DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
I am working on a small electronics project that needs a few 2N388
geranium diodes. The only problem is that they are hard to find and
expensive. I figured I would give another NPN diode a try but I'm not
really sure what to look for. Can I just look for a close match based
on one or two specs? Is this something where any diode will do as long
as it's rated to handled the voltage, current, etc? As you can tell, I
don't know a whole about this (I pretty much just know some basic
electrical stuff and what some electronic components do) but I would
appreciate any help someone could offer.

-Brandon R.

Germanium diodes are usually only used where a small forward drop is
needed at low power. Proabably any germanium diode will work.

If I were doing the design, I would try to find a way to eliminate
germanium diodes.

Dan