I was looking through some old parts stock I recently purchased and came across a pill bottle full of older transistors marked as Germanium PNP/NPN. A few are 2N404 with USAF markings on them.





Would these have been specially manufactured for the USAF? What vintage are we talking here? 60s early seventies perhaps? I thought they were interesting.

2N404 were standard transistors, popular with hobbyists, in the late 50s and early 60s.

These were tested for USAF reliability, but the manufacture and design would have been standard.

Rich

Somebody wants them, not me, try the radio classified section forum.

When I was at National they had a USAF rush contract in 63 to supply a plug-in PC board with about a dozen 2N404's on each and we must have made a few thousand using whoever could come in on weekends. They were simple flip flop gates but never did know what they were used in.

Carl

Those 2N404's are an awesome little GP transistor.
I stole part of a keyer circuit- the multivibrator part- from an ARRL handbook and made the best RF /AF signal injector probe out of them.
Its design is such that it sends harmonics out from audio and I have injected it into a TV tuner to create bars on he screen.