Difference BC184P, BC184, BC184L

georgedb

My ZX's have BC184P's. Searching for a datasheet, I came accross the BC184. Is it the same? While searching for datasheets, it seems that Futurelec (still) sells BC184's and BC184L's.

No idea if they are more or less the same transistors, or that just that little letter added totally changes the specs...

Weird is that the *model* (picture) of the transistor in these datasheets, is different. The BC184 in the datasheet looks like an ordinary BC547, while the BC184 in my ZX's looks like a ZTX213, flatter than a BC547.

Winston

The last letter on most semiconductors is usually something about not the electrical characteristics, but the physical characteristics, and there's no real standard. Usually it indicates the kind of package, or the acceptable temperature range, or whether it's lead free or not or all of those things.

RST#08

Agree with Winston. They are electrically identical, but the pin configuration may be different or reversed. This seems to be the case with the BC184 and BC184L in the 'TO92' style package (a squat cylinder with a blunted side).

The flatter packages are probably 'E-line' types, made by Zetex (formally Ferranti, in the Sinclair era). They'll probably be electrically identical too, but just with a different (nicer!) package.

The BC547/548/549 are just 'plastic' equivalents to the old standard BC107/8/9, in a plastic rather than metal can.

I agree that this can be confusing. Sometimes in the past the suffix did indicate electrical performance (e.g. BC109 and BC109C had different hFE's), but this was not consistant, and in general Winston is absolutely correct, it's just about the package.

This link might help:

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/tran.htm

Nx