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Old 13th May 2021, 2:58 pm   #1
G6Tanuki
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Default Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

I know that STC, who were Brimar's parent company [part of the ITT empire] did dabble in making Germanium transistors back in the mid to late 1950s, but were there ever any transistors released with Brimar branding?

[STC never seemed to be that interested in transistors - did they ever produce any Silicon ones? By the late-1960s they were seemingly happy to buy-in large numbers of silicon transistors from Texas Instruments in Bedford for use in STC telephone-exchanges]
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Old 13th May 2021, 3:21 pm   #2
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

From the Brimar Radio Valve and teletube Manual No. 7. Not dated but guess 1955/56 as they mention the 'New band 3 valves'. J.
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Old 13th May 2021, 3:23 pm   #3
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

Well they list several types,I think described as crystal triodes,with colour coded wires but there are no actual illustrations.I can only imagine they had Brimar printed on them.Les.(
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Old 13th May 2021, 5:38 pm   #4
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

I wonder if those ones listed in the Brimar manual [whose existence I was until now oblivious to] were ever made/sold in significant quantities or whether they were just test/experimental devices that emerged from the Ilminster research labs and were listed in the manual simply to show that Brimar were working on transistors?

[such things are not unusual: on a couple of occasions I called a manufacturer to ask about price/delivery on a part that was newly listed in their latest catalog only to be told "just because it's in the catalog doesn't mean we're actually committed to making it!"]
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Old 13th May 2021, 6:00 pm   #5
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

Hi Langrex list ac115
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Old 13th May 2021, 6:15 pm   #6
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

The trouble is Mazda,Mullard and probably a few others did types with that coloured shroud and they could all have been made by ?.Les
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Old 13th May 2021, 6:20 pm   #7
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

That AC115 has a plastic-sleeve which reminds me very much of the similar style used by Mazda back in the early-60s.

Given that Jules Thorn's empire had bought Brimar from STC in 1960, I wonder if that 'Brimar' transistor was actually a Mazda transistor underneath?

[see pages 360/361 of The Setmakers for the 'deals in devices' which brought Brimar, Mazda, Siemens-Ediswan and AEI together in 1960/1961]
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Old 13th May 2021, 6:23 pm   #8
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

I had a book "Transistors work Like This," in which the last chapter was Build Your Own Transistor Radio.

This was a TRF, the germanium diode coming straight off the aerial circuit, feeding into a 3-transistor AF amplifier.

Transistors specified were Brimar TS2. Whether Brimar made them, or bought them in and branded them, I don't know - but they were obviously available.
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Old 13th May 2021, 6:50 pm   #9
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

AC156 and ASY54.
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Old 16th May 2021, 9:44 am   #10
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

Just for interest I have had this Transistor for over 60 years, with pamphlet, marked as TP2 price 40 shillings. Was given to me by a doctor who I new and, knowing I was interested in electronics at the time.
John
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Old 16th May 2021, 10:24 am   #11
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

There's your STC connection!
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Old 16th May 2021, 6:49 pm   #12
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

Fascinating!

I'm tempted to buy a few of the Langrex transistors and see what they can do: at worst they can be used as OC71-replacements...

[I'm always intrigued by these sorts of historical wormholes - it's akin to the way someone digs-up a thighbone that's carbon-dated to the Bronze Age, and immediately a bunch of historians rush to assemble a 'structure' around it, seemingly establishing the thighbone's gender, religion and social-hierarchy placement]

Pragmatically, I worked in the late-70s with people at "Standard Telephone Labs" - STL - in Harlow. That was at least 15 years down the line from the timescale of any early Brimar germanium-transistors; they were all using TI silicon transistors [BCY3x] to drive reed-relay-coils in telephone-exchanges and looked upon stuff like ferrite-core-stores as voodoo...
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Old 16th May 2021, 7:58 pm   #13
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Default Re: Did Brimar ever make any transistors?

Brimar.
This TP2 was probably the earliest Brimar junction transistor, when they also offered a point contact transistor. The price , at 40/- (£2) is interesting also.
I attach an extract from the 1953 Brimar data handbook showig the transistors offered.
Brimar offered a full range of germanium and silicon transistors for TV and radio use during the 1960s.
The business was sold by STC to Thorn in 1960, who also in 1961 acquired the AEI valve and transistor business of Mazda and Ediswan. The first Ediswan transistors were the top hat style XC101/XA101/XA102 families, competing with the OC72/OC44 series of Mullard.
During the TV boom years, marketed as Brimar and Mazda, with Ediswan used for export.
By 1970 this business seems to have disappeared. It was the time of TV slump. Mullard and GEC combined to form Associated Semiconductors, based at Southampton I believe. Perhaps the Brimar/Mazda business went in there also.
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