock of NTE ICs that are used for repairs. I was under the 
> impression that NTE sold parts that were "borderline" in terms of the 
> original part specs. Is this true? What about ECG (is ECG still 
> around?) or Radio Shack parts? Are they sub-standard in any way?
>
>  Thanks,
>  Andrew
>
> On 5/17/05, *James Patchell* <patchell at cox.net 
> <mailto:patchell at cox.net>> wrote:
>
>     I am also dubious about the quality of parts that NTE
>     sells...definitely
>     correct me if I am wrong in my impression...
>
>     As far as the other in the list...I have never noticed anything
>     significantly different between the major manufacturers.
>
>     At 03:21 PM 5/17/2005 -0500, rkmoore at memphis.edu
>     <mailto:rkmoore at memphis.edu> wrote:
>     >Hi everyone,
>     >
>     >I know that many common IC's and transistors are produced by several
>     >makers.  Fairchild, Vishay, STmicro, NTE, and TI seem to have a
>     pretty
>     >good amount of overlap.  Do any of these companies outshine the
>     >others?  Do any need to be avoided?  I know that NTE seems to be
>     >unreasonably expensive, otherwise I'm kind of in the dark.  Please
>     >share your opinions/experiences.
>     >
>     >Thanks,
>     >
>     >Richard Moore
>
>              -Jim
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