The great parts famine of 2010 has forced us to look for substitute parts for many of the kits we manufacture. These substitute parts are of equal or better quality, but some look rather different than the original parts we used in producing the assembly manual. The latest case is one that will cause some confusion -
For the past 14 or 15 years we have used MJE 350 transistors that have a "front" black plastic side with the MJE 350 designation printed on it. The other, "back" side of the transistor is metal.
The current batch of Fairchild transistors we purchased do not have a metal side. One side is printed with the MJE 350 designation, and this corresponds to the "front" side of older transistors. It can also be identified by the three small dots imprinted in the plastic around the center hole. The "back" side, that corresponds to the metal side on the old transistors, has a more matte finish with no printing except for one small dot impression.
