TRANSISTOR MUSEUM Historic Transistor Photo Gallery
Transistor Size (1/8” OD X 3/8”) No Date Code or Packaging Transistor Size (1/8” OD X 3/8”) No Date Code or Packaging	GE G11 and G11A TYPE Germanium Point Contact Transistor Medium Frequency Switching USAGE Developmental/Experimental DATE INTRODUCED 1952/53 CASE STYLES Small Black Cylinder AVAILABILITY Rare (Limited Production)
HISTORIC NOTES The General Electric types G11 and G11A were the only point contact transistors developed by GE that were made available for commercial (although limited) distribution. These units were intended mainly for device experimentation and early transistor circuit development. According to the First Edition of the GE Transistor Manual, the G11 was equivalent to GE type 2N30 and the G11A was equivalent to GE type 2N31. The G11A Tentative Specification Sheet, dated July 1, 1953, identifies this transistor as a “Germanium Whisker Transistor”. The G11 and the G11A are listed in both the 1953 and 1954 Allied Radio Catalogue, for a price of $17.40. It is interesting to note that the 1953 catalogue lists only point contact transistors (GE G11 and G11A, and the Raytheon CK716). In the 1954 catalogue, there are point contact and junction transistors, showing the rapid development in this new technology. Point contact transistors were obsolete by 1955!
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