Product Overview
Texas Instruments 2N368 Germanium PNP Alloy-Junction Transistor TO-22
Condition
Unused new old stock (NOS). Sourced from vintage inventory. Markings legible: 908 over 2N368 on front face, Texas Instruments outline logo on reverse. Wire leads are straight and untrimmed. Sold each.
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Product Overview
Built for general-purpose low-power audio-frequency amplification and driver stages, the Texas Instruments 2N368 is an authentic germanium PNP alloy-junction device housed in a classic TO-22 oval metal can. It features three long wire leads and late-1950s discrete construction, making it suitable for period-accurate restorations of early solid-state audio hardware, vintage radios, and boutique guitar fuzz circuits that call for original germanium response.
Key Features
- Germanium PNP alloy-junction structure
- JEDEC TO-22 vintage oval metal can package
- Collector-base voltage (VCBO) rating: -30 V
- Collector current (IC) rating: -50 mA
- Total device dissipation: 100 mW to 150 mW
- Through-hole mounting with long wire leads
Applications
- Restoring 1950s and 1960s pocket transistor radios and communications receivers to period-correct circuitry.
- Building vintage-voiced guitar distortion and fuzz effect pedals that rely on authentic germanium clipping behavior.
- Maintaining historic laboratory test instruments and early discrete solid-state electronics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What package style does the 2N368 use?
This transistor is built in an early JEDEC TO-22 package, which is an oval metal can with three in-line wire leads, distinct from modern tabbed TO-220 packages.
Are the wire leads tinned or plated?
The leads feature factory gold plating and remain at full untrimmed length.
What polarity is this device?
The 2N368 is a PNP germanium device, requiring negative supply voltage conventions typical of early solid-state circuits.
How can this vintage TO-22 package be distinguished from standard round TO-5 cans?
The TO-22 case has a distinct flattened oval profile measuring 8 mm across the body width, with three leads aligned along the bottom seam rather than the circular pin circle used on a TO-5 or TO-18 can.
Real germanium in a clean oval can, straight out of the first great decade of discrete transistors. Breadboard it into a low-gain preamp or wire it into a vintage build, and let those fifty-year-old carriers do their job.
