Product Overview
Sprague TQ59 Metal Can Transistor, Three Leads and Rim Tab, Can Printed SPRAGUE TQ-59
Condition
Condition: unused, new old stock (NOS). Markings legible: SPRAGUE, TQ-59. Sold each.
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Product Overview
Sprague Electric Company of North Adams, Massachusetts sold this transistor under its own type number, TQ59, rather than a 2N registration. The can carries the maker and the number on its side, and Sprague's printed card for the part reads SPRAGUE TRANSISTOR and TQ59.
Key Features
- Maker: Sprague, printed on the can
- Type number: TQ59 (the can prints it TQ-59)
- Package: small round metal can with a flat top and a rim flange
- Small tab on the rim
- Three gold-colored leads
Applications
- Replacing a TQ59 called out by number in an old parts list or found on an original board
- Adding a Sprague-marked transistor to a collection of maker-marked semiconductors
Frequently Asked Questions
What polarity and ratings does the TQ59 have?
The maker and the type number are the only print on the can; it carries no polarity, material or ratings. A transistor tester or a meter's diode test sorts out polarity and lead order on the bench.
The can seems to read TO-59. Is that the same part?
Yes. The type number is TQ59, and the can prints it with a hyphen as TQ-59. A Q whose tail prints faint reads like an O, which turns TQ-59 into TO-59.
Sprague was building capacitors in North Adams long before its name went on the side of a transistor can. Restorers know the name from the capacitors in old chassis; this is the same name on the semiconductor side of the bench.
